Press release: Wednesday 10th June 2015
I LOVE MUSEUMS
Today is the launch of I Love Museums, a new campaign led by the National Museum
Directors’ Council (NMDC) to demonstrate the depth of support for UK museums by
empowering the public to share why museums are important to them.
Museums and galleries are more popular than ever – last year there were 66.8 million visits to
the national and major regional museums in NMDC’s membership alone 1, and over half of
adults and two thirds of children visited a museum2. Museums play a vital role in the lives of
individuals, families and communities across the UK, and make a key contribution to our
society and economy. But our museums are facing challenging times, with local and
national governments making tough decisions about funding. I Love Museums will show
funders and policymakers how much museums matter by celebrating the UK public’s support
for our wonderful cultural institutions.
I Love Museums provides museums with the tools and resources to turn their audiences into
active advocates, as well as adding their support to the nationwide campaign for national
and local government support and funding for museums. The campaign is led by the NMDC
with support from Arts Council England, the Art Fund, Association of Independent Museums,
Culture24, the Museums Association and the University Museums Group.
Diane Lees, Chair of the NMDC and Director-General of Imperial War Museums, said: “We
know that museums are incredibly popular, as ever-increasing visitor numbers attest, and the
public are our most powerful advocates. I Love Museums will enable us to measure and
demonstrate the depth of that public support and show politicians and policymakers how
much the UK public values our world-class museums.”
More information about the campaign, including a toolkit for museums with details of how to
get involved, can be found on the website: www.ilovemuseums.com
For queries about the campaign contact info@ilovemuseums.com
About us:
The National Museum Directors' Council represents the leaders of the UK's national collections
and major regional museums. Our members are the national and major regional museums in
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the British Library, the National Library of
Scotland, and the National Archives. While our members are funded by government, the
NMDC is an independent, non-governmental organisation.
http://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/
Total visitor numbers in 2013-14 across NMDC member museums. For a full list of NMDC members see
http://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/members/
2 DCMS Taking Part survey 2013-14 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sat--2
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