Fiona and Robert,

I did an internship with the Open Museum at Glasgow Museums last summer.
Upon returning to the States, I had to give a seminar about my internship
experiences at my university. The first half of my talk was devoted
purely to the politics at Glasgow Museums (I opened with a slide I had
taken of graffiti I found at Haggs Castle reading "Fuck Spaulding". It
was rumored to have been written by an employee of Glasgow Museums!!!).
It certainly got everyone's attention!

I haven't really found much information on the goings on there since I
left, with the exception of a newspaper article a friend sent me. In
talking with people who worked for all branches of Glasgow Museums during
the 2 months of my internship, I found that people either  like Julian
Spaulding (the minority) or they absolutely hate him. Working at Haggs
Castle I heard the bitter saga of the closure of the Hagg's Castle
Children's Museum (when I was there the building was used only as office
space for the Open Museum staff). The anti-Julian faction claimed that he
had his eye on closing the children's museum since he arrived in Glasgow
and even lied about visitor figures to justify starving it of funds until
it was eventually closed. How true that is I do not know. I do know,
however, that it was done pretty hush-hush (and in my opinion, shady as
well). The children's museum was closed in March yet all summer long at
least a couple people (with kids in tow) would show up every day
expecting to visit the museum. As far  as I could figure, it was never
generally announced that it was closing. It was just left up to the staff
left working there (ie the Open Museum staff) to tell the children that
the museum was closed and would never be open again. Originally, Julian
expected to get the profit from the sale of the building for the museums,
but the council owns the building and said no way. I don't know what has
become of the building.

The biggest indication I had of rampant anti-Julian sentiment came from
an odd story related to me by a staff member. I was told about the cat
(Smudge) who was placed in the indoor garden of the People's Palace by
the parks department for pest management. Eventually the cat had the run
of the museum as well as the garden (it even showed up on the People's
Palace mugs in the gift shop!). Smudge was apparently a fixture at the
People's Palace. Smudge was eventually taken home by a staff member
because, according to my source, JULIAN WAS GOING TO POISON THE CAT AS A
POLITICAL MOVE AGAINST HIS OPPONENTS.  Personally, I find this hard to
believe (well, the motive anyway) but some people earnestly believed it.

In addition, Julian did not win fans by opening his new gallery of modern
art. I think there are several reasons for this:

1. It occured at the same time as major cuts in staffing levels and other
funding at the other institutions within Glasgow Museums.
2. The collections that they do have require additional care which they
can't afford. I've seen some of the worst storage areas myself (not that
it is all bad).
3. Glasgow is a very working class city and many of the ordinary people I
met while collecting oral histories were not the least bit interested in
having their money spent on that museum (especially with rumors of
closing one or more days a week at the other museums or charging entrance
fees). I think Glaswegians in general feel pretty connected to their
museums (in spite of falling visitor numbers in the last few years) and
would rather support the ones they have than create a new one. This is
not to say that modern art is not valid or worth collecting (or that
Glaswegians are to "working class" to enjoy it). It is a matter of timing
and finances.
4. The modern art museum is JULIAN'S Museum. He oversaw every little
detail--much to other staff's distress. He would do things like choose a
paint color and then change his mind after the walls were painted,
requiring the worker's to repaint. He would buy things for the
collections without consulting the curators, etc.
5. Julian has pissed off so many people (staff and public alike) that
even if he came up with a great idea, very few would support him out of
general principle.

I don't know if this helps you any, but it is just a couple of the things
I heard/saw last summer. I am sure it is hopelessly out of date as the
saga certainly continues. I do agree with you that Spaulding and his lot
have been very politically astute, using the city's desire to improve its
image and increase tourist revenue to further their own agenda. One oft
repeated fear I heard was that with the new museum in the city centre
(and another one planned by someone else in St. George's square--can't
remember who/what) and Julian's emphasis on it, that the other museums
would become marginalized in terms of visitors in addition to money.
Getting tourists out of the city centre (with a couple of museums,
shopping, restaurants, the train station, etc) to the places such as
Kelvingrove or the People's Palace was seen as a definate problem.

I'd be interested in hearing the latest about what is happening.

Nancy Russell
[log in to unmask]



On Fri, 8 Aug 1997 08:17:21 +0100 robert and fiona forsythe
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>Is there anyone reading this able to give a different angle to the
>continual press reporting (which may/may not be spot on) about the
>incredible saga of Glasgow Museums? Apparently some 40 members of
>staff
>have left this year with two senior management staff in the last ten
>days. Their stories have been strongly reported and what is happening
>this year is only the present state of a saga that has run throughout
>the decade with protagionists like Julian Spalding and Elspeth King.
>
>For anyone who may one day come to analyse and pull together this
>incredible soap opera (worthy of a TV show) we have assidously kept
>cuttings from the Herald throughout these years.
>
>Quite apart from the capacity of this story to inspire new drama,
>there
>is a serious debate here about how a city's genuine culture like loco
>manufacture and shipbuilding, and social history (the People's Palace)
>can be taken over by a highly intelligent art lobby able to link their
>interests to the political desire to remodel the city's image. It is
>interesting that the individuals able to contribute to Glasgow's own
>artistic heritage (the expert on C R Mackintosh today) are amongst
>those
>being fired.
>
>(Ps if you know of any other mailing list that may be discussing this,
>please tell us).
>--
>fiona and robert forsythe
>