Covid-19 has been a challenge like no other for museums and for many recovery remains uncertain, with significant financial challenges, higher costs and reduced visitor numbers and income meaning some may not be able to reopen until 2021.
Yet independent museums pride themselves on their resilience, their entrepreneurial skills, their ability to both grasp opportunities and flex to meet challenges. And this has been clearly demonstrated as the sector slowly reopens and welcomes back visitors, with some museums already seeing a glimmer of success post-lockdown.
It seems that as well as adding significant additional safety measures for staff, volunteers and visitors, the ability to quickly adapt, identify shifting audiences and respond to their needs is key to beginning to recover and plan for the future. We spoke to several AIM members to hear about their experiences.
Watch the case studies below, with a link to the captioned version of all the case studies at the bottom of the page.