Sharp rise in volunteering in Dutch museums #fairpractice

The chances of being helped in a museum by someone standing there unpaid, purely for her fun, have increased considerably in recent years. This is especially true for museum shops, museum cafés and cloakrooms - in short, anything to do with commercial activities and operations. This is evident from a closer examination of the rather jubilant 2017 figures, which the Museum Association released on 2 October. But you have to look for it.

Read what's going on below.

Publishing annual figures is always a thing. The two best-known trade associations in the cultural sector make it a party every year. At least: a party full of good news. Be it our theatres and concert halls, or to the museums: there is a frantic fear of negative publicity. Even 'nuance' is sensitive, although the Museum Association is doing its best this year. Despite 'overall' Dutch museums doing well, even generating more own income than subsidies, an increasing number of museums are in dire straits.

If you look a little more closely at the figures, you can see that the positive results are mainly achieved in the province of North Holland. It doesn't get more specific, so we knew last year, but everyone can fathom that the joyful developments are mainly taking place in Amsterdam. Schagen does not count as much in this. Further from Amsterdam, it is mainly the small and medium-sized museums that are increasingly struggling to keep their heads above water. The number of museums running purely on volunteers increased from 13 to 15 per cent between 2016 and 2017.

To rise is to fall

More worryingly, the percentage of voluntary FTEs rose to at least 37 per cent during the same time, to as high as 43 at the 'history museums'. Surely these are heftier numbers than the - in itself positively appreciable - increase in the proportion of paid jobs in the sector. Overall, by the way, the number of FTEs decreased from 9900 to 9800: a marginal decrease, perhaps, but significant when you add that to the increase in the number of workers in the sector. Indeed, that rose from 38000 to 40000.

According to the Museum Association, the share paid FTE. Logical: the number of jobs is increasing, while the number of FTE is decreasing. So there are more people working in museums on a paid basis, but they are significantly fewer full-time jobs. So there are more people on permanent contracts, but those permanent contracts contain fewer and fewer hours. So added to the increase in the proportion of voluntary workers, this is actually not such a favourable development at all. It can probably best be summarised as: fewer and fewer people can make a good living from their work in a museum. Or: working in a museum is a main income for fewer and fewer people. Museums are doing well if you visit them, or if you are a (paid) director.

The list of risers and fallers

(source: Museum Association)

It remains a bit of a shame that the Museum Association presents its own figures so woolly. A superficial reader grabs the cheery headline, and only after much back and forth does a slightly more curious person discover what it actually says. It is such a shame that simply being transparent, one of the basic requirements of the Fair Practice Code, remains so difficult for employers in the arts.