Public museums in a time of crisis: The case of museum asset transfer

ABSTRACT In this paper, I explore museum asset transfer, a process whereby community organizations take responsibility for managing and governing museums that local governments previously managed. Museum asset transfer has increased since austerity policies were introduced in the UK following the global economic crisis. I offer a two-part introduction to museum asset transfer. Part 1 is a timeline of policies and political developments informing museum asset transfer, answering the question ‘how did we get to where we are now?’ In Part 2, with reference to interviews and ethnographically informed data taken from my PhD research into this topic, I identify common challenges experienced by local government employees and community members during the asset transfer process. The article concludes with a reflective discussion of the negotiation of my own positionality within the research, specifically the question of how to translate research findings on policy-related topics into publications and initiatives devised for non-academic audiences.