PEOPLE wanting to give their views on Leicester’s museums and how they have engaged during the Covid-19 pandemic have one month left to make their voices heard.
Leicester City Council’s museums and galleries service is calling on people to share their opinions in an online consultation, looking both at visitors’ impressions of the city’s different museum sites, and also understanding how people have remained engaged despite the effects of the Covid-19 restrictions.
The city council operates museums at seven sites - Abbey Pumping Station, Belgrave Hall, Leicester Guildhall, Newarke Houses, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery (formally New Walk Museum and Art Gallery), King Richard III Visitor Centre and Jewry Wall, which is currently closed for redevelopment.
The sites provide permanent and temporary exhibitions together with a programme of popular events and activities such as family days, concerts, performances and heritage steam days.
In 2018, the museums and galleries service was awarded National Portfolio Organisation status by Arts Council England, which provides funding to support the development and delivery of programmes including new visitor resources, engagement events and museum improvements over the next few years.
The online survey is a chance for the museums service to find out more about who visits and what they think of the sites, how to encourage new people to get involved, and how to tailor what is on offer at museums to provide what visitors want.
It is also a chance for the city council to understand how people have engaged with the service during the pandemic, as well as how ongoing restrictions might affect their engagement in the future.
Leicester deputy city mayor for culture, leisure and sport, Cllr Piara Singh Clair, said: “The last year has meant big changes to the way people have been able to access museum information, for example by making use more of online resources.
“So we are very keen to hear people’s views of our museums, what they have to offer, and also how people have managed to engage with them during these difficult last 10 months. That will give us valuable information on how to plan the way forward to ensure our museums are providing what people want.
“We’ve also keen to hear from people who don’t visit our museums regularly, or even those who have never been have never been to our museums, in order to learn more about what might encourage them to do so in future.
“The city’s museums play an invaluable role in bringing to life Leicester’s heritage, identity and place in history, and we want as many people as possible to get involved in shaping how they continue to do so in future.”
The online survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, is available here.
People taking part in the survey can also enter a draw to win a £50 voucher. The consultation is open now and runs until February 14, 2021.
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