Museum Wales: At least 90 jobs cut and Cardiff building may close

There was some good news for the organisation last week with the award of a £412,000 lottery grant for the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, Gwynedd, which Ms Richardson called “enormously exciting”.

“However, if we were to get further cuts on that scale, I would need to be very honest with government and with all our stakeholders that we could not continue to run as the size of museum we are now,” she said.

“We would have to look at our buildings.”

They are: National Museum Cardiff; St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff; National Waterfront Museum, Swansea; Big Pit National Coal Museum, in Blaenavon, Torfaen; National Slate Museum, in Llanberis, Gwynedd; National Wool Museum, near Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire; and National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Newport.

Ms Richardson said the museums would not reintroduce charging for entry because they would be worse off after losing tax advantages as a result.

But they would encourage donations by visitors, charge for special events such as The Art of the Selfie exhibition in Cardiff, external, featuring a painting by the Dutch master Van Gogh, and “pull back” on winter opening times.

Conservative culture spokesman Tom Giffard called the museum’s situation “concerning not just for the individuals who will be impacted, but for all of us”.

He added: “Disproportionate funding cuts are putting the preservation of our shared heritage at risk, while the Labour Welsh government prioritises money for more politicians.”

In February, a Welsh government spokesperson said: “We have been clear going into our draft budget preparations that, because our budget is now worth £1.3bn less in real terms than when it was set in 2021, incredibly difficult decisions have had to be taken.”