Crisis in Museum and Art Gallery Storage Space: Solutions and Challenges Ahead

The storage space for storing objects in public museums and art galleries is reaching its limit. These resources are essential for learning about the history and culture of the region, but if sufficient storage space cannot be secured, the preservation and use of cultural materials and resources will be uncertain. On the other hand, a lot of space is required for the maintenance and management of the materials that are continuously collected and costs money. However, not all local governments have fiscal flexibility. What should i do. (Joe Miahata)

◆Even the building that used to be a nursery school was used, but it could not fit inside the room.

Wooden threshing machines are piled up to the roof. Racks are filled with agricultural equipment such as hoes and plows. In some places, boxes containing locally quarried stone tools and pieces of pottery are lined up with nowhere to stand.

Inside a building that was once used as a kindergarten, located in a residential area near JR Fujisawa Station. Local items donated by citizens were all over the place. There are some items that cannot be stored in the room and placed in the hall, and there are places in the old building where water leaks. In Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, approximately 52,000 archaeological and folklore artifacts, including unorganized artifacts, are stored in four locations, including community centers and libraries .

Elsewhere, boxes containing pieces of pottery were lined up tightly in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

“There is still space, and there are no problems with storage conditions, but the current situation is not desirable. We would like to build and consolidate a new building as soon as possible.” Makoto Kikuchi, head of the city’s local history department, will speak.

The city had planned to build a new cultural property storage facility in fiscal 2025, but due to rising prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the planned construction cost more than doubled from the original estimate of 500 million yen. I had to reconsider.

The plans for the new facility are still unchanged, but the location has not yet been determined, and the company is currently considering what type of facilities are needed.” laments, “I’ve been talking to people in other local governments saying, ‘There’s no place to put it.’ I think it’s a local document that should be passed on to future generations, but as it is, I can’t find a solution but build a new one.”

◆ Even the National Museum of Nature and Science is using crowdfunding to raise awareness of the crisis.

This situation is not limited to Fujisawa City. Similar situations are happening at public museums and art galleries across the country.

Crowdfunding homepage managed by the National Museum of Nature and Science

The National Museum of Nature and Science, one of Japan’s largest and home to more than 5 million specimens and artifacts, launched a crowdfunding campaign last year, claiming that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and fuel costs arising from your activity. The decision was also made due to problems with storage, such as some of the items not being able to fit. Of the approximately 920 million yen raised, approximately 600 million yen will be used for the maintenance and management of the collection and the construction of new storage facilities.

◆ Osaka Prefecture puts artwork in underground parking lots

There are also cases where stored items are released because it is no longer possible to collect items in the future.

In 2018, Hokuei Mirai Densokan, a history and folklore museum in Hokuei City, Tottori Prefecture, gave away 473 items, including country tools, for free to those who requested them. About a fifth of the items in the collection are in storage, but there are currently no plans to build a new storage facility. A person in charge said, “Space is limited. We took advantage of that opportunity to begin carefully selecting donated items.”

Last year in Osaka Prefecture, it was discovered that a large amount of collected art was stored in the underground parking lot of the prefectural government building. The prefectural government explained, “We have considered the place again, but there was no other suitable place.”The reason for this was that the new museum project fell through, leaving them with nowhere else to go, but this problem wouldn’t have happened if there was another storage location.

◆ The number of facilities with large storage areas is increasing.

It is evident from the numbers that museums and art galleries across the country do not have enough space to store them.

In 2020, the Japan Museum Association released a report based on a survey of public museums and art galleries across the country. According to the report, 33.9% of all libraries responded that their collections were “90% or more (almost full)” of materials. 23.3% of the museums said they had items that could not fit into the storage area.

The combined figure was 57.2%, an increase of more than 10 points from the previous survey published three years ago. Additionally, 27.2% of museums have a storage facility outside their building, and 31.9% of them said they “need one” even if they didn’t have one.

◆ “Visible Storage” Miyagi Prefectural Museum of Art Will Expand in 2025

An image of the “visible storage” at the Miyagi Prefectural Museum of Art

Although there is a severe shortage of storage space, it is not easy to expand the storage space due to land and budget issues. First, only a small part of the museum’s collection is on display, and most of it is in storage. Currently, public museums and art galleries are not only able to fulfill their mission of collecting and preserving objects, but it is difficult for residents to feel that need them.

In an attempt to improve this situation, there is a movement to install “visible storage” that can be seen by visitors.

The Miyagi Prefectural Museum of Art, which is scheduled to reopen in 2025, will expand its storage space and make some of it available to visitors. The museum opened in 1981, and although age is the main reason for the renovation, one of the reasons is to expand the storage space, which has become smaller.

The museum explained in an interview, “We are expanding the facility so that we can do collection activities with more time. The purpose is also to ensure the safety of the work.” investment for cultural buildings through the “visible storage room,” which provides a unique perspective.

◆”Promoting digital archives is a key foundation.”

[Sgeulachd leis an Àrd-ollamh Yoshiyuki Oshita à Oilthigh Doshisha, a tha eòlach air poileasaidh cultarail]
Japan today has become a society with a declining population, something that was not seen when the public museums and art galleries were created. We are faced with the conflicting and intractable problem of increasing and conserving material collections while tax funding is decreasing.

Japan is one of the most advanced societies in the world with a declining birth rate and population. If we look positively at the current situation, we are testing whether we can find creative solutions as the first country in the world to deal with this problem.

Although we would like to close museums as a last resort, there is a good chance that every city will find it difficult to maintain every museum and art gallery in the future. There is no guarantee that there won’t be a choice between keeping and stopping. Once a collection is lost, it can never be recovered. What happens to the collection and buildings when the museum closes? An organization like the “Museum Collection Group” should be created, with the government taking responsibility and sorting things out.

On the other hand, if there is not a deeper awareness among the population of the importance of collecting and preserving art and culture buildings, politics and administration will not move and the situation will not change. As a way to achieve this, it can be said that the promotion of digital archiving is a key element. Only some of the items in the collection can be displayed. Many people will be able to see and use it, but Japan is far behind.

There is nothing better than being able to see the real thing, but if a digital archive allows it to be viewed and used remotely, its uses for education, tourism, welfare, etc. will expand. It cannot be said that Japanese museums are not achieving their full potential. There are still ways to get out to the people.

◆ Desk memo

There is a lack of storage space for historical objects and works of art. There is no money to move or expand. That kind of story makes my heart flutter. Why don’t we spend money on culture in the first place? Even areas that deepen thinking and enrich the mind are given a low administrative priority. On the other hand, national interests and economic efficiency are discussed. If we don’t change this trend, people’s minds will get tired. (Sakaki)

Yes