Dutch Wereldmuseum to Sell African Collection

Reuters is reporting the Dutch Wereldmuseum is planning on selling its African and American collections to focus on Asian artifacts. The money from the sale would be used to support the operations of the museum. given the current European and global economic struggles, as well as the cuts in governemt subsies to the arts, the Wereldmuseum decided to be pro-active and sell portions of its collection in order to support on going operations and obligations.

Another rationale for the deaccessioning is the 5 other museums in the Netherlands with African art collections competing for public viewing and scholarly research.  The article does not mention deaccessioning concerns such as sanctions and legal issues other than opposition to the collections leaving the Netherlands

Reuters reports 

It is one of several Dutch museums under pressure to raise money from the public purse, and ideas being explored have ranged from "adopting" star exhibits to opening a hotel on the premises.

"We are going to sell the entire Africa collection and the Americas collection, and will only keep the top pieces in the rest of our collection so we can focus on Asian art," said Stanley Bremer, director at Wereldmuseum.

"The money we raise we will put in the bank," he told Reuters.
"If you are alert to the situation in Europe, you can see there could be a problem in five or six years' time. So either we can sit back or we can make a plan and our plan is to raise money to be as self-sufficient as possible."

The government has said state subsidies for the arts and culture would be cut by 200 million euros to 700 million with effect from 2013, and that in future, museums must find 17.5 percent of their income from new funding sources or partners.

OUTCRY
The possible sale -- if no other museum in the Netherlands can afford to purchase the works then other buyers may step in -- has prompted an outcry in some quarters.

Click HERE to read the Reuters article.