Leicester academic to provide legal and ethical advice on museum closures in sector

An academic from our School of Law will be providing ethical and legal advice on museum closures as part of a working group set up to draft guidance for museum staff and governing bodies.

Professor Janet Ulph (pictured), Professor of Commercial Law, is part of the working group which has been set up by The Museums Association (MA) Ethics Committee.

The move comes in response to the increasing number of museum closures and mergers across the UK, and a perceived lack of understanding of closure, particularly among governing bodies.

The working group is made up of members of the Ethics Committee alongside representatives from Arts Council England (ACE), Museum Development North West and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The group is working with sector bodies from across the UK to learn the lessons from recent closures, and to provide guidance to museums and governing bodies on the practicalities of museum closure for staff, the public, collections and buildings.

A practical guide for museums based on the research will be published in spring 2017.

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