A great night in the museum: how much was it worth?

Tickets are going fast,  the press release says. If you want to enjoy the next Museum Late you better book soon.  Sorry, I missed out three vital letters, this is the second of the RBS Museum Lates at the National Museum of Scotland.

RBS. Those three little letters. Will they be help or hindrance to organisations receiving sponsorship from the bank?  I guess the answer depends on exactly how much the sponsorship is worth and whether the British government finds the will to change the system that tarnishes the brand. If banks make a genuine investment in culture and community and if – a bigger  if – government ensures that the pay of top executives returns to the real world, that could certainly detoxify the brand. But we probably should not hold our breath.

So this is not just another rant about bankers’ bonuses (tempting though that may be) it’s a brief reflection on the value of money – and how that value changes according to where you stand.

There was a great feel-good atmosphere about the first Museum Late night in November – music, dancing and booze in the splendid hall of the National Museum of Scotland. Even then I remember some young musicians marvelling at how often the sponsor was mentioned ( not exactly rock n roll to have to keep saying RBS). And that was before recent public outrage over the proposed £500m bonus payout to top directors. Or the symbolic stripping of (Sir) Fred. How will it feel at the second event on 24 February when bright young talent thank their sponsor at regular intervals through the microphone?

‘It sticks in the craw’  was the phrase used by journalist and blogger Ian Fraser in a Facebook discussion, stirred by seeing the bank’s name displayed at rugby matches over the weekend.  Others felt differently.

“Take the money,” they said.  And, indeed, while the government slashes public spending on every aspect of life in Britain you would have to be very idealistic – or just daft – to turn down sums like the £20m funding which Ian Fraser says RBS has reportedly stumped up to stay lead sponsor of the Six Nations tournament.

To Ian, it’s a kind of ‘brand laundering’.  But judging from Facebook and Twitter response to my two previous RBS blogs, I feel it might not wash. If anything, without any intervention from policy makers, bank sponsorship will add to public cynicism. We’ve got a long hot summer of Olympics with Lloyds TSB, our other publicly owned bank, as one of the lead sponsors.

I have no idea how much RBS is investing in Museum Lates, an imaginative and uplifting project which aims to attract a new young audience into the building.  But, welcome as any investment in the arts may be,  it cannot wipe out the disillusionment of most people who now feel completely detached from both politicians and bankers. Of course, as shareholders and voters, we can (should) let them all know what we think and what we expect of them…

Found through the balcony at the first Museum Late night.