In late 2020, the Da Nang People’s Council adopted a resolution to offer free admission to museums across the city in 2021 in a bid to increase visitor numbers in these venues. The move came after local museums had seen significant drop in their visitor numbers due to COVID-19.

The new rule made a positive impact on the city’s museums which together attracted a combined total of more than 32,000 visitors in the first 6 months of 2021. However, the rule has resulted in the Museum of Cham Sculpture unexpectedly becoming financially distressed as this facility is using autonomous finance operation, and there are no financial sources for its professional activities.

Admission to Museum of Cham Sculpture is free to everyone in 2021. Photo: XUAN SON

The Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture is only one among 9 public non-business units under the management of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports to use fully autonomous finance operation. The Museum of Cham Sculpture has emerged as one of the best places to visit in Da Nang, it annually attracts thousands of visitors, helping it earn dozens of billions of VND in revenue.

Mr. Ho Tan Tuan, the Director of the Museum of Cham Sculpture said that before 2021, the museum has depended entirely on the income from admission ticket sales, and its income was used for its professional activities.

However, the Museum of Cham Sculpture is facing financial challenges after the Da Nang People’s Council’s Resolution on the application of free admission to Marble Mountains, cultural sites and museums in the city came into effect in 2021. Currently, the municipal administration is providing financial support to the museum to help it pay monthly salaries for its employees and maintain some of its activities. However, the museum has been forced to cut back on its professional activities due to limited funding. The exhibition space is an example of the museum’s activities where it can cut down its costs with the use of the sun to light this area to help reduce energy costs during the museum’s opening hours.

In the first 6 months of this year, the museum only welcomed more than 9,000 visitors due to COVID-19, showing a significant drop compared with the corresponding period of the previous year: However, Da Nang experienced COVID-19 resurgence in the third quarter of 2021, and all museums were required to close their doors to help the city tackle the pandemic. Although the COVID-19 outbreak has been basically brought under control in Da Nang, museums are still not allowed to reopen. Therefore, in its efforts to survive amid COVID-19 crisis, like other museums nationwide, the Museum of Cham Sculpture focuses on promoting it on social media networks, and offering virtual tours to make its works of art accessible to everyone, everywhere around the world.

Mr Tuan stated that the artifacts and national treasures on display at the museum made from stone and dating back hundreds of years are now at risk of being degraded. In addition, extreme weather in Da Nang, including high temperatures and humidity, can negatively affect the artifacts if they are not stored carefully. Due to limited funding, the preservation of these artifacts could not be carried out this year. Fortunately, the artifacts are being displayed in indoors, and the museum is less worried about the deterioration of them.

Mrs Nguyen Thi Hoi An, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports said that the COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on museums which have witnessed the greatest financial loss. The museums were usually bustling with visitors before COVID-19, and the pandemic has left these venues deserted. The museum of Cham Sculpture is the hardest-hit facility in the museum sector in the city.

Da Nang’s museums are taking proactive action to introduce its tours to domestic tourists, and expand their online services with enhancing virtual tours. The focus is on posting articles and videos on museums’ websites and social media platforms in order to introduce the public to their exhibition spaces in a lively way. The intention is to expand the diversity, depth, and accessibility of digital storytelling at these venues.

Most notably, the Museum of Cham Sculpture is developing an educational program carrying its theme of "Connecting the museum to relic sites in Da Nang" for students who study at schools of tourism and culture. This program is expected to be used in 2022.

Reporting by THIEN DUYEN – Translating by H.L