Faded Majesty: The People's Palace losing ground with the passage of time

FOR generations of Scots the People's Palace museum on Glasgow Green has been a favourite destination to savour the history of the second city of the empire. On weekdays its high-ceilinged Victorian rooms echo to the excited shouts of school groups darting around to spot Billy Connolly's Banana Boots or peeping into a mock-up of a 1930s tenement single-end flat.

The phrase that often reverberates around the red sandstone building is "oh I remember thaaat" as visitors, many of them retired, reacquaint themselves with exhibits such as the running footage of Jimmy Reid leading the 1971-1972 Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in, or a glass case containing Carol Smillie's stilettos from her time as a hostess on Wheel of Fortune. The adjacent Winter Gardens provide the ideal rest spot for tea and cakes.

When the social history museum was opened by Lord Rosebery in 1898 in the city's impoverished East End he described it as "a palace of pleasure and imagination" and as somewhere for everyone in Glasgow to visit, rather than just the wealthy select few, who were at ease in the galleries in the West End. Palaces for the poor were not a new idea, and followed the example set by Queen Victoria who had opened one in 1887 in London's East End. At the time Lord Rosebery declared the building "open to the people for ever and ever".

But today the People's Palace is coming under attack from those who believe it is failing to move with the times.

Scotland's leading historian Professor Tom Devine has criticised the museum for a slide into "cultural and Hollywood-style decrepitude" and for its simplistic portrayal of issues such as sectarianism, which many argue still blights the city. He also says it has been allowed to "ossify and rot", with a cut-off point of around 1995.

Labour MSP Frank McAveety, whose Glasgow Shettleston constituency includes the museum, says he is troubled by the criticism, and has called for a debate on how the city's history should be displayed.

The museum – which is free to enter – has fallen victim to budget cuts and its doors are closed on Mondays. Last year the museum, run by Glasgow Life – which manages arts, sports and leisure services in the city and is headed by Dr Bridget McConnell – received a slice of Glasgow Museums' 14 million budget, but officials are unable to provide an exact breakdown of funding. Privately, they admit it is in the shadow of its sister Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, the city's "jewel in the crown" museum, which is far larger and receives the lion's share of cash.

Although visitor numbers at the museum have held up – they rose by 6.5 per cent in 2009 to 268,591, according to a survey by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions – Devine believes there is a worrying decline at the People's Palace.

"Looking back has never been a more popular pursuit, as evidenced by the global obsession with family history and the keen interest in historical documentary film and dramas in the mass media.

"All this means that the public come to museums, not only with interest, but with trust in curatorial standards of presentation.

Hollywood may fake history but surely not public institutions professionally staffed and supported by local and national taxpayers?

"This is one reason why the demise of the People's Palace into its current cultural and intellectual decrepitude is such a sad saga, and not only for the city, but also for Scotland as a whole."

He says while some of the "glory days" remain – citing the wonderfully nostalgic area covering the old days of Doon the Watter holidays and steamship excursions – he described the rest as "no longer fit for purpose".

Prof Devine, the Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish history and palaeography at the University of Edinburgh, and a former trustee of the National Museums of Scotland, says: "Exhibits covering Glasgow's sectarianism problem receives short shrift. A case displays two sashes, one orange and the other green with the accompanying 'explanation', 'Being a member of the Protestant Orange Lodge or the Catholic Order of Hibernians can help you get a job or stop you getting one.'

"This statement manages to combine false information, blatant anachronism and zero awareness of the complexity of the problem or the changes in it over the last few decades in one sentence.

"A crucial purpose of a museum is to educate by questioning popular stereotypes, not perpetuating them in this guise of spurious authority."

Another exhibit in the sports section treats sectarianism in a facetious manner. It shows a T-shirt depicting footballer Mo Johnston, receiving an audience with the Pope. Johnston is saying "Forgive me Father I have signed". The Pope replies: "I was going to send you to hell, but you've already arrived … Now P*** OFF!" The accompanying description says the T-shirt protests against Mo Johnston, a Catholic, being signed for the mainly Protestant team Rangers in 1989.

Significantly, there is no background information detailing the ongoing sectarianism in Scottish football and the work done by organisations such as Nil By Mouth to combat the problem.

Composer James MacMillan says: "There is either a degree of amateurishness or embarrassment in the way the museum is handling some issues.

"If they can't present an exhibit that explains difficult aspects of Glasgow life with some insight and wisdom, what's the point?

MacMillan added: "The issue of sectarianism, for example, will never be illuminated through evasion and obfuscations. This just comes across as shifty and uncomfortable. What is their problem?"

The museum is reliant on funding from Glasgow City Council and as budget cuts bite deep, many fear that the ability is to update arts facilities will be blunted. The last major renovation of the People's Palace took place in the mid-1990s to coincide with the 100-year anniversary, during which the building was closed for almost two years for restoration work.

New measures have included a "Work Smarter" programme, introduced across the museum service, which includes peripatetic "mobile staff".

The result is that the People's Palace's senior curator is not exclusively based in the building and its manager spends only a couple of days a week at there. Most of the city's curators are based at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, a bespoke 20 million building in Nitshill that stores over a million items and is open to the public.

The museum has also been criticised for its lack of diversity in portraying the city's population, and for its dated portrayal of the Glasgow vibrant music scene.

Robina Qureshi, executive director of Glasgow-based Positive Action in Housing which challenges racism and discrimination, says the exhibits fail to reflect the city's diversity, and overlook protests such as those by The Glasgow Girls, a group of teenagers from Drumchapel High school whose campaigning against dawn raids on failed asylum seekers helped change policy in Scotland

"Whoever puts the exhibits together put what they themselves think they'd like to see, who is important to them, rather than what the people who come to it want.

"People from a refugee background need to see themselves reflected back. People who feel excluded feel alienated. What they want is to see where they are now, that they are part of that society.

"Failing to increase diversity leaves the leaves the People's Palace looking dated and behind the times."

Geoff Ellis, the managing director of DF Concerts, which runs T in the Park, says the museum would be more appealing to younger visitors if it included contemporary music references.

Mr Ellis, who was venue manager at the city's legendary King Tut's the night in 1993 when Oasis begged to go on stage and were later signed, says: "I think the People's Palace definitely needs updating to reflect the last 20 years. A good museum is a combination of modern and ancient. It makes it all a lot easier to take in if their is something from your generation, if not it won't resonate with people.

"I wouldn't remove a photo of Lulu or people like her, but the People's Palace could appeal to more people by highlighting a band like Oasis, one of the biggest bands to come out of the UK and who were signed by Glaswegian Alan McGee. Other bands I'd include would be ones like Sharleen Spiteri and Texas, Franz Ferdinand and Wet Wet Wet.

"King Tut's is very much part of young people's lives, not just because of Oasis but because every city has a venue which plays a vital role and it does it not just for Glasgow but also for Scotland, and must surely be worth a mention in the museum?"

MSP Frank McAveety says: "I've not been to the People's Palace in recent times but I think historically it's had to fight to get its fair share of resources with the jewel in the crown being Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery.

"The challenge is that it doesn't reflect the changing face of the city. There's a broader debate here which I'd like to see developed by people who know what they're talking about. The 'gatekeepers' in this sense are critical.

"But 2014 when the Commonwealth Games come to Glasgow is a real opportunity for us to get it right and reflect the diversity of the city and the Commonwealth."

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, an arm of the council that deals with its museums, says: "We manage 12 museums and one of the most diverse civic collections in Europe, including the St Mungo Museum, which is the only UK museum dedicated to religious life and art.

"There are no less than three displays across our museums which deal with issues related to sectarianism. Indeed, the Gallery of Modern Art recently hosted Blind Faith, a two-year programme of exhibitions, outreach projects, education events and activities aimed at raising awareness and understanding of sectarianism."