What is the role of the French Federation of Associations of Friends of Museums (FFSAM)?
When it was created in 1973, it was with the aim of facilitating the exchange of experiences between Friends of museums. At its beginnings, the federation only brought together around thirty or forty associations. Then that number skyrocketed. Today it brings together 300 member associations, knowing that there are 800 or 900 nationally. Beyond this catalytic role, it also brings the common concerns of the Friends of Museums to the institutional level, mainly to the Ministry of Culture with which we work closely.
More concretely, what actions are you taking?
We carry out a certain number of them in the service of associations. For five years now, a legal and tax center has been set up to handle all their individual requests. We also provide them with many tools. For example, a reference document, developed with the French Museums service and the Ministry of Culture, which sets out the main principles governing good relations between museums and Friends of Museums. We have also published a guide which summarizes the administrative and tax information you need to know to set up an association, but which is also used on a daily basis for those that already exist.
From your position as an observer, do you perceive an evolution in the role of Friends of Museum associations?
Yes, their role has evolved considerably! Fifty years ago, it mainly boiled down to support for cultural development through patronage. Today, this support also involves organizing conference cycles in parallel or instead of the museum, by participating in the restoration of works, in research into their provenance, etc. And the associations also support their museum in other areas. On the one hand, by helping to promote it via their networks. And on the other hand, by developing actions aimed at the public, in particular activities aimed at schools, penitentiary centers or even nursing homes (medical retirement homes, editor’s note). Since these associations support extremely diverse museums, their actions are just as diverse.
What challenges do they have to face?
The main problem they encounter is the aging of their members. When the boards of directors include people aged 75, 80, 85, renewal becomes essential. However, associations often have difficulty finding replacements. Some die out, quite simply because there is now less appetite to take responsibility than in the past.
As a federation, what is your strategy to diversify the profile of these members?
We must at all costs move away from this image according to which “Friends of Museums is a small community club”. Our first axis is therefore to develop intergenerationally by implementing actions to help associations diversify. When we revised our statutes, we included provisions to allow young people to access governing bodies. And the “Young Friends” project is one of the federation’s flagship projects. The idea is to create sections within the associations which bring together young people aged 18 to 35. They are “friends” like the others, with the same rights, but who set up their own cultural activities. And it’s very motivating! Young people feel more legitimate in their actions, they can test systems… Today there are more than twenty-five sections, which bring together 700 members. We now plan to launch a working group on how to attract and retain working people aged 35-55. And then there is also the whole issue of social diversification. It’s more complex, because it involves looking for people who don’t necessarily have a museum culture.
