The Society of Fine Arts and the Locle Museum gets angry

Culture must tighten its belt in Le Locle. The Museums of Fine Arts and the Château des Monts as well as the Col-des-Roches Underground Mills will have to reduce their advertising and promotion. By accepting the Commune's 2025 budget, the general councilors have, in fact, accepted a cut of around 25% of this position. This represents a few thousand francs, 8,000 francs exactly for the Museum of Fine Arts. The institution must also face an increase in its entrance fee. The ticket will thus increase from 10 to 14 francs to adjust it to the entrance fee to the Underground Mills, justifies the Municipal Council.

These decisions anger the Société des Beaux-Arts et du musée du Locle (SBAM). In a press release released in mid-December, the SBAM condemned the choice to reduce the City's participation in its budget. “Through the quality of its programming and the prestige of its press review, [il] brings extraordinary visibility to the city.” “The Museum of Fine Arts is an undeniable showcase of Locle which contributes to the promotion of the town,” argues the vice-president of the SBAM, Pascale Jeanneret.

The SBAM also expresses its incomprehension regarding the 40% increase in the price of entry to the museum. “This goes against MBAL’s proactive and dynamic policy of collaborating with schools and diversifying its audience.”

In its press release, the SBAM assures that it “will redouble its efforts to affirm the importance of the MBAL as a place for promoting a rich and varied collection, but also as a reference institution in Switzerland and abroad for the contemporary art”. At the start of this legislature, society wants to (re)engage in dialogue with the authorities. “There is a desire to strengthen the relationship with the Municipal Council (…) with a view to promoting the presentation of culture in the city as an argument and an asset for the municipality of Le Locle,” explains Pascale Jeanneret.

During the last meeting of the General Council, it was noted that the Municipal Council should have discussed with the museum institutions before making the decision to cut budgets. It is all the more surprising that one of the members of the executive sits on the SBAM committee. Pascale Jeanneret then raises issues of agenda and insufficient discussion time to discuss all the subjects.