UK national museums and galleries (MaGs) are organised as non-departmental public bodies to enable them to pursue their desired socio-cultural objectives with minimal interference from the government. This study examines how the UK government controls heterogenous UK national MaGs to insidiously influence their objectives. It uses data collected from published sources and from interviews conducted with sponsors, trustees and senior managers of national MaGs located in London. The findings highlight that the government influences the domain of arts and culture by appointing trustees with similar ‘political’ and ‘business-thinking’ mindsets, using accounting mechanisms, and through direct intervention. When the government's politico-economic desires collided with the decision of the trustees and curators, the government directly intervened to protect its interest. The reduction in government funding and its desire to make MaGs financially independent have resulted in MaGs demanding greater autonomy over spending their self-generated funding to pursue their artistic objectives, potentially shifting accountability relationships and creating new possibilities.

英国国家博物馆和画廊 (MaG) 被组织成非部门的公共机构，以使他们能够在政府干预最小的情况下追求他们想要的社会文化目标。本研究探讨了英国政府如何控制异质的英国国家级高级管理人员以暗中影响他们的目标。它使用从公开来源收集的数据，以及对位于伦敦的国家级 MaG 的赞助商、受托人和高级管理人员进行的采访。调查结果强调，政府通过任命具有类似“政治”和“商业思维”思维方式的受托人、使用会计机制和直接干预来影响艺术和文化领域。当政府的政治经济愿望与受托人和策展人的决定发生冲突时，政府直接干预以保护其利益。政府资助的减少及其使 MaG 财务独立的愿望导致 MaG 要求在将自筹资金用于追求其艺术目标方面拥有更大的自主权，这可能会改变问责关系并创造新的可能性。