New York’s great museums could do better
The most basic element of accessibility [for museums] is to be open for as long as possible, to allow as many people as possible to visit
By David Gordon From issue 227, September 2011
Published online 26 Sep 11 (Opinion)
Museums like to say they welcome everybody yet they charge for admission and restrict opening days and hours. The biggest and best, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, raised its “recommended” admission price by 25% to a hefty $25 on 1 July. It was swiftly followed by New York’s other leading museum, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which increased its non-voluntary admission price to the same level from 1 September. Both museums are closed for one day a week. Are they setting a bad example?
On admission charges, the answer is no. On opening times, the answer is yes.
At first sight, the New York giants charge more than most. At recent exchange rates, $25 was the equivalent of €17—70% higher than the €10 charged by the Musée du Louvre and the Museo Nacional del Prado and infinitely more than the free admission to the national museums in London. However, New York museums include special exhibitions in the price of entry, whereas Tate Modern, for example, is charging £15.50 (about $25, or €18) for its Miró exhibition, and the Louvre €11 ($16, £10) for temporary exhibitions in the Salle Napoléon. The Prado includes temporary exhibitions for €10, but gives visitors the option of seeing the permanent collection for only €8.
European museums, being mostly state-supported, tend to offer free or inexpensive entry to their collections but differential pricing for exhibitions. This gives visitors a choice, and accords with logic. Exhibitions are expensive one-offs that justify an extra charge.
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