To charge or what to charge?
As museums in Boston and New York put up prices, we ask who charges, and why
By Helen Stoilas and Charlotte Burns From issue 227, September 2011
Published online 26 Sep 11 (Museums)
The debate over museum entry fees was reignited following the news that both the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York—already the country’s most expensive museums to visit—were both raising their general entry fees, from $20 to $25. Earlier this year, the Metro¬politan Museum of Art announced a hike in its suggested admission, also from $20 to $25.
The Art Newspaper surveyed 30 of the nation’s leading museums and discovered an ideological split, with some focusing on revenue generation and others stressing the museum’s role as a community—and free—resource.
Unlike the United Kingdom, where national museums have free entry, institutions in the US take several different approaches, seemingly based on geography. Museums in major cities, especially those that attract tourists, by and large charge for entry. Their counterparts in areas with fewer international tourists or which rely on local visitors are more likely to be free because they need those visitors to return.
Nearly half the museums surveyed do not charge general admission. With a few exceptions, those that charge only for special exhibitions made less than 1% of the total operating budget through ticket sales. In contrast, museums that issue a general entry fee earned an average of 9.5% of their budgets this way.
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