03/25/2013

Art Museums Changing with the Times

"Art museums, seeking the repeat and committed visitor, are experimenting with new ways to cultivate a closer relationship with the public—and, in essence, to become a welcoming extension of the living room, rather than a stiff, Sunday-best excursion.

The Dallas Museum of Art recently decided to offer free general admission and a no-cost 'friends' membership, aiming to encourage broader involvement and interest, said its director, Maxwell L. Anderson. Others, like the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, are trying to entice members into exploring their interest in particular collections, like contemporary American or African art.

Museums are relying less on attention-getting art or blockbuster exhibits and re-examining how they relate to the public as they compete with other kinds of entertainment, according to experts. While science museum and aquarium attendance remains strong, art museums are seeing mostly flat growth, with spikes in visitors for extraordinarily popular exhibitions like the recent 'Picasso Black and White' at the Guggenheim.

Museums are also finding that as baby boomers age and their money goes to other purposes or other generations, the institutions need to cultivate new groups as bases of support.

Mr. Anderson says he is upending the museum-world conventions of paid entry and paid basic membership in an attempt to bring in people who might find a museum visit too costly."

The New York Times 03/20/2013