Accessibility and Inclusion Blog Post

 

https://nypost.com/2022/06/28/the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-is-nycs-priciest-museum/

Accessibility and Inclusion Blog Post

By: Nate Finegold

    Museums are known for their historical significance and their ability to transport its patrons into different worlds. If you were ever a kid growing up in public school, you have most likely had field trips to local museums to get a more hands-on approach to learning. One thing you might not have noticed as a kid, is the fees to get into the museum in the first place. Nowadays, as an adult, if you go to a museum to explore these different worlds you will notice that the museum fees have gotten a bit pricier. 

    Now of course museums are affordable for most middle-class people, on average an adult ticket will costs around 20-25$, with some variance depending on location. This is not an insanely high fee, but for people living paycheck to paycheck, that may be the difference in eating that night (Rushton). This article was posted over ten years ago and many of the issues noted have actually gotten worse since then. If museums want to be pillars in the community and offer a learning experience like no other, to all, then how do they justify their higher prices? 

    Most of the money spent on tickets to a museum go straight to upkeep as well as employees’ salaries, so it is important that money is flowing into museums. This begs the question; can museums continue to a be a public service while charging everyone expensive prices? To understand this, we first must understand that most museums get their funding from either the government, or private donations. The United States government give 47.5 million dollars to museums and libraries yearly, which is an astonishing low number (AAMS). They do not solely rely on ticket sales; however, they are integral to the business of museums. Museums need a steady flow of income to survive, but is charging higher prices a good way to go about it? 

    In order to keep attendance in museums up while still being able to collect money, museums have an option to make the admission itself free, but proposing a donation of the same price in order to keep the museum going. This way people can still help the museum and it still makes money, but it doesn't restrict anyone of a lower income class to attend the museums. For people who can genuinely not afford the museum but still want to share in its knowledge, this opens the door to them and their families, with the museum still being able to collect the fees from the optional donations. Another way around this is museums having 'variable pricing' or specific deals on specific days, like the Frick Museum, which has free admission on the first Friday of every month. Other museums have policies that let kids under 18 always get in for free. These efforts have been well received and keep the museum above water financially while also creating life long fans of museums (Grant). 

    While these efforts of making museums more available to everyone in the general public has a lot of support around the country, many believe that the prices for museums are entirely justified. As Michael Rushton puts it, " I can take my three children to see one of the greatest collections of visual art in the world for about the same family price as taking them to see The Croods this weekend. It would cost me less than a family lunch at our local Applebee’s." He brings up a good point, the value of some museums requires the price point to be set where it is, and if you compare other price points of certain entertainment then you can see that museum's aren't really that expensive in comparison. However, one thing he doesn't seem to understand is that museums offer something for everyone in the public, and museums should be enjoyed by all. Some people cannot physically afford to go to a museum, or go to see a new movie in theatres. They might be only able to afford a lunch at Applebee's and if it’s a choice between feeding their kids and the museum they are going to pick feeding their kids. Many of these other options he brings up are luxuries, while museums are supposed to be a public service intended for everyone. It has also been proven that museums, are important for development, education, and connecting communities (Hill). Museums can be a solution not a problem in these scenarios. By adopting pricing practices talked about earlier, museums can be a community pillar and offer free, fun, learning experiences for all, while also still being able to keep their finances stable.

 

 

Works Cited

Grant, D. (2017, March 15). The admission fees are too damn high. Observer. https://observer.com/2017/03/rising-admission-fees-museums-moma-met/

Hill (2020, January 15). What are the benefits of visiting a museum?. Hill Aerospace Museum. https://www.aerospaceutah.org/what-are-the-benefits-of-visiting-a-museum/#:~:text=Museums%20preserve%20and%20exhibit%20important,teach%2C%20inspire%20and%20connect%20communities.

Museum Services funding. aam-us.org. (n.d.). https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IMLS-2022-Issue-Brief-April.pdf

Miller, B. (2022, June 28). This is now the most expensive museum in New York City. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2022/06/28/the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-is-nycs-priciest-museum/

Rushton, M. (2013, March 26). Museums are not expensive. For What It’s Worth. https://www.artsjournal.com/worth/2013/03/museums-are-not-expensive/