Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The museums open 7/7: a plus for the audience, but at what cost? – Le Nouvel Observateur

The museums open 7/7: a plus for the audience, but at what cost? – Le Nouvel Observateur

open daily museums? This is the project that the government wants to impose the Louvre, Orsay and Versailles. The implementation of this system should be phased between 2015 and 2017, after “personal consultation” says the Ministry of Culture and Communication.

In the major capitals of the world, many museums have already adopted this approach: among them, the Metropolitan Museum and MoMA in New York, the Prado in Madrid, the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern and Tate Britain in London

. Is the game worth the candle?

But these daily openings have a cost because it will certainly provide new jobs (including guards). The Ministry of Culture said that the increase in museum attendance will increase their revenue. But will it be enough? At the Louvre, for example, attendance declined between 2012 and 2013 (9.2 million visitors against 9.7 million visitors). In 2014, it is likely that this trend will continue, the number of temporary exhibitions have been reduced … for reasons of economy in particular.

At the same time, the budget of the Ministry of Culture was also amputated (-4% in 2013, 2% in 2014 and should be stabilized for the next three years). One may wonder whether in these circumstances the daily opening will allow sufficient guarantees in respect of expenditure it would require revenues. The public, it should be appreciated anyway.

For the record, recall that at the time of its opening in 1793, the Louvre (then known as the Central Museum of the Arts Republic) was opened to the public on Sundays, other days are reserved for artists. A practice that lasted until 1855 …

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