A fuller picture of how Covid-19 lockdowns affected museum
revenue is beginning to emerge, with international museums starting to reveal
just how much they lost last year. The Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid
reported on Monday that it sustained a 75.5 percent decrease in revenue in
2020, ending the financial year with a loss of 18.5 million euros ($22
million).
The lockdown provoked an unprecedented drop-off in
attendance, with an 84 percent decline in ticket sales and a 90 percent decline
in sales at the museum’s store and restaurants.
The Prado was hardly the only European museum to sustain
major losses in revenue in 2020. The Musée du Louvre—the world’s most popular
art museum—saw 72% drop in visitors last year. To mitigate losses, some have
resorted to creative means. The Uffizi Galleries in Florence began minting NFTs
of Renaissance artworks in its holdings to soften the blow of massive drops in
attendance.
Within U.S. museums, the effects of the pandemic were
equally destructive. Three quarters of American institutions saw their
operating income diminish by 40 percent or more. Nearly half of respondents in
a 2021 survey conducted by the American Alliance of Museums cut staff during
the pandemic. On average, these museums reduced their workforce by 29 percent.
Only 44 percent of respondents expected to rehire lost workers.
Slowly, institutions in the U.S. have begun to recover.
According to the same AAM survey, only 15 percent of museums remain at high
financial risk. When a similar survey was conducted in October, a third of
museum directors believed their institutions might close permanently.
Nevertheless, both the government funding of 15.2 million
euros and the corporate and individual support of 3.8 million euros remained
consistent with prior years.
Prev | [NEWS] Getty Trust President James Cuno to Retire After a Decade |
---|---|
Next | [INTERVIEW] Interview with CARMEN D'APOLLONIO |
List |