http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/arts/design/detroit-institute-of-arts-county-millage-tax-approved.html
The above article deals with the win for the Detroit Institute of Art in a vote passed to raise property tax in a few counties in an effort to specifically have money go back into the museum. The DIA (Detroit Institute of Art) was literally in danger of shutting it's doors down before this had happened. At a cost of 15 dollars for every house hold a year, I think it's well worth it. I also believe that the residents in those counties get free admission to the museum and educational programs. That's huge! In St Louis I remember taking field trips to the St Louis Art Museum...it was something that we all looked forward too. I was able to take classes at the Museum and was even an assistant art teacher one summer. From reading the article, the museum in St. Louis also gets some revenue from property taxes.
I have to be honest and say that I've never really thought about how an Art Museum really makes it's money, sure they have admission, programs, and a gift shop....but it seems like in most cases it's not enough. I'm glad the people in Detroit chose to support the museum. Things like this affect us all as artists and educators. If it had closed I couldn't imagine all of the kids and tourist that would no longer be able to visit, and the educators that would no longer have a job there.
really interesting piece, roosevelt. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletemuseums rely heavily on patrons not just for funding, but for volunteers, word of mouth, etc. and they have done it in the past based on an almost exclusively 'inherent value of culture' argument. looks like it is paying off in that the community at large are willing to support it through an increase in property taxes. i'm really curious to see if there's any kind of bump in attendance now that people are paying into the museum.
I think it will be since the whole ordeal was so heavily publicized and people agreed to the tax increase. Also with an added bonus of being able to attend the museum at no charge and participate in various educational programs, will also get people into the building.
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