Two issues that are current topics of discussion when it comes to museums and their survival are admission fees and board fundraising. How can a museum shift from paid admission (and that income) to offering access for free? And on a bigger topic: what if a museum gets into such financial trouble that the board of directors decides to close the institution?
For this week's blog entry assignment, students can chose either to respond to the Wampler lecture by Save the Corcoran's Jayme McLellan (JMU, November 3, 2015) "How to Make a Museum Disappear in 150 years or Fewer" on the demise of the Corcoran Gallery of Art OR to the online lecture by Maxwell Anderson, Director of the Dallas Art Museum: "Changing the Currency of Museum Membership: Participation v. Cash," part of Rewarding Museum Participation and Learning: New Approaches, Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum, April 23, 2013 (he appears after 2 minutes) https://badgeos.org/rewarding-museum-participation/
Please respond thoughtfully to the ideas and situations presented [particularly considering if you agree or not (Anderson) or what solutions you might have to art museums in situations similar to the Corcoran's], in at least 4 sentences, and post your comments no later than 5 pm, Monday, November 9. Thanks!
I was able to go to the McLellan lecture on November 3, and was really impressed with the entire lecture. She did an excellent job in showing the students the original purpose of the Corcoran Gallery to the untimely death of the gallery and what event happened that lead up to the finsl decision. For the question "How can a museum shift from paid admission (and that income) to offering access for free?", I find it difficult to answer because with the Corcoran, as McLellan said, it was one of the first private museum for the public. That was their initial job and I personally feel like the Corcoran was just trying to uphold this belief. Also, there were nurmerous factors and events that may have played a HUGE factor such as Sept 11, Gehry budget increased, local donor money spent, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs for the last question, "what if a museum gets into such financial trouble that the board of directors decides to close the institution?", this is where things get a bit complicated because when McLellan was speaking there seemed to be plenty of options of saving the Corcoran that didn't happen.
Though Anderson does seem to be very financially minded, I think the program he initiated and the ways in which he’s viewed the DMA’s role in the community is amazing. To be able to make the shift between looking at currency and value in monetary terms to participatory terms, as well as being related to the breadth of the audience is something pretty novel and worth looking further into (in capacities other than museums as well, I think). I think it’s important to note that Anderson also seems pretty good at looking at the gritty truth of the situation. For example, one thing that was very surprising to me was the idea that a membership less than $100 actually costs the museum money. So many would simply see any money coming in as a good thing, but he was able to step back and objectively assess whether these institutionalized processes were even worth having. It’s this kind of thinking, I think, that could save museums in the future.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that also occurred to me while watching this was the notion of volunteering. With a membership and activity-based program such as this, it seems as though it would be a great deal easier to harness the energy in the museum to not only convert people to donors, but also into active volunteers or docents. Volunteers save the museum time and money and perhaps docent training or something could be allocated a spot on the rewards system.
A museum could make the shift from paid admission to free admission by making up for that income in some way. The institution could fundraise or convince a donor or company to sponsor the cost of admission with a generous donation, or they could do something similar to what the VMFA does, which is offer free general admission and charge only for their special exhibitions. A point that Maxwell Anderson made in his talk was that cash follows participation- he claimed that a museum should focus on increasing participation and not solely on gaining revenue, because an increase in revenue will follow an increase in visitor participation naturally. His new membership program reflects this way of thinking- the program is free and open to anyone, and the visitor can earn badges to get rewards by participating (participation yields rewards, not money). This program benefits the museum “magnify[ing] visitor behavior,” and opens museum membership and participation to a much wider audience than ever before. One problem with this program is that it may start to become all about the rewards system, instead of actually looking at and taking in the art (which makes sense, as Anderson is not an artist but a businessman). However, it may not be all bad news- although visitors may start out just wanting to earn points and rewards, if the museum becomes a place that is relevant to them and is ingrained in their routine and life, they are much more likely to eventually come to appreciate the art than if they never even came in the door in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Anderson's approach to museums and the efforts that the DMA is taking to up participation with their visitors. I think the "points" system is something that you can find almost everywhere these days, because people know it is successful. I would love if one of my favorite museums (like the Smithsonian) had a thing where I could check in and earn rewards. Successful apps exist like shopkick where you get points just for walking in the door, and eventually those points can be converted to gift cards to whatever store you want. Even Dominos pizza has an app now where you get points for buying food and once you have 60 points, you get free pizza!
ReplyDeletePeople love free stuff and will often times do what they can to get that stuff. When I visited Manassas National Military Park over the summer, the book store had an initiative to "like" their page on Facebook and you'd get a coupon to use in the bookstore...suddenly a quick visit to the battlefield turned into my mom and I dropping about 40 dollars (because we saved at least 20 on books).
This seems like a really big innovative idea for museums, and in a lot of ways brings the museum into the 21st century without having to use iPads to interface with artwork.
I agree with Anderson's response to attendance and membership activity by making admission free and having volunteer sign-up for payment. The whole idea of points tends to work well in other forms of media and entertainment, so in theory (and apparently in practice) this same method transfers over well to the world of museums. It is good to have the museum free, as it allows visitors to get a sense of what is offered BEFORE asking for payment and if they like what they see, they are more likely to offer payment for membership and become a repeat visitor. This process overall is a great idea, as it gets a larger population of people through the doors and provides the museum with information that can better the success of everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteMuseums such as the MoMA ask for an entrance fee. But lets say that they wanted to take steps in order to go from entrance fee to free entrance. In order for museums to do this they must first think about how they are going to get the money they get from entrance fees and get it from another source. This could include getting the money from sponsors or donors or having fundraisers. Having the museums fundraise money that they would have gotten from entrance fees. One of the things that he talks about is the point system. Or what we might know as a rewards card. We see these everywhere. At Kohls, Sephora, American eagle, etc. It already surrounds our every day lives so why not bring it into the museum. The goal of this is that a museums mission should not be about money or income, but it should be about getting the visitors to interact with the museum. The card focuses on bringing people in yet it can also be a source or income for the museum. This is a smart way of bringing in people and keeping them. People like what they like, and all people love rewards.
ReplyDeleteI think Anderson's new approach of getting people in the door is one that all museums should strongly consider. What I enjoy most about the Maxwell Anderson's Free Membership program is that money is in no way the museum's first objective. Instead of focusing on a profit, the DMA is zeroing in on how they can make art more relevant into their participant's lives. In order to do so, the DMA created "Friends," a free membership program where the members are each given a card that can be used to earn points through visiting exhibits and participating in various activities. The point system is a smart way of bringing technology into museums without distracting the members away from the art.
ReplyDeleteI think it is definitely easier for a museum to shift from paid admission to free admission, rather than the other way around. A museum could start by having certain days or times of the year be free admission - and after doing that they could experiment with going for free admission full time if that worked for their financial situation. I think this really could have helped the Corcoran. Without an admission price, they could have attracted many more visitors, especially people that walked into the gallery. With such a pricey admission price many visitors probably left and went to the National Gallery, which is free admission!
ReplyDeleteWith a board that wants to close the institution because of financial trouble, I think there are many options. They definitely need to contact donors, and board members need to either be able to come up with constructive ideas, donate money themselves, or be removed from the board. A toxic board would ruin any institution. The director and anyone who wants to save the institution should reach out to the AAM for support as well. Also, if they are going to file for a court case- they should definitely have a plan of who could fill in or replace board members. As well, trying to attract new members, perhaps for free could bring in lots more people. As well, they should try to showcase the art that they already have in their collections in fun new ways. Over-expansion is definitely a museum killer, but de-accesioning pieces or closing the museum completely without trying out all of the options should not be an acceptable answer. This lack of creativity and will to keep the museum alive was a major killer for the Corcoran.
I believe that Anderson has created a wonderful and innovative(in the museum world) way of getting participation up. The use of the point system is such a common and well-known aspect that it is easy for people to understand, which means people are more likely to be accepting of it. It is also something that I can see appealing to the middle school and high school age group- a group that is extremely hard to get involved in museum activities. My only concern is the aspect of a free membership program. I feel like this could get the museum into financial struggles in the future given that donations ARE NOT a guarantee.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Anderson has created a wonderful and innovative(in the museum world) way of getting participation up. The use of the point system is such a common and well-known aspect that it is easy for people to understand, which means people are more likely to be accepting of it. It is also something that I can see appealing to the middle school and high school age group- a group that is extremely hard to get involved in museum activities. My only concern is the aspect of a free membership program. I feel like this could get the museum into financial struggles in the future given that donations ARE NOT a guarantee.
ReplyDeleteI agreed with Maxwell Anderson's concept on how to fulfill multiple goals of the museum. His "points" system is a great way to get visitor participation while also gaining profits for the museum. The DMA Friends system is similar to many systems that people are familiar with already. With it being similar, many will not feel intimidated or scared to sign up. Also, having the system be free makes more people want to join because then they will not see it as a loss as they could have if they had paid for it. This also increases the range of different types of participators that can only help the museum please their audiences. The more participation leads to more rewards for the museum. This program would be great for many museums that are struggling to increase both their participation and profits.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Anderson's changes to the Dallas Museum or Art can be seen as controversial due to him taking away the basic membership levels, I believe DMA Friends was an amazingly effective way to have active participation in the museum and the numbers of membership increased significantly. Humans naturally respond positively to an achievement system so the addition of badges to the program make the audience feel like they are accomplishing something great every time they get a new badge or check in around the museum. I feel like people will be more willing to donate money if they had a free or cheaper admission because they would feel like they are not getting robbed from an overpriced membership and they are giving back. DMA Friends also allows for the museum to track the demographics of the audience coming to see what exhibits, what people find interesting and how often members are returning. This can allow for better exhibits at the museum based on popularity and can help the museum target a certain audience in advertising and educational programs. I believe Anderson did a great job implementing the new membership program at the the Dallas Museum of Art.
ReplyDeleteI found Anderson's approach very effective and it appealed to many visitors. One way that the DMA friends is a good way to get people to become a member is by targeting the families. The fact that the kids are the ones signing up for the parents on the iPads, I find very interesting. It engages not only the adults but then there is the kids getting involved. By targeting certain demographics and monitoring the activity of said visitors you can accommodate for those people, which in turn will have them become more frequent visitors. The point system is a great way to spark interest. I know my parents love rewards and if they aren't paying for admission each time they would be more likely to become members.
ReplyDeleteLastly, if a museum is starting to go under I feel it's important for them to not panic. Appeal to the members and try to boost donations; but try not to resort to selling items or renevations.