DATELINE: May 27, 2009, Chicago
Sandra Guy of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting today that the Art Institute of Chicago is considering the elimination of its admission fee. In Free, No Fee at the Art Institute?
We had the good fortune to visit the Art Institute’s new modern wing on opening day. Admission was free, as it was for the next six days. Admission to the second largest art museum in the country then was to return to $18 ($16 for city residents). That number had been reduced from $20 following vocal objections to a raise in admission fees that was tied to the opening of the new wing.
Now Art Institute Director James Cuno is proposing that admission be eliminated, restoring the pre-2006 status quo. The Sun-Times reports that the board has been playing with the idea for the last six to eight months. The plan would be for the Art Institute to raise $250 million in permanent endowment. The income from the fund would then be used to fund free admission.
We are sure that many populists will applaud the proposal, but adoption of this proposal would be...
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a colossal mistake. It perpetuates the myth that resources are free. They aren’t.
The obvious, but legitimate, argument against free admission is the cost of everything else. Why should the Art Institute be free when people routinely pay $10 for a movie, $75 for a single-day admission to Disney World, $150 for a Broadway musical, $50 for a round of golf, or $100 to a baseball game? Let’s not forget that the admission prices for these items all cover the cost of providing the services and then some (profit). Museums that push the $20 current top admission price still aren’t covering their costs. For some reason that we don’t quite understand, the chronically underfunded arts should be free while everyone is happy to pay for everything else.
It also is worth noting that a family of four (children under 14) can visit the museum an unlimited number of times per year for just an $80 membership fee. At four visits a year, that drops the cost to $5 per family member for each visit. One thing is for sure, if the Art Institute drops the admission fee, it can kiss the bulk of its membership fees good-bye, including our membership, which we will drop to protect this reckless and unwarranted move.
There are other reasons for scuttling Cuno’s proposal. Most important, charitable dollars are finite. So the $250 million isn’t free money. Those who fund the $250 million endowment could use their charitable dollars to fund other charitable activities. There are two ways to look at the opportunity cost. First, we can look at it as internal cost to the Art Institute. This is $250 million that could just as easily be used to endow an acquisition fund or provide scholarships or residencies to students and artists. Everybody living today loves the fact that a century ago, the people of Chicago had the foresight to assemble one of the great collections of Impressionist paintings. As our generation enjoys the gifts of those who came before us, shouldn’t we think about future generations? A $250 million endowment would permit the Art Institute to buy $12.5 million of contemporary art each year. With the right curators, future generations will be able to thank us for our foresight. In short, $250 million represents a fund to grow the collection or support students and artists.
There also is the external cost. A new capital campaign by the Art Institute has a crowding out effect. When the Art Institute raises money, some of that money represents funds that might have gone to other institutions. There are plenty of worthy candidates in the world of Chicago culture that could use a portion of the $250 million. The Chicago Symphony, numerous theatre and dance companies, and smaller arts museums come quickly to mind. While we are grateful that the Art Institute built the new wing, that effort drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the philanthropic community. Let's not forget cash-strapped social service agencies.
Isn't it time for the Art Institute to enjoy the fruits of its fundraising and allow others to fundraise? Just because the Art Institute has the marquee power to muscle smaller cultural groups out for funding doesn’t mean that doing so is responsible.
We understand the concern about making the Art Institute available to everyone. Many of those who walk through the Art Institute’s doors can afford to pay the admission. For them, the choice was a Cubs game, a movie, a round of golf, or the Art Institute. The Art Institute can easily address the needs of those who are less fortunate through free admission days, as do many museums around the world. It could make one day per week free and one Saturday or Sunday a month free. On those days, it could ask more prosperous visitors to voluntarily pay what they can afford.
At the end of the day, those who use the Art Institute’s facilities should contribute to the cost of upkeep. An admission fee is necessary and warranted. By demanding and expecting free admission, the current generation does what it does best—rob future generations of resources by refusing to pay for this generation’s current use of resources. Moreover, by demanding free admission, the selfish current generation takes resources from other institutions, which include not only cultural institutions, but social service agencies.
And now a word from W.C. Fields: And while the Art Institute’s board of trustees is making decisions, it should ban baby strollers and babies from the museum’s galleries. They are a nuisance that detract from the quality of the visitor’s experience. We don’t expect that to happen until one of those strollers rams into somebody and their head goes through a priceless canvas, but it should happen sooner.
| THE FOREGOING IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS LEGAL ADVICE. IF LEGAL ADVICE IS REQUIRED, THE NONPROFIT OR OTHER PARTY IN QUESTION SHOULD SEEK THE ADVICE OF QUALIFIED LEGAL COUNSEL.
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