{"id":424,"date":"2013-03-04T16:26:30","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T00:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=424"},"modified":"2013-03-04T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-05T00:45:00","slug":"why-does-the-indianapolis-museum-of-art-have-free-admission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/why-does-the-indianapolis-museum-of-art-have-free-admission\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does the Indianapolis Museum of Art have Free Admission?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"free<\/a>Preamble: I know what I don’t know. Specifically, when looking at any arts organization and its menu of prices, I do not have insider knowledge of its current or potential audience, its donors, or its costs. So when I comment on the price structure of any specific museum or other arts firm, I do so only by asking questions, not by advising what it should or should not change. And with that cleared up …<\/p>\n

Why does the Indianapolis Museum of Art have free admission<\/a>? In her neighboring blog, Judith Dobrzynski describes<\/a> the fiscal troubles at the IMA, with layoffs to come. She quotes IMA director Charles Venable as stating there needs to be an increased emphasis on “earned revenue”, and less reliance on endowment. I’ll have to confess that I’ve never understood the free admission policy in the first place. Yes, there are admission fees for special exhibitions, but at the moment all exhibitions are free<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Indianapolis residents are accustomed to paying admission fees. The Indiana State Museum is not free<\/a>, the Eiteljorg Museum is not free<\/a>, the Children’s Museum is emphatically not free<\/a>. So it is not as if competition has driven the IMA to free admission.<\/p>\n

Also, the IMA is not in a location to which one walks. You drive there. Visitors have enough of an investment in wanting to see the art that they are willing to make a journey of it. Which suggests to me that a moderate admission fee would not deter many visitors, given they are already willing to pay a cost in travel time.<\/p>\n

And if the goal is an intended benefit to lower-income people interested in art, I can only direct to my earlier post<\/a> on whether this is the best means of targeting benefits to such folk.<\/p>\n

Again, I don’t know the details of the IMA’s visitors, or other potential sources of revenue. But from the outside at least, the policy is something of a mystery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Preamble: I know what I don’t know. Specifically, when looking at any arts organization and its menu of prices, I do not have insider knowledge of its current or potential audience, its donors, or its costs. So when I comment on the price structure of any specific museum or other arts firm, I do so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[25,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-issues","7":"tag-free","8":"tag-museums","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-6Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1756,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/12\/should-nonprofit-museums-have-free-admission-because-they-are-tax-exempt\/","url_meta":{"origin":424,"position":0},"title":"Should nonprofit museums have free admission because they are tax exempt?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"December 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"No. But Christopher Knight\u00a0at the LA Times thinks they should: Yes, every art museum needs multiple sources of revenue. It does cost money to run the place. However, because they are tax exempt, art museums already count the public as a major, indirect source of revenue. Required admission fees add\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"And everybody should have one","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2304,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2018\/03\/tainted-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":424,"position":1},"title":"Tainted money","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times reports on a stunt by New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz, in which at the Metropolitan Museum of Art he registers his protest of the plaza named for donor David Koch: Mr. Saltz was carrying a long strip of paper that had been printed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"who paid for this?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Met-Museum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Met-Museum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Met-Museum.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2186,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2017\/04\/metrics-at-the-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":424,"position":2},"title":"Metrics at the museum","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Washington Post's Philip Kennicott decided to try visiting the popular Kusama exhibit at the Hirshhorn not as a critic, with all its special viewing privileges, but as an ordinary member of the public. The crowds and the rush, as we might expect, reduced the quality of the experience. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"too many people pulled and pushed around","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/too-many-people.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/too-many-people.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/too-many-people.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/too-many-people.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/02\/museums-amusement-parks-and-cable-tv\/","url_meta":{"origin":424,"position":3},"title":"Museums, Amusement Parks and Cable TV","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Should museums charge visitors according to the length of their visit? \u00a0In a recent paper Bruno Frey and Lasse Steiner argue they should. We pay per hour when we park our cars, so why not when we go to view art? This question came to mind during the recent flare\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"bundling\"","block_context":{"text":"bundling","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/tag\/bundling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"Zero marginal cost, you say?\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Family_watching_television_1958-300x279.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2191,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2017\/04\/on-charging-admission-at-the-met\/","url_meta":{"origin":424,"position":4},"title":"On charging admission at the Met","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times reported that the Metropolitan Museum of Art is looking at options to make its \"suggested\" entry fee into something a little stronger than a hint, at least for people who live outside the city or state. A few years ago Derek Thompson reported that about six\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"i should pay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/met.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/met.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/met.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2287,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2018\/01\/should-museums-have-free-admission\/","url_meta":{"origin":424,"position":5},"title":"Should museums have free admission?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"January 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I won't link to all the stories on the Metropolitan Museum's new policy of charging out-of-state residents $25 for daily admission - if you're reading this you've seen them already. Here are few additional considerations: A common refrain is that the museum can \"afford\" to have free admission for all,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"I see an externality","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/crowded-museum-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}