The Met’s Future

Last Thursday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art released their numbers for the fiscal year as of June 30, and some surprising results. Since last June, the museum had 5.6 million visitors, 400,000 than the previous year and the most visitors in the past 40 years. This year’s results were bolstered by the magnificent Alexander McQueen exhibition “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” which has seen over 500,000 visitors since it opened in May. This exhibition is scheduled to close August 7^th, and is sure to capture thousands more aiming to get a last look at the masterfully curated collection. Last summer’s extensive exhibition “Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” which housed over 300 works by the artist, was also extremely popular, drawing over 703,000 visitors.

The Met has seen troubled times in the past few years due to the recession and, consequentially, a sharp decrease in NYC tourism. In 2009 they were forced to lay off staff and cut employee benefits while reporting a $8.4 million budget deficit. Although the economic climate is warming, and attendance is increasing, the Met still faces obstacles ahead, as the proposed city budget cuts to cultural organizations could cost the museum half, or $5.4 million, of their current budget for FY 2012. These budget cuts plan to slash funding for dozens of other cultural institutions, including the Bronx Zoo, El Museo de Barrio, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Because of this, the Met has raised its suggested entrance free to $25 from $20 as of July 1^st.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will always be an iconic landmark of the city, and of the most famous museums in the country. And, according to museum director Thomas Campbell, the “biggest bargain in town,” for the estimated cost of each visitor is $40, which is still 40% higher than the suggested donations.  Yet regardless of the daunting challenges it faces, it will always continue to be donation based, and judging from the upcoming exhibitions for 2012-2013, will continue to provide interesting, engaging exhibitions.

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