NY Metropolitan Museum of Art is raising its prices to $20/adult ticket

[itzamirakul]

making it possibly the most expensive museum in the world to visit.

How wonderful were the days when museums were absolutely FREE.

Wondeer when they will start charging admission to enter Central Park?



Edit for wording.

[XanaDUer]

1. Shit

Wasn't that donation at one time?

[qanda]

3. I believe it still is

Here's a link to the story. The fee is just suggested, not obligatory. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/arts/design/13met.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1152785359-2sPVCBLirRvMdqq8BBiynQ

[ncrainbowgrrl]

6. That suggestion doesn't sit well with me.

I suggest that my wallet is empty and I'll pay what I can when I go.

[theHandpuppet]

11. Try that the next time you go to a restaurant, ball game or concert

I really don't get people's attitudes on this issue -- I really don't.

[REP]

12. Look On The Bright Side

Fewer "Screaming Baby and Out-of-Contol Toddler" Days in the future.

$20 is a bargain. Until you get to the gift shop!

[DoYouEverWonder]

16. I went to HS in NYC

There were many afternoons after school that I would walk to MMA after school and get lost in there for hours. If it wasn't free I would have been hanging out on the streets and getting in trouble instead and would have never been exposed all the wonderful art that is housed there.

[theHandpuppet]

19. I'm certainly not undervaluing the benefits of art to a society

On the contrary! But I'm underwhelmed by public support for the arts and the attitude that artists of all types should work for free so Joe Blow can be free to spend his money at a ball park where men are paid millions of dollars a year to swing a wooden stick. When's the last time a union worker declared whether or not he should get paid depended upon donations from the public or the philanthropy of his employer? But artists are supposed to beg for their bread?

If people want arts for all, then they have to be willing to take action to make sure art and arts programs have the funding they need to survive. And not just on a national level, but on a state and local level and in the nation's public schools. How many schools have had their art classes reduced or slashed altogether? How many of you know the status of federal funding for the arts? How many have contacted their representatives concerning funding for the arts or made contributions themselves? Do people think this stuff happens by magic?

Here are links to just a few selected articles -- there are dozens for anyone interested in this subject.

http://www.princetoninfo.com/200303/30312p03.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june97/arts_3-10.html
http://www.austinist.com/archives/2006/03/31/funding_for_the_arts_in_texas_threatened.php
http://www.collegeart.org/advocacy/000145/
https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/forum/thread/153


" Our economy is measured in numbers and statistics, and it's very important. But the enduring worth of our nation lies in our shared values and our soaring spirit. So instead of cutting back on our modest effort to support the arts and humanity, I believe we should stand by them and challenge our artists, musicians--challenge our museums, libraries, and theaters." -- President William Jefferson Clinton

[ncrainbowgrrl]

30. Same...I also would go to MMA either after school or on weekends

and draw, see art that I didn't understant, see art I liked, and art I could have done without. But it was part of my education, nonetheless. :hi:

[itzamirakul]

8. Yes, but visitors are made to feel that they "must" or "should" pay.

You have to get in line and talk to the ticket seller who does not inform you that it is a "suggested donation." Being a senior I could go in free, I guess, but they make one feel cheap for not paying.
And I love visiting museums. Sometimes I take a sketch pad and some colored pencils. Then I get one of those little folding stools from the lower level and I go around making sketches of the art works that I really love. It's a great way to spend a day.

[qanda]

10. I know what you mean

Even the article points out that most visitors don't know it's a suggested fee, I was just pointing out that it's still not obligatory. I went to the Met when they had the Jackie O exhibit, it was just wonderful. I hope to go back again this year.

[Sherman A1]

2. Thankfully

Our local museums (in St. Louis Forest Park) have some free areas or days when they are free for the exhibits. Not everything local does that, but I think it's a good idea. Certainly money is always an issue, but I think the museums like libraries have a responsibility to the public in their areas to serve all, not just the ones who can fork over the cost of admission.

[theHandpuppet]

14. They also have a responsibility to pay their employees

Not to mention the overhead to operate the building and maintain or add to their collections. When's the last time some of you contributed to your local libraries or museums? Do you know how many libraries and museums (and local symphonies) across the country are closing their doors for lack of funds? When's the last time you wrote to your representatives concerning the slashing of funds for the arts?

It's amazing what people will pay for a day's entertainment without question, whether that be a trip to Disneyworld, a Broadway show, or for an afternoon at a ball game, but presume that a day with great art or literature should be free of charge "as a public service". Surely that would be nice, but it won't happen without public and government support. A suggested donation of $20 to visit one of the world's great museums shouldn't be subject to the kind of peevishness I've seen on this thread.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. Somehow I don't think the MET is hurting

There are many other ways to bring in funding to support themselves and still let the less fortunate people of NY continue to enjoy something that until the early 70's was FREE to the public.

Yes, I know the donation is 'suggested' but they sure make it seem that it's not.

[theHandpuppet]

18. You aren't getting my point

LOTS of activities should be free to the public, but try telling that to George Steinbrenner (for instance). Why is it that folks believe only art should be free, while they'll pay through the nose for other fleeting entertainments and not think twice about it.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. Steinbrenner is very generous when it comes to the arts

A few years ago he wrote a personal check for $70,000 to help keep the FL Folk Festival alive. I guess all those folks who love baseball better then music ended up paying for it anyway.

[theHandpuppet]

21. Let's turn the tables, then

Let folks pay to visit their museums so artists can make a living wage and any leftover profits can be donated to Yankee Stadium so George and the boys from the Bronx can offer free admission to the public for all ball games and the museum can get a hefty tax writeoff for the donation. After all, I'm sure there are other ways Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada et al can raise money to make their living.

[DoYouEverWonder]

25. When I was 14-18

I spent a lot of time roaming the streets of NYC. At the time, I didn't have anything better to do and I had no money in my pocket so my options were limited.

1. You could go home to a 4 room apartment and listen to people scream at each other all day.
2. Go hang out in the park and get high with your friends.
3. Go spend the day at a museum or library.

If #3 wasn't free it wouldn't have even been an option.

I understand better then most that the arts do not get the support they deserve. However, I do put my money where my mouth is and I currently sit on my local Cultural Affairs Board and volunteer at the FL Folk Festival. I have promoted folk music for over over 30 years and continue to house and present traveling musicians. I do all of this for free.

However, if it wasn't for the easy access to the arts when I was young, maybe I'd still be hanging down in the park instead?

[theHandpuppet]

27. The world needs thousands more like you!!

You set an example for all to follow! :-)

But in order for all of our citizens to have that "easy access to the arts" we have to determine, as a society, that arts are not just important to a healthy society but VITAL. Funding for the arts is being slashed to the bone but some folks still demand the same kind of free access and quality they knew years ago. Until we demand that this nation spends as much on its arts as it does on its wars the cultural future for this society looks pretty bleak. This action must reach from the grassroots level (as you have done) to the halls of Congress.

[itzamirakul]

40. As far as I know, most of the artists whose work is being displayed

at the Met are dead. No way to pay THEM.

Many of those artists are unknown, like the Egyptian exhibits....

I did not post this subject to quarrel about how much sports and entertainment figures earn. Those activities have never been free to the best of my knowledge. But then, I was never very much of a sports fan anyway. While my dad and granddad were listening to the Cleveland Indians win the World Series in 1948, I was at the neighborhood library trying to convince the "library lady" as Ruthie calls her, to allow me to borrow books from the teen section because I had already read nearly everything in the children's section.

I have been an artist for nearly sixty years and a professional (paid) artist for over forty years. Yet I have provided my art free on many occasions so that those who are unable to pay could still have the opportunity of being exposed to it.

Sure, "Times, they are a' changin'" I realize that, but sometimes one can still disagree while watching it happen.

[itzamirakul]

39. Certainly the people you mention must be paid, but I can't help

but wonder if you have seen the astronomical sums paid to the top directors and curators? Some of them are paid like they work for the oil industries.

For several years I sat on one of the panels for the NYS Council on the Arts. As artists, the panel members read proposals, discussed the desired grant requested and either okayed the amount requested or designated a lesser amount. There was never a year that I was there when the MMA did not get every penny they asked for. They are funded by other arts and social sciences organizations also- city, state and national government agencies.

I'm happy that I have lived in an American society where such places as museums and libraries were free and available for people of all income levels. As time goes on and new American families come from other places around the globe, they often don't understand or respect a need for such places to be available for all. It is one more symbol of the selfishness that is infecting this country. One cannot blame the newer-comers because they often come from places that don't share the same values as we have shared in the great country. Everyone feels that he should be paid top dollar for every single job. The MMA has scores of volunteers that deal with the public from selling admission tickets to checking hats and coats. I would venture to say that they have a relatively small, but extremely high-paid staff.

Not only do I gladly donate to MMA, but I also have lunch there, supporting them in that way as well.
The museum also rents out the entire enormous building to the very wealthy for the weddings of their spoiled princesses etc. This should bring in a great deal of money as well. Of course, most people whose daughters get married there are also members of the Board of Directors and who knows if they pay or not?

As far as screaming children are concerned, I have to tell you that I have never had the problem of encountering such a family. On my visits to the museum, (which are sometimes several hours long) the parents and teachers and nannies who bring youngsters have taken great care to be sure their charges were well-behaved.

Those who consider a post that decries the escalation of ticket price to a state government funded facility to be peevish might well be thought of themselves as being selfish, snobbish and elitist. It is people like this who consider places like art museums to be too good for the average citizen and who prefer that such places be kept sacrosanct for only "special folks" who can afford such prices. What a shameful way for an American citizen to react.

As far as Broadway shows are concerned...most of them have discount tickets available, especially for students. I have taken classes to see plays such as Miss Saigon for as little as $10/per. Why must a Broadway play charge a fee? They do not get public funding. Not many kids of average households get to see Broadway plays at $100/per. I also don't know how manuy of them get to go to a Yankees ball game or even a movie.

Surely there is some form of great art that should be free to all.

[lindisfarne]

4. Wow. I doubt I'll be going. Although if people are willing to pay $10

for a movie (I'm not), I guess $20 for a museum is reasonable.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

35. It's suggested donation.

You can give them whatever you want. I think if people can afford $20 then they should give it. The last time I was there I gave them $0.50 because I was totally broke. The people at the ticket window didn't look down on it at all. I would imagine that a lot of people don't pay the full price. If someone doesn't go because they feel obligated to pay a suggested amount, then they're a spineless asshat.

[sandnsea]

5. Ours just started charging $3

There isn't anything in it that you'd particularly want to see, but it is only $3. :evilgrin:

[Sgent]

7. MOMA

Met Mus of Modern Art (NYC) charges $20 for entrance.

They do have a free afternoon either weekly or monthly.

[bettyellen]

37. every friday after 4 pm

[theHandpuppet]

9. And people will pay 80 bucks to see a ball game or a concert...

...but will complain about paying what amounts to less than the price of a meal at Outback for a ticket to spend a day with some of the world's greatest art masterpieces.

Please forgive me if I seem a bit unsympathetic and you may thank me now for not going absolutely furkin' ballistic.

Have a nice day!

[Rosemary2205]

13. There's no such thing as a free lunch

I've yet to find a museum in Atlanta that is free.

Our new aquarium was paid for by the Home Depot guy. But medical rehab for beluga whales ain't free. I do believe we paid somewhere's around $25. Money well spent IMHO.

[draloo]

15. Postal Art Cards

Perhaps some free art will cheer you up. In that I have sold only fifty cards, I can hardly be called a profiteer. Disturbing political visions of the past six years printed as postcards and distributed(7000) at no cost to independent bookstores and individuals in all fifty states and Paris. Visit my five painting gallery and decide for yourself. Begin tour here:
http://draloo.com/PalmBeachBlues.htm

[Crankie Avalon]

22. Well, I'm a member of the museum so any rise in the admission price...

...only makes my annual $175 Dual Membership dues seem like more of a bargain.

We are talking about one of the world's great museums and probably the greatest in America. Being that sort of institution doesn't come cheap.

I also contribute to the Friends of Central Park, and the upkeep of that park costs money, too, btw.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. Next time I go, I'll make my own "suggested" admission and not feel guilty

at all about it.

[theHandpuppet]

24. Let's take a look at some stats, shall we?

How many of the complainers out there have been fighting the slashing of arts budgets across the country? Here are some stats from the NEA, just for one example....

From http://www.nea.gov/about/Facts/AppropriationsHistory.html

1978

$ 123,850,000

1979

$ 149,585,000

1980

$ 154,610,000

1981

$ 158,795,000

1982

$ 143,456,000

1983

$ 143,875,000

1984

$ 162,223,000

1985

$ 163,660,000

1986

$ 158,822,240

1987

$ 165,281,000

1988

$ 167,731,000

1989

$ 169,090,000

1990

$ 171,255,000

1991

$ 174,080,737

1992

$ 175,954,680

1993

$ 174,459,382

1994

$ 170,228,000

1995

$ 162,311,000

1996

$ 99,470,000

1997

$ 99,494,000

1998

$ 98,000,000

1999**

$ 97,966,000

2000***

$ 97,627,600

2001****

$104,769,000

2002

$115,220,000

2003*****

$115,731,000

2004******

$120,971,000

2005*******

$121,263,000

2006********

$124,406,353

* In 1976, the Federal government changed the beginning of the fiscal year from July 1 to October 1, hence the 1976 Transition (T) Quarter.
** In FY 1999, a $34,000 rescission was enacted by Congress.
*** In FY 2000, a 0.38% rescission was enacted by Congress.
**** In FY 2001, a 0.22% rescission was enacted by Congress.
***** In FY 2003, a 0.65% rescission was enacted by Congress.
****** In FY 2004, rescissions of $791,221 and an additional 0.59% were enacted by Congress.
******* In FY 2005, rescissions of .594% and .8% were enacted by Congress.
******** In FY 2006, rescissions of .476% and 1% were enacted by Congress.

WOW! We're finally getting the same funding for the NEA that it received back in 1978!

:sarcasm:

[flordehinojos]

26. newty is the one who began the war against the arts, the NEA and PBS.

[Chemical Bill]

28. It's still cheaper than the parking.

I'll still go sometimes. And there is an art museum in Newport, RI that's $25.

http://www.americanillustration.org/html/m_intro.html

OTOH, why should poor people not enjoy art? I'd put some of my tax money towards the Met instead of the war.

Bill

[CTyankee]

29. I went to the Fra Angelico exhibit last January and it was worth

it, except for the parking. Exhorbitant! But the train from New Haven is just as expensive, plus a cab ride from Grand Central. It was a pretty expensive day (my friend and I had a "ladies lunch" at a nearby restaurant that was pretty pricey!).

All in all, to see those Fra Angelicos was worth it!

[mainer]

31. It's a bargain.

The last time I was there, I spent the WHOLE DAY wandering through the exhibits. And as I left, I paid twice the suggested donation because where else can you get a whole day's worth of entertainment for just twenty bucks? Museums are the repositories of our history, our culture. If they fail, we have lost a vital part of our history. People don't seem to mind paying megabucks to watch Britney Spears prance across the stage undressed. They'll pay a hundred bucks to watch a bunch of sweaty men chase a basketball around a court. They'll pay ten bucks for a cocktail or five bucks for a cup of coffee that just gets peed into the toilet a few hours later. But what you see in a museum stays in your brain and enriches your life.

Sheesh, I can't believe anyone would begrudge a museum the money to keep educating us.

[Armstead]

32. Whatever happened to philanthropy? It shows the Big Lie

The big selling point of tyhe right wing and corporte oligarchs was that the more money that goes to the rich and into corporations, the better off we'd all be.

If that were true then institutions like MoMA would not have to charge admissions to the public, because the wealthy would rush in to cover their costs. And/Or MoMA could solicit per-visit donations that are truly voluntary and based on ability to pay , without brow-beating people into having to pay $20.

Jusy anotehr example of the Big Lie that we've been sold.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

33. They don't have tickets prices. They have suggested donations.

They want $20, but you could give them a penny.

[swag]

34. I think MOMA beat them to it. Anyway, it's worth $20.

I will admit that I loved living a few blocks from the absolutely free Smithsonian for several years.

[bettyellen]

36. it's merely a suggestion. most others you HAVE to pay what they ask.

in high school used to go every week and pay .35 cents.

[scarlet_owl]

38. Shedd aquarium was $23 for the all-access ticket.

I can see why they were so expensive, though.

[Rabrrrrrr]

41. Public museums in NYC are all donation only. Pay whatever you want,

or don't pay at all.

It's one of the better kept secrets of the city.

[Burma Jones]

42. I'd gladly pay $20, or join the Museum's club or whatever...

Of course, here in DC, museum admissions are nearly all free........

[sir_captain]

43. God, what's the big deal?

It's a suggested admission, unlike MOMA and pretty much all the museums in Europe, and the Met needs the money--maintaining art is very expensive and our lovely president has continued to slash arts funding.

I just feel like in the pantheon of things to complain about, this is really pretty low.