On free entry and why it matters
Sporting the new Twibbon for Twitter
You'll have seen that I've recently spent a wonderful three weeks on the east coast of the States. Over two and a half weeks in Washington DC, New Haven, Boston and New York I racked up visits to 40 different museums and heritage sites, as well as lots of happy urban wanders. At the risk of extreme egotism, but largely as my post-modern version of the holiday slideshow, I've put together a Wakelet collection of my thoughts and photos from the trip below.
I realise to many of you this was the ultimate busman's holiday, but it honestly is how I enjoy spending my spare time. I was also aided in these visits by one important element which got me thinking about museums as social, leisure space. As a museum professional I was lucky enough to get in free to almost every heritage site or museum that I visited. This is something that we have come to take relatively for granted in the UK, especially in national museums, but in the US most of these would have cost me anywhere between $10-28. Many major US museums charge more for entry than we would dream of charging for a special exhibition.
My free access meant that I popped in and out of the museums, seeing a gallery or object at a time, having a snack, visiting the shop, and making them part of my wider experience of the city. I did not feel compelled to justify a high entry-fee by arriving early and cramming as many galleries as I could into an exhausting day. This is how I think museums work for us, as part of life, part of urban, local and community spaces, that take their place amongst the host of options available to both the resident and the visitor. They need to work as this broader social and cultural space, as well as a destination for blockbuster shows or late events.
It was also the General Election while I was away, which will result in continued austerity measures and likely more funding cuts to the cultural sector. Difficult decisions may have to be made, but my happy times in the U.S. convinced me that ending free entry should not be among them.
