Museum Industry Lobbies for Bailout amid Coronavirus Shutdown

These funds come as welcome relief to cultural institutions struggling amid a wide array of social distancing and “shelter-in-place” orders across the nation; however, $232 million falls far short of the $4 billion bailout the American Alliance of Museums and other arts-focused institutions requested of congress in order to help museums survive. Over the past few weeks, members of arts groups were urged to contact members of Congress, while some museums used their fan bases to spread news of lobbying efforts via social media, such as through the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s #CongressSaveCulture Campaign.

The American Alliance of Museums said in its letter to Congress that the financial situation of museums across the country is dire, as they are losing at least $33 million per day due to museum closures. A representative from the American Alliance of Museums stated in a New York Times interview that one-third of American museums surveyed were already in financial trouble prior to COVID-19-related closures, and three-quarters of those museums are now closed. If closures continue, it is projected one-third won’t reopen. 

Though large portions of museum budgets often come from private donations, a significant portion comes from visitors. The Association of Art Museum and Directors’ most recent “Art Museums By the Numbers” report states that the average museum earns about 25 percent of its revenue from on-site activities, such as admission, events, and museum store and restaurant sales. But as more people stay home, these major funding sources are drying up, especially as special exhibitions—a prime source of many museums’ annual funding—go largely unattended.

Take, for example, the Frida Kahlo exhibition scheduled to open at San Francisco’s de Young Museum on March 21. Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, the parent organization which operates the city’s de Young and Legion of Honor museums, told reporters at The San Francisco Chronicle that the show was expected to drive 15 percent of the organization's total 2020 revenue. However, now that the museum doors are closed due to the city and state of California’s “shelter-in-place” orders, the organization estimates it will lose $9 million from that exhibition alone if museums can’t reopen before June—an increasingly likely scenario given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. 

Meanwhile, The New York Times reports the Met in New York expects to be closed until July and has projected losses amounting to $100 million due to the shut down, forcing the museum to consider furloughs, layoffs, and voluntary retirements. Some other museums have already laid off portions of their staff. 

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that 5.1 million jobs were associated with arts and culture in 2017. Without increases in funding, it is likely that the industry will face wide-scale layoffs. 

Despite grim projections news, museums and other arts institutions are working to find relief through other sources of funding. New York City’s COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund will provide financial aid for nonprofits facing coronavirus-related difficulties through loans and grants. Similarly, San Francisco has announced it will distribute $2.5 million to artists, art teachers, and cultural organizations through grants and low-interest loans as part of its Arts Relief Program, along with an additional $1 million of funding provided by the Arts Loan Fund of Northern California Grantmakers. Boston’s Artist Relief Fund will award grants of up to $2,000 to local artists and to support access to the arts and art events.

Though these small measures provide a bit of support to these institutions, every day of closure increases the difficulties facing the art institutions. As the nation faces the uncertainty of how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, it is unclear what its impacts will be on museums. But one thing is certain—there is no business as usual. Art museums, among myriad other industries impacted by shutdowns and the economic downturn, will have to find creative ways to adapt and survive.