Emergency or emerging financing strategies of art museums in the context of a pandemic?

ABSTRACT

Even if crises have the capacity to reveal the structural problems that underlie the various components of social systems, little systematic knowledge exists on how museums respond to these situations. Combining what is known about how museums reacted to previous crisis and empirical evidence of how museums recently adjusted their activities and strategies, the article highlights how art museums in Western Europe started to tackle the ambivalent challenge to pursue social purposes while being urged to monetize possible assets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, art museums have adopted ‘emergency’ and ‘emerging’ strategies associated with the modification of the funding mix, new partnerships and collaborations, and sustainable financing. The offer of digital services, a moderate reliance on crowdfunding, blockchain technologies, and an increased sensitivity of community needs, are among the novelties that art museums engaged with. Forerunners that had started with such practices before the pandemic, had the opportunity to take these to the next level.

KEYWORDS:

• Art museums
• financing strategies
• funding mix
• partnerships
• risk management
• COVID-19
• pandemic
• crisis

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely acknowledge the valuable contributions of Trilce Navarrete, Neil Casey (Head of Business & Operations Tate Modern), Paul Mosterd (Deputy Director Hermitage Amsterdam) and Rob Groot (Financial Director Van Gogh Museum). The authors also thank Emma Dijkhuizen.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marek Prokůpek

Marek Prokůpek is Assistant Professor of Arts Management at KEDGE Arts School, KEDGE Business School. He is also a member of the Creative Industries & Culture Research Center at KEDGE. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of museum fundraising and philanthropy and its ethical dilemmas, art market and innovative business models of arts and cultural organizations.

Ellen Loots

Ellen Loots is Assistant Professor of Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She specializes in entrepreneurship and business model innovation in creative industries.

Diana Betzler

Diana Betzler is a consultant for private and public commissioners and a lecturer of Arts Management at University of Lüneburg, and an associated researcher at Institut für Verbands, Stiftungs, und Genossenschaftsmanagement (VMI) at Fribourg University.