On the eve of the Andy Warhol show that will likely be the biggest exhibit in the borough this year, a report revealed that attendance has plummeted at the Brooklyn Museum despite controversial efforts to open its doors to wider audience.
The New York Times reported that attendance dropped at the Eastern Parkway institution to around 340,000 — a 23-percent collapse from the year before.
Two former trustees, as well as other art world insiders questioned the value of recent museum exhibits like the “Star Wars” show and the “Who Shot Rock and Roll?” photography as shameless attempts to lure a sector of the public that is highly unlikely to return.
“First Saturdays,” the popular, free BYOB gathering of Brooklynites on the first Saturday of the month, was also criticized in the article as a populist effort that has not produced results.
Measures such as the suggested admission hike from $8 to $10, along with layoffs, gave the museum a surplus last year, but its endowment has suffered in the economic recession.
Still, the museum’s struggles mirror those of many other art institutions around the country, and its efforts to become a cultural hub for a borough much more culturally diverse than Manhattan will hopefully yield results in the coming years.
But please, no more exhibits tied to reality shows.
— Stephen Brown