A good lesson from Spain: museum reductions for those without employment

The day before yesterday, the always excellent Fabrizio Federici of Mo(n)stre published, in his usual ironic style, a post on his Facebook page titled “La (s)Venaria Reale”: in the post we simply remarked on the price of the ticket for admission to the Venaria Reale in the “all in one palace” formula. That is, visit to the palace , gardens and ongoing exhibitions in the complex, all for a total of 25 euros. With no possibility of reductions (except for children aged 6 to 16).

We relaunched the post on our Facebook page, and to the already large number of comments it had received on Mo(n)stre, dozens more were being added. Our fans were divided, between those who consider (rightly, in our opinion) the price to be excessively high, and those who make comparisons with outings to go out to eat at a pizzeria and believe that one may even be willing to spend 25 euros to visit Venaria Reale.

Granted that in our opinion the comparison with pizzerias, stadium admissions, designer clothing and whatnot is valid up to a certain point, since we are talking about completely different experiences that have nothing to do with each other, it is clear that excessively high admission costs drive people away from museums. Theenthusiast will always be willing, within the limits of common sense, to pay what is required for the visit. But if one aims to bring audiences other than enthusiasts (or tourists) closer to art and culture, if one aims to ensure that culture can be experienced by the citizenry in an active and constant way, many museums should review their policies on prices and reductions. The fundamental assumption must always remain the same, namely: culture is and should be everyone’s and affordable. It is deeply unfair that access to culture should be limited to those who cannot afford to spend a certain amount of money to visit a museum.

There is one experience, coming from Spain, that surprised us in a positive way. On our last trip, to Barcelona, we visited the Museu Frederic Marès. And by the way: it was a pleasant discovery; if you pass through Barcelona, don’t be like many compatriots who limit themselves to the Ramblas and Camp Nou, go and visit this splendid museum that exhibits the collection of sculptures, from the Middle Ages to the present day, collected by Frederic Marès, a great Catalan sculptor of the 20th century (you can also find one of his works in Santa Maria del Mar) as well as a fine collector. The collection, which is intact, allows you to trace the history of Catalan sculpture, and on the top two floors you will be amazed by the “collector’s cabinet,” where collections of the most diverse objects (from stamps to combs, even public transportation tickets) have been arranged.

The positive surprise, not to mention the high quality of the exhibits and the friendliness of the museum staff, was noticing that the Museu Frederic Marès applies a reduction on the entrance fee for those who are not employed. We then discovered that the Museu Frederic Marès is not alone in applying this policy; it is a normal practice in Catalonia, and a great many museums have reduced admission for those without employment. And, searching the web, we found that other museums around the world also provide similar measures (for example, the British Museum, or the Musée d’Orsay, which even provides free admission).

In none of the museums we visited in Italy (and, given our business, we visited a lot of them) did we find similar experiences. Of course, it could be said that expensive museums represent a minority of the total. However, it is also true that generally the most expensive museums are also the most visited or the most popular with the public, and therefore also the ones with which we often have our first approach toward art seen live.

It would be nice if Italian museums, too, took similar measures in the future: it would mean taking a significant step toward the concept of "culture for all." And perhaps, instead of reduced admission for those without employment, free admission could also be provided. So from this post we issue a challenge to the Italian museums that read us (and we know there are several): are you willing to adopt reductions or free admission for those without employment? We, for our part and to give a small signal, will as of today give the opportunity to those who are not employed to be able to enjoy our art history course free of charge, upon presentation of documentation proving the condition. And we will try our best for museums to start adopting similar measures!

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