Museums are a repertoire of myriad legends, tales from the past, fossilized proof of the yellowed pages of history. They hold billions of artifacts on a global scale and help guests (visitors) to make some sense of the world by understanding our position based on the past. At the turn of the century, the museums, as custodian of national and global cultures as well as keeper of history was moving the same way as opera of interest to all but a few, and highly dependent on benefactors and government sources to provide funds. Today, as museums discover the potential to be run as businesses, they are becoming a recreational choice alongside TV, podcasts, theater, sports, cinema and even shopping malls.
Museum investment is, therefore, no longer driven only by demand but in some cases has become the stimulator of the entire economy. The most famous example is the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain with over one million guests per annum and an economic contribution worth at least 5,000 jobs. The Tate Modern in London receives over four million guests a year creating an economic revival not unlike Bilbao in what was an underutilized part of South London. |
