Figures released today place British Museums at the top, taking three out of the first five positions globally. Only the Louvre in Paris out does the UK by dominating the number one position. The British Museum comes in at number two with 5842,138 visitors. Tate Modern number four getting 5,061,172 through the door and the National Gallery is in fifth position at 4,954,914. (The Met In NYC is #3 with 5,216,988)
The figures were published only a day after the biggest cull to the arts in UK post war history. Arts Council England in a restructuring of its grant system judged 1,333 arts organisations to choose the new National Portfolio. The application process selected 695 arts organisations who realised funding leaving 638 to sink or swim. The arts industry in the UK is the second largest money spinner next to finance. It accounts for billions of pounds in revenue for the government. Arts spending has recently been part of a concerted campaign by a few ill informed MP’s who have attempted to pinpoint waste in government spending. This has had a limited amount of success and has been ineffectual as a public rallying point. It is now time for the DCMS (department of Culture Media & Sport) to realise that art is a money spinner and an industry worth investing in, for the future.
Global Museum Attendance Figures
1) 8,500,000 Louvre Paris
2) 5,842,138 British Museum London
3) 5,216,988 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York
4) 5,061,172 Tate Modern London
5) 4,954,914 National Gallery London
6) 4,775,114 National Gallery of Art Washington
7) 3,131,238 Museum of Modern Art New York
8) 3,130,000 Centre Pompidou Paris
9) 3,067,909 National Museum of Korea Seoul
10) 2,985,510 Musée d’Orsay 915,421 Museo Castel Sant’Angelo Rome
Photo: © ArtLyst 2011 List courtesy of The Art Newspaper