“Arts For All”: that’s the motto of Winnipeg’s 2010 reign as the cultural capital of Canada. While the idea is a worthy one, the fact is, our nation is home to some of the most expensive, least accessible museums and galleries in the world.
Earlier this year, the Canadian Index of Wellbeing reported that expensive fees and lack of inclusion in the cultural sector are hurting citizen wellness across the board.
Though some politicos are beginning to twig to the problem—an Ontario government committee has asked that Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum deliver an improved access plan by December—there are still lots of barriers to experiencing culture at our large institutions.
The image above is a rundown of the most and least open, and comparisons to their international counterparts.
This article is by Leah Sandals in This Magazine. Her blog offers more on this topic. You can also check out Hrag Vartanian's blog piece for Hyperallergic where he offers the info below:
Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo) — 600 Yen (US$7.26)
Bridgestone Museum of Art (Tokyo) — 800 Yen (US$9.71)
Sao Paolo Museum of Art (Sao Paolo) — R$15 (US$8.94)
National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City) — 45-150 pesos (US$3.74-$15.80)
South African National Gallery (Cape Town) — R15 (US$2.07)
National Museum (Cairo) — £E20 (US$3.36)
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (Istanbul) — 12 TL (US$7.61)
Alte Nationalgalerie (Berlin) — 8 Euro (US$10.89)
Hong Kong Museum of Art (Hong Kong) — HK$10 (US$1.29)
Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow) — 300 RUB (US$10.27)
So, why are Canadian museums so pricey?
