CHICAGO—If you’re downtown this summer, better skip the impromptu trip to Chicago’s Art Institute, now that admission will be raised by 50 percent—that is unless you’re an Art Institute member.
Starting May 23, the general public will pay $18 instead of $12 and seniors and students will pay $12, up from $7; kids under 12 are free.
Now would be a great time for patrons to get a membership. Museum spokeswoman Erin Hogan says the museum is always looking to build sustainable relationships with their patrons and believe they have the collection to do that. Then, people can “visit in the morning, go out to shop, and drop back in in the afternoon.”
The museum does not expect attendance to fall off. Despite the fact that fees went from voluntary to mandatory a few years ago, attendance has increased yearly.
“We want admission prices to be transparent and all-inclusive,” says Hogan. Thus, the fee will include special exhibits, now sometimes an extra $20-22 charge. “We even throw in coat check-in fees.”
The hike “was all about budget” says Hogan. The museum has rising operating costs, and prices hadn’t reflected those deepening needs. There have been no admission increases in four or five years.
According to Hogan the admission increase was discussed for several years, but due to several renovations in which different sections of the Institute were not available to patrons, “we didn’t think we could ask for more given people were seeing less.”
But now patrons will be seeing more.
The increase will go into effect after the museum's new Modern Wing opens in May, adding over 250,000 square-feet and bringing the museum capacity up to about one million square-feet.
This hike has generated controversy in the city due with it coinciding with the economic downturn. In fact, Ald. Ed Burke, chairman of the City Council's finance committee, is citing a 1891 agreement between the Art Institute and the cith in the hopes that the museum will expand its number of free days or in some way give Chicagoans a break.
The Art Institute currently offers free Admission from 5 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and on Friday nights from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Admission is also free for the entire month of February. Chicago residents can get free admission through the Chicago Public Library. Admission also will be free during a celebration of the Modern Wing planned for May 16-22.
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