Questions of Influence in Art Museum Sponsorship
The recent credit crisis has exposed financial weakness in many industries, including the world of art museums.
Here are links to reporting that look at how the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LA MOCA) and other art spaces, too, have financed recent exhibitions via support from the very galleries that represent the artists featured in museum shows.
For museumgoers, the issue raises questions concerning to what extent museum curators are curating shows that genuinely pursue independent scholarship, without being influenced by financial contributions by galleries that stand to benefit from seeing their artists’ work showcased in museums.
This issue, too, reveals a shift away from corporate and NEA support of museums, which have traditionally underwritten exhibitions, perhaps encouraging museums (especially those museums whose finances are shaky) to seek other donors whom they might not consider in a more stable environment.
