The Brooklyn Museum, which has just celebrated its bicentennial, is faced with a budget deficit of nearly $ 10 million (€ 9 million) and has decided to fire around forty people. “We cannot continue to operate with the growing deficit that we accumulate”said the director of the museum, Anne Pasternak at a meeting on Friday.
The Council 37 district, one of the museum -representing unions, has announced that 47 unionized and un syndicated employees, full -time and part -time, would be affected by posts, although the final number has not yet been been announced. “Wages represent our largest operational position – around 70 % of our operating budget – the restoration of financial balance will unfortunately require cuts in our teams”said Anne Pasternak.
The museum also provides salary discounts of up to 20 % for members of senior management, without specifying whether the director’s salary, which amounted to $ 1 million in 2023, will also be reduced. In addition to wages, other economy measures are provided: the number of exhibitions per year must be reduced by 12 to 9, as well as the number of events during the week, and the program must be redefined around the permanent collection .
The cause of this deficit? In a letter, Anne Pasternak mentions the inflation which cost millions to the museum without being offset by the government’s contributions, and to the low frequentation of schoolchildren after the end of the pandemic.
The local union which represents 130 museum workers published a declaration encouraging the museum not to make dismissals and “Take good faith discussions to explore alternative solutions to financial challenges”.
Many museums, confronted with the same situation, manage to get out of it by significantly increasing their entry rates, which is not the case with the Brooklyn Museum for the moment, but which could change in the future. Indeed, the museum applies a free pricing policy for the locals, which represent half of its audience. During the health crisis, the Brooklyn had been one of the first museums to sell part of its collection.
The Brooklyn Museum opened its doors in 1897 and is one of the most important museums in New York. On an area of 52,000 m², it houses 1.5 million objects ranging from Asian collections to European art through the Islamic world.
