Post-pandemic, a Quebec expert predicts there will be fewer major museum exhibitions

A man admires "Spear Fishing," left, and "House of Flowers" by artist Peter Doig during a preview of an exhibit of his work at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Tuesday, January 21, 2014 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

In the wake of the pandemic and its far-reaching consequences, museums are having to rethink their relationship with exhibitions, some of which were blocked internationally during the health crisis.

UQAM professor Yves Bergeron in the Department of Art History explained that the pandemic paralyzed museum operations, firstly because there were no more visitors but also because international collections were unable to leave certain countries.

"It called into question the model for staging major international exhibitions, what are often referred to as 'blockbuster' exhibitions that travel the world," Bergeron told The Canadian Press.

This type of exhibition takes five to seven years to finalize: "You have to sign agreements between the museums, reserve the works and plan the restoration. These are significant financial sums, and museums that have this rely heavily on the tourist clientele, and now, all of a sudden, there were no tourists," said Bergeron.

He points out that the museums found that the people who came back to the museum were their local clientele, and that, in a way, forced them to rethink their mission, i.e.: who are we doing this for?

With inflation, which is also affecting museum spending, large blockbuster exhibitions are becoming less attractive for museums because they require planning, international agreements and major investment.

During the pandemic, in many cases, this type of collection blocked in one country had to be cancelled despite years of preparation.

"The programming of all the museums was shifted. In some cases, there are works that cannot be exhibited for too long, for conservation reasons," said Bergeron.

INTERNATIONAL ENQUIRY INTO PUBLIC FUNDING

"It was the whole system that was suddenly collapsing," said Bergeron. "And reopening the museums, with limited access, in particular, was rather complicated. Some museums even lost money when they reopened after the pandemic."

"In the case of North American museums, the funding model is more or less the same everywhere. This is true for private museums and national museums," said the professor. "The various levels of government encourage museums to generate their own income through ticket sales, hall hire, souvenir shops and so on."

Bergeron also holds the UQAM Research Chair in Museum Governance and Cultural Law, and is taking part in an international survey of the state of public funding for museums around the world. The project was selected by the International Council of Museums as part of a call for research launched last year.

"This major international survey was prompted by a number of comments made by national associations and museologists to the effect that they had the impression that public funding was on the decline. And that's what we're trying to ascertain, but it's complicated because public funding models are not the same everywhere in the world," said Bergeron.

He pointed out that Canada was doing well, with governments having released funds and made investments to promote digital dissemination by museums.

The international survey in which UQAM is participating also aims to identify new practices for reaching a wider audience. The research project will continue until the end of 2024.

Museums are certainly interested in profits, but according to Bergeron, what they are most interested in is attendance: "That's the big objective of museums, to get more and more people who are in touch with culture to go to museums."

"When we look at the figures for museum attendance around the world before the pandemic, we see a steady increase, while other cultural practices are struggling," he continued.

A number of factors explain this craze, including the fact that education levels have risen in many countries, which increases interest in culture. People are also travelling more, and museums are a favourite destination for many tourists.

According to data published this autumn by the Quebec Statistics Institute, many Quebecers are going to museums, even though attendance levels have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, Quebec museums recorded 10.6 million visits, an increase of 57 per cent compared to 6.8 million in 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 17, 2023.