New Orleans Museum of Art Opens Doors to Locals to Aid Attendance Problem

Summary

---

The New Orleans Museum of Art reopened today six months after Hurricane Katrina but attendance issues cloud its future.Before Katrina, approximately 5,000 people visited NOMA's sculpture garden every weekend between Friday and Sunday. Since it reopened Dec. 10 the sculpture garden has averaged less than 400 visitors during the same time.To entice people back, NOMA director E. John Bullard said admission will be free to all Louisiana residents everyday and during all hours of admission. Prior to the hurricane locals got in free Thursdays only.We want to attract as many people as possible and make people get back into the habit of coming to the museum, Bullard said. We want it to be a place of refuge and inspiration for those struggling to put their lives back together so we don't want any obstacle in the way of them coming.

NOMA suffered more than $6 million in structural damages during the hurricane and lost $1.5 million in admission, gift shop, cafe and membership revenues, but nothing in its more than $400 million collection was damaged save for a couple pieces in the sculpture garden which have since been repaired.To prevent looting, Axa Fine Arts Insurance Company in New York paid more than $15,000 a day for nine weeks to have more than a dozen retired New York City Police officers patrol the premises.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

New Orleans Museum of Art Opens Doors to Locals to Aid Attendance Problem

NOMA's annual budget is $5.5 million but in 2006 it will be closer to $3.5 millio...

See the full content of this document

---