Fee or free? How entry charges affect museums in the US

The article examines the financial impact of eliminating or reducing admission fees at US museums, using Baltimore's Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art as case studies. While the Walters saw a 45% attendance increase and a tripling of minority participation after going free in 2006, the surge did not generate enough ancillary revenue from merchandise, food, or memberships to offset lost ticket income. Over time, attendance at both institutions declined—by 18.6% at the Walters and 12.7% at the BMA—according to a 2021 survey. Experts like former Met president Daniel Weiss and economist John Silvia argue that free admission often fails to meaningfully boost visitation and can strain museum finances.

Pourquoi ce secret autour du Désespéré de Gustave Courbet ?

Gustave Courbet's painting *Le Désespéré* (1843-1845), owned by Qatar Museums Authority, was loaned to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The French art publication La Tribune de l'Art requested the loan agreement under transparency laws, but the museum refused, citing a confidentiality clause. The publication then appealed to the Commission d'Accès aux Documents Administratifs (CADA), which has not responded for five months. Separately, the heritage association Sites & Monuments made a similar request to the Ministry of Culture and received a negative response from CADA in March 2026, citing a Conseil d'État ruling that disclosure could harm France's foreign policy.

‘Lost forever, all because of this new tax’: fears for UK church heritage as VAT relief ends

The UK government has ended the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, a 25-year program that allowed churches to reclaim VAT on repair and maintenance work. Heritage experts warn that this policy change, which effectively adds a 20% surcharge to conservation projects, is causing delays, reassessments, and cancellations of restoration work. Immediate casualties include the Peel Tower at St Cuthbert’s Church in Cumbria and Phoebe Anna Traquair’s 1905 murals at St Peter’s Church in Nottinghamshire, both of which face funding shortfalls due to the new tax burden.

Comment | The flaws in the plan to charge entry to British museums

The UK Treasury is reportedly pushing to end universal free entry to Britain’s 15 national museums, including the British Museum, the National Gallery, and Tate, by charging overseas visitors. The policy, introduced by Labour in 2001, has been hailed as one of the most successful cultural initiatives of modern times, boosting visitor numbers by around 40% over two decades. The article argues that practical obstacles—such as the lack of mandatory ID cards to verify residency, the cost of installing ticketing infrastructure, and the risk of creating a two-tier system between wealthy and poorer museums—make the plan unworkable.

Management of Mont-Saint-Michel by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux Called into Question

La gestion du Mont-Saint-Michel par le Centre des Monument Nationaux remise en question

On May 20, the French newspaper La Lettre reported that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has decided to transfer management of the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey from the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) to the Établissement public du Mont-Saint-Michel (EPMSM), which currently handles the bay, parking, and shuttles. The CMN, which administers the abbey and 110 other national monuments, has denounced the move as opaque and lacking impact studies or consultation. Unions including CGT-Culture and CFDT-Culture warn that losing the abbey's revenue—1.4 million annual visitors generating over 15% of CMN's income—would jeopardize maintenance of less profitable sites and restoration projects.