"The alarm was sounded late last year by a survey conducted by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), which showed institutions facing significant headwinds and a fragile, inconsistent recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. It revealed some sobering news, which was that recovery from the pandemic wasn't just coming to a stall but actually reversing, says Natanya Khashan, associate vice-president of marketing and digital experience at the AAM. We're seeing declines in attendance, weaker financial performance and growing instability across the museum field thanks to some of the new economic and policy pressures that have emerged."
"The survey of 511 museum directors conducted in July and August 2025 found that only 45% of museums reported attendance at or above their 2019 pre-pandemic levels. This was a decline from 2024, when 51% had reached that milestone. About 52% of museums reported a stronger bottom line in 2024 than pre-pandemic, a downturn from the prior survey, where 57% reported improvement in 2023. Meanwhile 26% reported a weaker bottom line, worse than the 19% who reported declines in the previous survey."
America's museums entered 2026 facing declining audiences, strained budgets and growing uncertainty despite national bicentennial celebrations. Federal funding cuts and new policy pressures have weakened many institutions, and political culture wars are generating fear, intimidation and self-censorship among some directors and donors. A survey by the American Alliance of Museums found that only 45% of museums reported attendance at or above 2019 levels, down from 51% in 2024. About 52% reported a stronger bottom line in 2024, down from 57% in 2023, while 26% reported weaker finances. Projections for 2025 are less optimistic, with numerous museums facing cancelled grants and reduced tourism-driven attendance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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