Condition Report: The State of the American Museum

Anne Pasternak, Scott Rothkopf
"We’re not going to solve our budget problems through earned revenue. It’s not going to come through more and more ticket sales. The idea of thinking about our audience as the path to our financial stability is kind of depressing and not in line with where I see our museum going. So we will depend on philanthropy, patronage, people wanting to be a part of it," says Whitney Museum director Scott Rothkopf. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Puck
Marion Maneker
November 26, 2025

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Museum directors are under plenty of pressure these days to simultaneously lower ticket prices, expand access, and manage rising costs. (God forbid you sell a few works to make ends meet.) They’re also navigating creative partnerships to share art across institutions and devise new ways to embed their own museums more deeply into the fabric of their communities, locally and nationally. It’s a big job that’s only become more complicated amid a charged political environment and shifting economic headwinds.

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