As I suspected, this year long experiment isn’t going well;
In the year since the Washington Pavilion’s Visual Arts Center began charging admission, attendance has been lower than previous years’ estimates.
But Pavilion administrators think the lower numbers reflect more accurate counting of visitors rather than an actual decline in attendance.
Toll said getting better information about the art center’s patrons is part of why it started charging admission last July.
“The big reason we did this was not the money. By just letting people walk in, we had no idea who was coming to our different art shows,†Toll said.
Previously, the Pavilion estimated annual attendance to the arts center about 40,000. Since it started charging admission, the center has seen about 14,000 visits.
Toll said the 40,000 guess probably was an overestimate, and that the Pavilion now has much better data on visitors and their demographics.
Baloney! When the VAC was free I do recall the receptionist clicking a head counter when going in the place. And how is charging admission helping the Pavilion’s bottom line?
In the first six months, admission fees brought in about $10,000 — not enough to cover the cost of a typical show, Toll said.
The goal is to move the city-subsidized Visual Arts Center closer to a break-even operation, Toll said. The visual art board set the rates.
I see that is working out wonderfully. NOT. A more effective way to cover expenses is through successful fundraisers, charging ONLY for major exhibits and using grant money. One of the reasons I donated to Arts Night for several years is because I found great value in having a FREE arts center in our community. The Pavilion went back on their promise to the voters and community by NOT keeping the VAC free;
Visitors still have the opportunity to see exhibits free. Every first Friday of the month from 5 to 8 p.m., both the Visual Arts and the Kirby Science Discovery Centers are free. Tuesdays also are free admission.
Almost 7 in 10 visitors attended free of charge during the fee’s first six months, Toll said.
So almost 75% of the attendance occurred within a 5-day period each month? Doesn’t this tell the Pavilion something? People want to see the exhibits for FREE, and are entitled to IMO because of the enormous subsidy we give them, not just from the entertainment tax and CIP money for maintenance, but also Federal and State grants the Pavilion receives. So while we are already paying to attend the Pavilion before we even walk in the doors, we still have to pay when we get there. It’s called separating the ‘Haves’ from the ‘Have Nots’, who can only afford to use the place 5 days out of the month.
Nan Baker, executive director for the Sioux Falls Arts Council, said she and her family take advantage of free days. Even on free days, visitors are given tickets to keep track of how many there are and where they come from.
Baker said tracking the number of people who enter free is important for the local economy. She said trends show that when people visit the arts center for free, they often spend money on other areas, such as baby sitters and local restaurants and bars.
Nan, the Pavilion doesn’t care about the economic impact a FREE admission may have on our community, they only care about what they can rake in. It’s time there is an external audit and review of the Washington Pavilion Management Company, and I am not talking about the city auditor or a local gun for hire. I’m talking about an out of state company that specializes in these kinds of audits and reviews. Not just some one page report prepared by the financial officer that has been there since day one with the operations manager. It’s time the taxpayers of this community found out what was going on in the Big Purple Building, it’s time for a new management company that is interested in making money from the entities it can make money from (Cinedome, Catering, Gift shop, education programs & Great Hall) and passing those profits on to the VAC so it can go back to being FREE while bringing in World class exhibits. But I am afraid our council doesn’t have the backbone to ask for this. Maybe it is time for a petition drive to revoke the Pavilion’s Management contract? Seems that is the only way we have progress anymore in this community.
There are so many statements made by Mr. Toll that reak of bull****. Does he really think that the only way to figure out their demographic was to charge $7? Also, the receptionist absolutely had a number clicker. I also do not believe that they have had nearly $10,000 in ticket sales in the first 6 months. That means on an average day they had 21 people come and pay to see the exhibits? Doubtful. Maybe he threw in the Juried Art Show’s entrance fee into that number. As a fellow former donor of Arts Night it’s very disappointing for them to use my art to help raise nearly 75k and still charge the public to enter. With the director leaving perhaps we’ll see the ship turn around with new leadership. But I’m not too hopeful.
At today’s Informational meeting, Larry Toll informed the Council the PAV wants to build up a reserve.
At the same time, they show up every year to make the pitch for their annual million dollar+ subsidy from the taxpayers.
How’s that for math?
And, how did a new Councilor, Christine Erickson, become Chair of the Public Services Committee? Why is an experienced Councilor like Staggers, who BTW is a member of this committee, not the chair?
Today’s Public Services meeting was painful to watch. Councilor Erickson was completely overwhelmed running the meeting!!
This is the most important time of the year for the Council (budget process). We are going to be able to find out fast what these two new councilors (Erickson and Kiley) are made of!!!!!
I found this editorial by the AL Ed Board written right before they started charging admission. Seeing that the Pavilion raised very little money by charging the admission, and the fact that attendance dropped by 75% (would be interesting to see how many people decided not to go to the VAC because of the admission fee). I think it is time to go back to Free admission, especially since they will be opening a gift shop in the VAC.
Editorial: Visual arts center fee balanced by times that still are free
It’s disappointing that visitors to the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion will start paying for a walk through the art galleries on Monday.
When the Pavilion opened in 1999, organizers made a commitment to keeping the arts piece of the facility free, while charging for Kirby Science Center admission, Wells Fargo Cinedome tickets, classes and shows.
Times have changed — it’s harder for the facility to be self-funded than perhaps anticipated — and art center ticket prices are set at $7 for adults and $3.50 for youth with some breaks for senior citizens and military.
Let’s be honest, $7 is seen as a bit pricey and sends the wrong perception that the place is for elitists. In addition, the city has had two annual fundraisers — the Sidewalk Arts Festival and Arts Night — to ensure the arts center would remain free. What happens to the support of those events now?
On the other hand, the exhibits cost money, and if the center wants to improve its displays, more money would help. Besides, if people want to get in free, they still can do so on Tuesdays, Saturday mornings and the first Friday of every month between 5 and 8 p.m.
That’s a good move by the Pavilion to keep the shows accessible to any income bracket.
We’re also fortunate that Sioux Falls has other free art, including the popular downtown SculptureWalk.
The Pavilion might have to try other approaches as well, perhaps a teaser exhibit that would draw people in to the gallery or maybe bring back the bigger shows that were fairly successful in years past, including Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, Rodin and Ansel Adams.
In the end, people have to support art as well — with their feet. Not everything can be free, and attendance matters when a facility such at the Pavilion looks at what is working and whether changes need to be made.
We’re not sure what attendance and revenue will be with the admission prices starting in July, but we hope this isn’t the beginning of the end for visual arts at the Pavilion. That would be disastrous.
The VAC should be free admission.
(So should the public pools).
Taxpayer 06.10.14 at 9:52 pm told us:
At today’s Informational meeting, Larry Toll informed the Council the PAV wants to build up a reserve.
I ask, how can you build up a reserve if you are always in debt?
“Let’s be honest, $7 is seen as a bit pricey and sends the wrong perception that the place is for elitists.”
Let’s be more honest, $7 is seen as pricey because most people in Sioux Falls are straight-up cheap. They bitch and moan about all the rich people in town but then expect the rich people to bankroll and subsidize everything they want to see and do.
That’s aside from whether the VAC should charge admission, which is a different discussion entirely, where I’d be inclined to say leave it free and charge for the special exhibitions.
But these are same people who complain that the Pavilion prices everyone out of events in the Great Hall, when most events have tickets available in the $10-20 range.
The zoo charges $9.50 for adults. Are they 30% more elitist?
What do you expect with these Lodgenet executives running the place? Of course, it has turned into a pay-per-view!