In 2020, the Ohara Museum of Art celebrated its 90th anniversary.
However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was forced to close temporarily for an extended period of 136 days.
As of December 2020, the museum is still limiting the number of visitors to avoid crowding.
With visitor numbers plummeting, the museum is facing financial difficulties.
The Ohara Museum of Art is crowdfunding to raise operating expenses until 11 p.m. on December 25, 2020.
What is the Ohara Museum of Art’s situation now?
We asked staff working at the museum about the reactions around them and how they feel.
Photography is normally prohibited inside the Ohara Museum of Art. Special permission was granted to take the photographs inside the museum, which were taken in 2019.
The information presented is as of the article’s publication in December 2020. Please note that it may differ from current information.
The Ohara Museum of Art celebrates its 90th anniversary
The Ohara Museum of Art is Japan’s first private museum centered on Western art, established in 1930.
It was founded at a time when it was difficult to see works from overseas in person, with the aim of making “outstanding original works available to people in Japan, too.”
Its wide-ranging collection spans modern Western paintings by El Greco, Monet, Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso, as well as contemporary art.
The current situation at the Ohara Museum of Art and crowdfunding
Admission fees cover most (about 80%) of the Ohara Museum of Art’s operating expenses.
The museum reportedly needs around 300,000 visitors a year just to keep its works on public display.
However, the projected number of visitors in 2020 is about 50,000, heavily affected by the closure and visitor limits.
This is expected to be a drop of about 85% from last year, and at this rate, the museum will be unable to maintain public access or care for its collection.
The museum therefore turned to crowdfunding, aiming first to maintain an appropriate environment for preserving its works and to “keep the doors open.”
The campaign is being run on the crowdfunding site READYFOR until 11 p.m. on December 25, 2020.
The initial target of 10 million yen was reached just five days and eight hours after the crowdfunding campaign began!
However, the initial target of 10 million yen is apparently an amount that “can provide a stopgap for immediate operating funds.”
The next target is now 30 million yen.
There are several reward tiers for supporters, including one that offers a VR viewing experience.
For details, see the crowdfunding page.
Staff interviews
We interviewed three people who work at the Ohara Museum of Art.
Public relations representative Sasaki Kozue
It’s been about a month since you started crowdfunding. How has it been?
Sasaki
We’re truly grateful for the comments on the crowdfunding page.
At first, I was exhausted every day, but I’d read the comments before bed and fall asleep feeling so happy.
We’ve also posted the comments in the museum’s back-of-house area.
The staff working on site say they’re moved when they read them, too.
How did people around you react after you started crowdfunding?
Sasaki
It became news in newspapers and on TV, and it seems people thought, “Was the situation really that difficult?”
An elderly man who lives nearby once came in clutching some money and said, “I’m not interested in art. But I’d somehow feel bad if the Ohara Museum of Art disappeared.”
It also gave us a chance to learn that people cherished the museum as “something that’s always there in everyday life”.
I’ve heard that running costs are a heavy burden for museums, whether they’re open or closed.
Sasaki
That’s right.
A museum’s role is not just to “show works of art”.
We also have to introduce new works, and preserving and managing the collection is important, too.
There are running costs, including personnel and electricity, for things that aren’t visible to visitors.
For example, visitors don’t see the storage rooms, but they hold more works than are on display and are indispensable.
Protecting works of art is a responsibility to the future.
Restoring works also costs money.
We protect the works so people can see them, but unless people visit, it becomes difficult even to keep protecting them.
The two things cannot be separated.
We’ve set a target as an immediate goal, but honestly, “the more we can raise, the better.”
Have there been any comments or donations that particularly stood out to you?
Sasaki
Before we started, I thought, “The people who support us will probably be those who have visited the Ohara Museum of Art.”
But quite a few people have said, “I’ve never been there, but I’d be in trouble if it weren’t open for the day I visit someday.”
Isn’t it amazing to have people support us by saying, “I want to visit someday”?
We’ve also received support from kindergartens and elementary schools. Apparently, it wasn’t the teachers who took the lead; the children acted on their own.
One elementary school collected aluminum cans as volunteers, exchanged them for money, and donated it to us.
They said, “We hope you’ll continue to show us the works with peace of mind.” We’re very grateful.
Facilities Management Group member Ohashi Tomoya
What kind of work do you usually do?
Ohashi
I manage the facilities, including locking and unlocking the museum.
I check things like whether any lights have gone out or whether there are problems with the air conditioning, and carry out maintenance as needed.
Since the museum reopened, we’ve had more work, such as handing out numbered tickets at the entrance, so I help with that, too.
What did you think when the crowdfunding campaign began?
Ohashi
Since the museum is run independently, I knew things would be difficult if visitors didn’t come.
We’d been closed for months, and even after reopening, we often had to turn people away because of visitor limits. I could really feel that visitor numbers were falling.
So I thought, “It really has gotten that difficult”.
For the Ohara Museum of Art, crowdfunding feels like “playing the last card in our hand”.
People might think, “They reached 10 million yen, so they’ll be fine now,” but that’s not the case.
What is your ideal vision for the Ohara Museum of Art?
Ohashi
The director said this recently, too: we want to be “a museum for everyone”.
We want people to feel free to visit, as casually as they might drop by a coffee shop.
I think some people see the museum as “high-class,” but we want to say, “Please, everyone, feel free to come.”
I hope we can become a museum that people feel comfortable visiting.
Some people do feel there’s a barrier between them and the museum.
Ohashi
It’s about how we can break down that barrier. It’s difficult, though.
We also run activities to help children become familiar with art from an early age, and I hope that little by little, people will come to feel that the museum is more approachable.
Part-time staff member Mori Ryoko
What kind of work do you usually do?
Morii
I mainly monitor the galleries and sell admission tickets.
Before the museum closed, I also guided children as they viewed the artworks.
What did you think when you heard that crowdfunding was starting?
Morii
I was surprised at first.
The museum had been closed for a while, but at first, I somehow felt that “once it reopened, things would go back to normal.”
But things didn’t go back to the way they were at all.
Did your feelings change after the museum closed?
Morii
I really feel that “a museum needs visitors.”
When I went inside while it was closed, this is just my personal impression, but the paintings looked dry and parched.
Then, when the museum reopened and visitors came in, I felt that the paintings were moist, or somehow more alive.
The paintings themselves hadn’t changed, of course.
Visitors’ reactions aren’t expressed only in words.
For example, a visitor who came recently didn’t say anything, but looked around the entire museum with sparkling eyes, like a girl in a manga.
I felt that the museum is made up of the museum, the exhibitions, and the visitors’ reactions.
What do you enjoy about your work?
Morii
I get to work among the artworks, and I enjoy hearing visitors’ impressions.
Not everyone says, “It’s magnificent, it’s wonderful.” Some say things like, “I could paint this myself,” or “If I kept looking at it, I think I’d go crazy.”
It’s fun that everyone sees things differently.
It’s been a month since the crowdfunding campaign began. How are you feeling about it?
Morii
I think crowdfunding is a way of putting people’s support into money.
I’m truly grateful and amazed that we reached our goal in less than a week, and the warmth of the comments has also helped us.
Some of the messages of support said, “I went when I was a child,” “I went 60 years ago,” or “I visited with my late husband.”
I felt that each person has memories to look back on alongside the Ohara Museum of Art.
Until now, I’d taken it for granted.
Visitors came and paid admission, which allowed the museum to open, hold special exhibitions, and invite artists.
I realized that none of it was something we could take for granted.
There were also messages of support saying, “Please pass it on to the future.”
While I feel grateful to be able to see the artworks now, I wonder if we work at the museum so we can pass this baton on to the next generation.
I want people to be able to see paintings at the Ohara Museum of Art, and I want to keep passing this baton on.
My contribution is small, but with so many people supporting us through crowdfunding, I’ve realized that “each person’s contribution can add up to something great.”
I’ll keep doing what I can, one thing at a time.
Operating the Ohara Museum of Art and Other Museums
Let’s talk a little about money.
It is said that running a museum is generally very difficult.
Let’s look at the figures for other museums.
For example, a museum owned by a certain company reportedly covers 92% of its revenue through dividends from its parent company’s shares.
Its operating costs are also more than twice its business revenue, which includes admission fees and sales of exhibition catalogs.
At the six facilities operated by the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, income from exhibition-related activities, such as admission fees, accounts for 12.4% of total revenue.
Museums owned by companies and those run by government agencies are reportedly sustained mainly by revenue other than admission fees, such as corporate funding and subsidies.
(Reference: Museum Management and Finance, Yosuke Nishida)
The Ohara Museum of Art, however, is an independently funded private museum, and admission fees cover most of its operating expenses (about 80%).
It may be one of the museums that are difficult to sustain.
During my several interviews at the Ohara Museum of Art, I’ve also seen the many ways it works to cut costs.
Even in a challenging environment, the Ohara Museum of Art has continued to make its artworks accessible, guided by its mission “for art and artists, for all viewers, and for the local community.”
Preserving a Place to Encounter Artworks
I believe that art enriches our lives.
We may be captivated by beauty, amazed by craftsmanship, encouraged, or deeply moved.
Art can shake our values, and it often helps us through difficult times years after we first encounter it.
May the places where we encounter artworks continue to be here in the future.
Messages of support are pouring in from all over Japan in the comments section of the crowdfunding page.
Please take a look.
Articles about the Ohara Museum of Art
Ohara Museum of Art Information
| Name | Ohara Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1-15 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-422-0005 |
| Parking | None |
| Opening hours | 【December–February】 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (last admission: 2:30 p.m.) 【March–November】 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (last admission: 4:30 p.m.) |
| Closed | Mondays Open when a Monday falls on a national holiday or substitute holiday Closed during the winter; may also close temporarily |
| Admission (tax included) | 【General admission】 Adults: ¥2,000 High school, junior high school, and elementary school students (under 18): ¥500 |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Available No reservation required for individuals |
| Smoking | Entire facility is non-smoking |
| Restrooms | Western-style restrooms, accessible restrooms |
| Families with children | Nursing room, diaper-changing tables, stroller rental The nursing room is in the Craft Museum Diaper-changing tables are on the second floor of the Main Building and in the Craft Museum |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair rental, ramps, accessible restrooms, elevator |
| Website | Ohara Museum of Art Official Website |
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