U.S. Museums Spend Billions on Expansions, Survey Finds

Twenty-six U.S. museums spent or pledged nearly $5 billion on expansions from 2007 to 2014, despite the recession, reports The Art Newspaper.

That’s more than the combined amount that museums in the other 37 countries the paper examined spent or pledged.

The growth is fueled by museum leaders’ desire to create space for performance art and community programs and to showcase their large collections and attract new donations, according to the newspaper.

But, the newspaper warns, expansions also require bigger operating budgets.

Some say the expansion boom is slowing down, due in part to donor fatigue.