Opinion: Arts Managers Should Emulate Detroit Museum

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ success in persuading regional voters to back a slight tax hike to support the strapped museum offers important lessons for leaders of other financially shaky arts institutions, says a Wall Street Journal critic.

Terry Teachout, who writes about theater for the Journal, contrasts the Detroit museum’s approach to that of other culture groups, which he says continue to rely on outdated revenue models or have simply slashed spending rather than explore innovative ways to operate in a changed economic world.

In particular, he praises the free admission the museum granted to residents of Michigan’s Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties in exchange for their supporting the 10-year tax “millage” that will provide $23-million annually to the institute.

The museum has “clearly accepted the iron necessity of finding creative new ways to engage in the business of high art,” Mr. Teachout says. “As a result, they now have a shot at long-term survival—and they’ve earned it.”