What Is the Value of a Museum?

The article

In this bonus episode, host Margaret Carrigan looks at how art institutions are valued, and the funding threats facing museums across the U.K.—and, in many ways, around the world. She’s joined by a special guest: Gilane Tawadros , director of London’s Whitechapel Gallery.

Earlier this year, Tawadros made an unusual addition to her staff: an economist-in-residence. She tapped Mariana Mazzucato, the founder of University College London ‘s Institute for Public Value for the role, and together they want to help make the case for culture as essential public infrastructure, not just charity.

Tawadros doesn’t mince words about the stakes facing museums. Nearly two decades of standstill government funding, a cost-of- living crisis, and strained trusts and foundations have pushed the U.K.’s cultural sector toward what she calls one of the “biggest existential threats in generations.”

So how can an economist help? Tawadros talks through what this three-year, pro-bono partnership looks like day to day, and how it’s already spurring experimentation at Whitechapel—and could do the same at other institutions.

Her bottom line: culture deserves a seat at the policymaking table alongside housing, healthcare, and education. And as she makes clear, it’s a conversation that reaches well beyond Britain’s borders.

Read the argument alongside market data