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The blockbuster phenomenon: trends in Australia and overseas Is the development
and touring of the blockbuster exhibition in Australian museums
and science centres a long-term strategy? Reproduced
from ASTEN News, October 1998 Defining
blockbusters Put by Elsen (1984), a blockbuster is a "... large scale loan exhibition that people who normally don't go to museums will stand in line for hours to see ..." (1) James Rosenfield, writing in Direct Marketing in 1993, has described a successful blockbuster exhibition as a "... triumph of both curatorial and marketing skills ..." (2) My own definition for blockbuster is "a popular, high profile exhibition on display for a limited period, that attracts the general public, who are prepared to both stand in line and pay a fee in order to partake in the exhibition." What both Elsen and Rosenfield omit in their descriptions of blockbusters, is that people are prepared to pay a fee to see a blockbuster, and that the term blockbuster can just as easily apply to a movie or a museum exhibition. Once the museum or science centre has shown the exhibition to their local market, the exhibition can be offered to other organisations for a fee. This means that you can boost your own door takings and make money from boosting someone else's door takings. In theory, you can use a tour to recover an initial large capital expenditure. One of the most important features of a blockbuster is its urgency and immediacy. People are partaking in a commodity that is only available for a limited time, whereas the institution featuring the exhibition may be seen as an entity that will endure forever, and that will be available at any time in the future. Merely naming an exhibition or movie a blockbuster however, does not make it a blockbuster. The term can only apply when the item in question has had an overwhelmingly successful response from the public. (3) However, in literature from both the UK and USA the other words that also start to appear in descriptions of blockbusters are "less scholarly", "non-elitist" and "popularist". Detractors argue that blockbusters are designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, while others extol the virtues of encouraging scholars to cooperate on projects, and to provide exhibitions that cater for a broad selection of the community rather than an elite sector. (4) While partaking of the excitement of the blockbuster, visitors thus lured, are encouraged to stay and enjoy the other displays offered by the institution. Betty Churcher, when Director of the Australian National Gallery, summed up the new blockbuster creed as perceived by museum, art gallery and science centre directors the world over; "I believe that you have to keep interesting your audience with something they otherwise don't have an opportunity to see ... The bonus of the blockbuster exhibition is that they come to see the blockbuster and they stay to look at the collection, so you are getting broader exposure for your permanent collection." (5) Why has this become the creed in support of blockbusters extolled by museum, science centre and art gallery managers across the UK, USA, Canada and Australia?
The contemporary museum professional is required to develop a marketable product, often one that will be able to compete against the products of institutions in the same town, and that can be toured to other venues as a commercial touring exhibition. Museums have entered the business arena. (7) Maintaining and increasing visitor levels is paramount in the new museology. This requires continued product development. Not only the creation or hiring of blockbuster exhibitions, but regular exhibition changes and innovations. (8) In addition, the visiting public have become customers rather than visitors, and the skills that are valued in museums, science centres and galleries to keep the new customers coming through the door have changed. High on the list of requirements are commercial, business, marketing and entrepreneurial skills. Curators are now administrators. Being a director of an art gallery no longer requires an Art Degree. As succinctly summarised in the Economist in 1994 "business nous and public relation skills" were essential requirements for a director, and the ability to compete with other museums to stage travelling exhibitions which draw huge crowds. (9) The new museology has resulted in the convergence of museums, the heritage industry, tourism, profit-making and pleasure-giving. This has given rise to much debate about the appropriateness of adapting the activities of institutions so that they more closely reflect the priorities of the market place and whether it is appropriate to see museums primarily as tourist attractions. (10) (11) At many institutions you can now hold office functions in the display areas, or have dinner with the dinosaurs. Whatever commentators may think, managers of museums, art galleries and science centres worldwide are looking for artful ways to blend culture and commerce, and blockbuster exhibitions are at the top of the list. (12) (13) But while blockbusters are all part of the new museology, there is proof that you don't need a museum, science centre or art gallery to benefit from the drawing power of a blockbuster or to stage a blockbuster. In Memphis, (USA) a group of far-thinking city officials created a municipal department called "Wonders". The role of Wonders is to stage regular blockbuster exhibitions. Although the main aim of the shows is said to be cultural, not financial, these glossy mixtures of painting, sculpture and decorative objects, professionally staged to create a pleasing mixture of art history and biography, have drawn crowds of 600,000 to 750,000. Does Wonders cover its costs and make a profit? For a visit to Napoleon, visitors paid $11 a ticket. The exhibition cost $9 million. Corporate sponsorship and merchandising were used to bridge the gap. Of course, this simplistic breakdown does not represent the real cost of this blockbuster to the community, or of the real positive spin-offs. (It also is made economically feasible by the larger population of the USA.) (14) Wonders is a rather startling consideration for institutions that are staging blockbusters with the aim of aligning with community needs and ensuring their continued existence and government funding base. It is a warning that your perceived new role could be gasumped by the local council, tourism board or private industry. If blockbusters (or indeed any museum activity) can be proven to be profitable and extremely successful, then there will always be an entrepreneur ready to capitalise on an idea. A recent example of this in Australia was Avery Entertainment's attempt to show Dinosaur World Tour. The new American Super Malls also blend educational and entertaining activities that would be at home in science centre. Objectives of blockbusters But do blockbusters held in public institutions really create a surplus to fund other activities? If the bottom line is profit, then according to the accounting records of many major museums and galleries, blockbusters do make money. For some museums overseas, it may be the money that they need to update parts of their collections or to repair buildings that are in need of attention. For others in Australia, it may be the opportunity to illustrate that they are attempting to pay their way, by recovering part of their operating costs, or funding other operating activities with off-budget revenue. (15) This makes the economic rationalists cheerful. However, not all exhibitions that are hailed to be blockbusters will be blockbusters, and some will not make money. It is also unlikely that the accounting systems of most institutions will recognise the real cost of either creating or hiring a blockbuster. Blockbusters require large capital expenditure, and draw on resources across all branches of an organisation, however, the costs don't end there. There is a Human Resource Management cost in addition to a measurable 'real' dollar cost. Receiving a touring exhibition involves large expenditure as well, and draws resources from across functional management structures in project management style. Everyone from a general labourer to a building servicing unit, the front of house, technical, promotion, education and administration staff, are required to perform additional tasks. Furthermore, as an increasing number of institutions in Australia try their hand at increasing visitor numbers, memberships (and therefore revenue), by staging blockbuster exhibitions, it may be less likely that blockbusters will continue to provide a surplus to subsidise other activities due to the competitive nature of the market. (16) There are only so many consumer dollars to go around, and visitors will need to choose between blockbuster products. Unfortunately, when the bottom-line is the most important objective to the mounting of blockbuster exhibitions, this same objective can be hard to maintain. It has been illustrated both in the UK and USA, that the blockbuster ideology has resulted in the false expectation that the momentum required to stage blockbusters can be maintained continually and indefinitely. This is claimed to be a substantial part of the reason why in 1994, there were at least 20 vacant directorships at major galleries in the USA. (17) Creating, mounting or hiring blockbusters is exhausting for staff, with the real costs throughout an institution difficult to calculate. Secondly, as Spalding and King both attest to, the "shop keeping" mentality and cost benefit analysis and a pure concentration on the bottom line can squeeze substance out of an exhibition. Taking out substance can be a recipe for blockbuster failure and therefore financial failure. (18) Although the direct aims may be financial, creating or hiring a blockbuster has many positive spin-offs; by raising their profile through a popular blockbuster exhibition, a museum will be seen in a more favorable light at budget time. (19) Blockbusters mean crowds, and crowds are good for the local economy, providing increased employment for shops, hotels, restaurants, the transport industry and retailers. The argument that the arts provide sustained economic benefits has been well illustrated in impact studies in the USA and UK. (20) Blockbusters expose staff to the vagaries and pressures of the market place, and may lead to creative excellence. Either the success or failure of a blockbuster may highlight the need for managers and policy makers to rethink their strategies. However, the new museology and the apparent trend towards blockbusters make it likely that museums, art galleries and particularly science centres will be seen as part of the entertainment and tourism industry, rather than as cultural icons deserving of government and philanthropic support. In fact, the new science centre in Singapore described its 1995 expansion as "edutainment". When Singaporeans were polled about what they wanted in the new centre, 51% were looking for entertainment, wanting the centre to be upgraded to a theme park. (21) If Australian institutions are to be warned by USA trends however, the thing to start watching out for is the negative trend of post-blockbuster blues. Like an addiction to fast food, you may be training the public to expect a diet of crowd-pleasing spectaculars that are difficult to maintain. Perhaps the best pathway to take is one that balances both blockbusters and regular exhibitions. However, this easy middle ground may only work if you have enough space, and have alternate sources of funding to continue to support the regular less exciting fare. Perhaps the advice should be to make sure that your regular activities and exhibitions are more enticing, and find out what your local community wants from you. However, touring blockbusters in Australia is likely to continue in the immediate future, with institutions now successfully seeking further afield in the UK and USA to find commercial exhibitions that will entice the general public. The question (trend) now at most museums and science centres, is "What blockbusters can we tour to overseas venues and will it be cost effective?" (22) Trends Here are a list of trends that you may identify with now, or that may be part of your experience in the future: Trends to look out for:
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