‘But museums are free!’  I hear you say. 

Yes, but many nationals and mostly in London (with exceptions). I live in lovely Shropshire where the story is very different. And my experience is the same in many rural areas.

While this has been a topic for quite awhile the recent decision by the Field Museum in Chicago has made the topic come to light again.

Why don’t museums/galleries give free entrance to local people?

This is a question I kept asking when Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery opened in April 2014 after being closed for 5 years for renovations and costing £10.7 million (£200,000 more than originally budgeted and delayed by 3 years) and then (after tax payers monies contributing to the renovation) they had the gall to charge an entrance fee – something they had said they would not do when asking for votes of approval.

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