MUSEUMS AND THE PANDEMIC - HOW COVID-19 IMPACTED MUSEUMS AS SEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF THE WORLDS' MOST VISITED ART MUSEUMS

COVID-19 (C19) was first recognized and described in November 2019 in Wuhan. In January 2020, WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern as a result of the spreading epidemic. By March of the same year, C19 was declared a pandemic. In connection with the pandemic, individual countries around the world enacted a variety of policies designed to slow the spread of C19;policies which dramatically impacted visits to museums of all kinds. Lockdowns selected institutional closures and restrictions and declines in tourism all contributed to precipitous declines in the use of museums. In response, museum significantly increased their digital presence, attempting to replace in-person experiences with virtual experiences of all kinds. However, the inherent limitations of the digital realm, including and particularly financial limitations, suggest an uncertain future for museums. We use data from visitations to the worlds’ ten largest art museums over the period 2007-2020 as a vehicle for tangibly describing and discussing these issues. © 2022 Universitatea "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" din Iasi. All rights reserved.