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CINCINNATI—The Cincinnati Art Museum, an institution established in 1881 that opened its doors in 1886, just set a new attendance record.

The museum welcomed the largest number of yearly visitors in the building’s 133-year history, with more than 346,000 walking through its doors this fiscal year ending August 31, 2019. The previous attendance record-holder for the museum was set in 1973. Each of the last five years produced progressively increasing attendance numbers, with the addition of evening hours, growth in public programs, new galleries and the Rosenthal Education Center.

This summer, the museum’s No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man exhibition brought in visitors from around the world, in record numbers. It was the most highly attended exhibition in the museum’s recorded history, surpassing last year’s successful Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China and 1982’s Tower of London exhibition.

No Spectators followed an incredible spring that featured the high-performing ticketed exhibition Paris 1900: City of Entertainment. In addition to showcasing its renowned permanent collection, other special exhibitions featured this fiscal year included Collecting Calligraphy: Arts of the Islamic World, Life: Gillian Wearing, The Fabric of India, Art Academy of Cincinnati at 150: A Celebration in Drawings and Prints, and Kimono: Refashioning Contemporary Style.

It was a banner year for publicity with news features about the museum in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.com. The museum also made strides on accessibility projects, including starting construction on a new accessible path to the museum’s main entrance.

“We are excited to announce this historic achievement. But while attendance numbers are important, they are only one part of the measurement of our success,” said Cameron Kitchin, Louis and Louise Dieterle Nippert Director. “The progress we are making on our civically-oriented strategic plan and the fact that we are continuing to embrace our mission to ‘contribute to a more vibrant Cincinnati by inspiring its people and connecting our communities’ are equally as notable to us, as a museum for all Cincinnatians.”

The 2019–2020 year ahead for the Cincinnati Art Museum will feature a wide array of exhibitions curated by museum staff as well as national and international partnership exhibitions, the four-day Art in Bloom special event, the opening of the new accessible front entrance and the new ArtClimb staircase that opens the museum to the community. During construction the museum will be fully open to the public.

About the Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as our members.

Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Special exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free. The museum is open Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and Thursday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. cincinnatiartmusem.org

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