Art museums in New York and Connecticut join to beat economic downturn

Six art museums in New York and Connecticut have joined forces, creating the first allegiance of its kind in the area.

The alliance includes four museums in the Westchester County area of New York (the Hudson River Museum, the Hudson Valley for Contemporary Art, the Katonah Museum of Art and Purchase College’s Neuberger Museum of Art) and two museums in Connecticut (the Bruce Museum and Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum).

Since May 1st, members of any of the single institutions have been allowed admission to any of the six, which also includes visitors who have purchased a same-day pass.

The collaboration aims to pull in more museumgoers and combat recent economic problems, brought on by the ongoing recession.

However, the initiative has been recorded as slow to catch on with only a handful of visitors taking advantage of the offer in a single week. Yet arts groups remain positive, claiming this is a sign of further partnerships to come.

Speaking to The New York Times, Peter C. Sutton, executive director of the Bruce, claims that endowments and corporate support towards his museum was down by 20 percent this year.

"Almost all nonprofits have suffered some loss in their endowments and had to institute economizing efforts" he told The New York Times, "and this is a good way for people to make the most of their local museums."

Further plans include extending the initiative to collaborate with museums abroad and adopting the strategy in other arts sectors, such as performance art.