Motstridiga motprestationer : En studie om museers finansiella möjligheter och utmaningar

Sammanfattning: Introduction This master ́s thesis focuses on the financial situation in a number of museums located in Stockholm, Sweden. In particular the study focuses on external financing and sponsorship and which means that are given to meet the conditions surrounding financial support. The aim of the study is to increase the knowledge of how the financial situation for museums looks like and how the interaction between cultural and economic capital shows. Theory The theoretical framework for the study is based on the theory of cultural economics and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural / economic capital and his concept of space. The study used Bruno Freys terms Superstar Museumsand thetotal experience. Method The main method for the study was a comparative method, but a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods were also applied in the study. Interviews were conducted with informants from a number of the museums and data from all the selected museums was collected and compared. The material also consisted of a variety of written material, mostly annual reports, but also news articles, reports and official documents. Analysis & Results The material shows a wide range of factors defining the economic situation of museums in Stockholm. A large part of the income comes from public fundings for the public museums. The private museums are more dependent on incomes from admission fees and external financing. For many of the public museums the market based rents for the building is an issue that causes economic distress. Conclusions Many museums work with sponsorships and have a positive view on external collaborations, at the same time the majority of the museums report a low revenue from sponsorships. The legal framework makes it more difficult for public museums to work with external financing and the taxation system aggravates sponsoring in museums. The free admission reform was both criticized and applauded and divided the private and public museums.