Memorial Art Gallery admission will become free starting in 2027

Sometime next year, admission to the Memorial Art Gallery, now $20, will be free for everyone all the time — forever.

Gallery officials shared the news May 13.

It has not revealed a 2027 start date, saying it will be announced in the coming months. But, “By eliminating our admission fee for everyone in perpetuity, generations of community members will soon be able to enjoy MAG’s extraordinary collection and benefit from a rich cultural education without cost of entry ever standing in the way,” said Sarah Jesse, the gallery’s Mary W. and Donald R. Clark director.

The museum, part of the University of Rochester, has raised more than $9 million through a Free for All, Forever fundraising effort, surpassing the campaign’s original target and much more quickly than expected.

A pivotal $1 million gift from Dr. Alexander “Al” A. Levitan, who graduated from UR’s School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1963, and his wife, Lucy K. Levitan, put the museum’s fundraising goal over the top.

The Levitans are champions of access to education and formative opportunities for young people, the MAG said in a statement. During a visit to donate works of art to the museum, they learned about the Free for All, Forever campaign and wanted to be part of it.

Last fall, a $3 million donation from UR trustee Doug Bennett and his wife, Abby, and the Sands Family Foundation established the Free for All Endowment.

In March, Mary Ellen Burris, who for nearly 50 years was the “voice of the customer” for Wegmans Food Markets, donated $2 million.

Gifts were then made by an anonymous donor, Kitty and Nick Jospé, and Sandy Hawks Lloyd and Justin Hawks Lloyd.

“Many members of the community have also supported the initiative, underscoring that every contribution — no matter the size — is helping to make free admission possible,” the MAG’s statement read.

Free attendance days at the MAG typically increase attendance by sixfold, the museum stated.

Memorial Art Gallery history

The gallery opened in 1913, and for its first 56 years, admission was free in keeping with the vision of founder Emily Sibley Watson.

The MAG houses 5,000 years of art history and a permanent collection of more than 13,000 works, including paintings by Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent and Norman Rockwell.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Memorial Art Gallery admission will become free starting in 2027