Attendance at the Royal sa国际传媒 Museum's exhibit of priceless objects from the British Museum fell short of projections, which means the show won't make a profit at a time when RBCM's government funding is being cut.
During the show's five-month run, which ended Wednesday, about 228,000 people visited instead of the hoped-for 250,000.
The ambitious exhibit cost about $3 million to mount, including building custom high-security cases and a scaled-down replica of the British Museum in a 10,000-square-foot gallery. Victoria was the only Canadian venue for the show.
"There won't be a profit," said museum CEO Pauline Rafferty, who described the exhibit as at "sort of break-even point."
Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum didn't make the instantaneous connection in the public mind made by Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit, which drew nearly twice the numbers in 2007, Rafferty said.
The shortfall in projected attendance represents several hundred thousand dollars and comes on the heels of a cut of more than $600,000 to the museum's annual operating budget of about $20 million in the February provincial budget. The museum is already projecting an operating loss of about $500,000 for the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, and the provincial cut will remain for the following two years.
Given the state of the economy, Rafferty said she's happy Treasures drew greater numbers than the museum saw in the same period in 2008, which included the Free Spirits exhibit for sa国际传媒's 150th anniversary.
Visitors attending the final hour of the exhibit Wednesday were clearly bowled over by the exhibit -- from a life-size statue of the Greek God of Wine to a cast of the Rosetta stone, Middle Eastern pottery and a wooden Viking shield and Matisse sketch.
"Fantastic," said Mary Jackson of Victoria.
"Pretty amazing," said Emma Woodland, 17, of Cobble Hill.
"You would have to go to Europe to see something like this," said Emma's mother, Kate.
The Treasures exhibit had global reach but "it took three sentences to tell anyone about the exhibition," Rafferty said, "whereas when you talk about [the] Egypt or Titanic [exhibits], you have one word and you immediately have an expectation."
The Ancient Egypt exhibit drew 330,000 visitors in 2004, while the Leonardo da Vinci show drew 416,000 in 1999.
The museum's executive team is discussing what a community of 350,000 can afford in terms of ticket prices, aware of resistance to the $27.50 admission cost. "If price is a barrier, then maybe exhibits like this are too expensive for Victoria," Rafferty said.
In addition, she said, the museum will test exhibit aspects such as title, price and advertising with the public in advance of future shows.
Profits from exhibits are typically used to bring in future shows and support permanent galleries.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 23, the museum will open the Canadian premiere of Silver of the Stars -- contemporary silver pieces designed for 10 celebrities, including Sir Sean Connery.
