Own revenues vs. subsidies

In 2018 the share of income raised by the Kunsthal itself was 67% of the total revenues relative to the subsidie of city of Rotterdam. This self-raised income comprises entrance fees, shop sales, catering turnover and gifts by sponsor, funds, lotteries and private donors.

In 2018 the Kunsthal changed its pricing structure. The regular price for adults was raised from €12 to €14 and the €2 children’s fee was abandoned. Children up to the age of 18 can now enter for free, also when visiting with their schools. The administration costs for online tickets were also cut. With this new pricing structure, the prices of the Kunsthal are now in line with those of comparable museums in the city and beyond. The change in pricing has resulted in the intended positive effect on the development of our own revenues.

Commercial Rentals

The use of the Auditorium and the KunsthalLAB by third parties, and the ensuing revenues again increased in 2018. The farewell receptions of Jan-Peter Balkende, as president of the International Advisory Board, and of Pex Langeberg, as alderman for Culture, were both held at the Kunsthal, for instance. VanTraa Lawyers, Stedin, ASIS Benelux, ING, HAL Investments, Achmea, ASN Bank, Hollandia Services, Erasmus MC, 010 Businesswomen and others held meetings at the Kunsthal, and the award ceremonies of the Job Dura Award and the Maaskant Prize also took place in the Auditorium. We are striving for connections with the city’s corporate life, with qualitative and inspiring network meetings, and a continued growth in revenues. This growth is limited by our own use of the Auditorium for our substantive side programme.

Cashless

In view of sustainability and security, the Kunsthal Rotterdam switched to cashless methods of payment in April 2018. Payment is possible with debit card, MasterCard or Visa card. Cash payment is still accepted for a bite to eat or a drink at the Kunsthal Café. Shifting to cashless payments has led to higher efficiency and is experienced as positive by our visitors.

Store

The Kunsthal Store also managed to achieve a better result than in 2017. Apart from the regular store, there were two Pop-up Stores – temporary stores for the duration of a certain exhibition – selling products connected to (the design of) the exhibition. In 2018, the Pop-up Stores were themed around Viktor&Rolf. The increase in retail turnover is the result of the higher visitor numbers and the sales of merchandise products that we developed ourselves. These have a higher margin than purchased products.

Catering

Our catering outlet experienced a very good year because of the high visitor numbers. The permit for extending the outdoor terrace proved its worth during the beautiful summer.

Economic Spin-Off

The economic spin-off from cultural institutions like the Kunsthal that are a great asset to the city of Rotterdam, is of enormous value. Our own audience research shows that in 2018, 70% of the Kunsthal audience combined their visit with activities like shopping, eating and drinking, staying in a hotel and/or visiting other attractions. In 2018, Kunsthal visitors gave the city of Rotterdam an economic injection worth over 15.5 million euros.

Creating Jobs

The Kunsthal contributes to creating job opportunities for the city of Rotterdam, for example for dozens of Rotterdam-based freelancers, companies and retailers who help design and set up the exhibitions, organise and produce other events and marketing activities.

Audience research

The Kunsthal is constantly working on broadening and expanding its audience. In order to accumulate data about the audience, the Kunsthal taps into various sources. In 2018, the Kunsthal again joined Hendrik Beerda’s Continue Bezoekersonderzoek (continuous visitor research) for benchmarking purposes with regard to the other (art) museums participating in this survey.

Also, the anonymous data of the Rotterdampas and the Museumkaart were analysed, as well as the anonymous data from sold e-tickets that were part of the Rotterdam Festivals postcode survey. Through the Rotterdam Festivals dashboard, the Kunsthal is able to use the Mosaic model for gaining more insight into its target groups, identifying the correct communication channels for reaching these and initiating possible partnerships.

The Kunsthal also receives anonymous data from the photobooth. Combined with the other data these can provide an increasingly clearer picture of who the Kunsthal visitor is and help us in monitoring new audiences. On a yearly basis, 30% of the Kunsthal visitors are new audience members who are often attracted by specific exhibitions. With the term ‘new audience’ we are referring to people who have never visited the Kunsthal before.