Art and the Economy, a marriage of convenience: The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Abstract

Even if museums in the past were created for cultural purposes, many recently created museums have appeared which serve the purpose as motors for economic regeneration and the diversification of cities and urban areas. The case of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is perhaps the best known example and, at the same time, one of the most successful ones with regard to the attraction of visitors and the creation of tourism. However, if museums of this kind were to be successful, their effectiveness as engines for economic urban development would not come automatically but would depend on a series of geographic, social, economic, managerial, and cultural conditions. This article describes the current situation of academic research on the topic of museums as economic re-activators and analyses a series of conditions for effectiveness, based on the example of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.