KING TUT TOUTS MORE THAN 937,000 VISITORS
46% First Time Visitors to Museum

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced that 937,613 people visited Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs during its run at the museum from June 16 through November 20, 2005. Nearly half of surveyed attendees, 46%, said that the exhibition motivated them to visit LACMA for the first time and almost a quarter, 24%, stated that they had not been to the museum in over two years. The exhibition also proved to be an educational success, drawing 150,000 children, with 60,000 of them brought to the exhibition through school tours.

Additionally, 27% of King Tut ticket holders said they visited or intended on visiting other exhibitions that same day, resulting in increased attendance for special exhibitions like Pioneering Modern Painting: Cézanne & Pissarro 1865-1885, and Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship, and for LACMA’s encyclopedic permanent collection. Over 20,000 new members joined LACMA as a result of the King Tut exhibition and membership ranks have grown to more than 85,000.

The exhibition, organized by National Geographic, AEG Exhibitions, and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and sponsored by Northern Trust, has been a boon for the local economy, with spending by visitors from outside Los Angeles County resulting in an economic impact of $168 million. 36% of Tut visitors came from L.A. County, with 82% coming from California, 99% from the U.S., and 1% from other countries. Nearly 6,000 of the children who attended the exhibition received special docent-led tours, while 2,000 received free buses and admission thanks to LACMA’s corporate partners Boeing and AT&T. And LACMA’s accompanying exhibition, The Pharaoh’s World, located in the Boone Children’s Gallery, hosted more than 60,000 children for free activities. LACMA has also played host to more than 3,000 children who attended free Egyptian-themed family days.

“In addition to providing an opportunity to experience outstanding works of art and to learn about ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs helped draw significant new audiences to the museum.” LACMA President Melody Kanschat said. “It has proven to be a tremendous success as demonstrated by the enormous attendance from new and regular visitors.”

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