Brooklyn Museum Breaks Attendance Records

This past Saturday, the Brooklyn Museum experienced record-breaking attendance, due in part to its monthly Target First Saturday event on July 3, 2010. The day - from 11am to 11pm drew a total of 24,000 visitors. The special exhibitions Andy Warhol: The Last Decade and American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection were the focal points of this enthusiastic crowd. The evening celebration featured an electro-pop music showcase with two Brooklyn-based acts: Analogue Transit and Dynasty Electric, a screening of the film I Shot Andy Warhol, and a Warhol-inspired dance party of eighties pop, hip-hop, and rock hosted by Society HAE titled "The Factory 2010."

"When we premiered First Saturdays in October of 1998, we were very pleased that the event attracted over 2,000 visitors," said Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman. "It is very gratifying to see nearly 10 times the number of people visiting the Museum during daytime hours as well as participating in an exciting evening of free programs of art and entertainment."

First Saturdays was conceived of by Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman and is a component of an effort to expand audience by attracting diverse visitors of all ages including families and young adults. Today an average of 6,500 people attend each Target First Saturday, with a prior attendance record of 16,000 visitors that took place during the run of the © Murakami exhibition.

Made possible by the Wallace Foundation Community Programs Fund, established by the Wallace Foundation with additional support from DLA Piper US LLP, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Ellis A. Gimbel Trust, National Grid, and other donors.

New York Times Community Affairs Department, media sponsor.

WNYC Radio, broadcast media sponsor.

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn NY 11238-6052