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# Citing Attendance Slump, SFMOMA Cuts 20 Jobs
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/citing-attendance-slump-sfmoma-cuts-20-jobs/
- Published: 2023-11-16T22:54:47.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:04:09.000Z
- Description: The museum reported a 35% attendance drop from 2019.
- Author: Rhea Nayyar
- Tags: News, Labor, Museums, SFMOMA, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:29 (2023, 2024, part 1)

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has laid off seven staff members and will not fill 13 open positions, Director Chris Bedford [announced](https://www.sfmoma.org/press-release/letter-to-the-community/?ref=hyperallergic.com) last week.

Bedford cited a "challenging pandemic recovery," including a 35% attendance drop for the 2023 fiscal year compared to that of 2019\. He also mentioned rising costs and the "forthcoming exhaustion of pandemic-related relief funds" as reasons for the staff reduction.

The museum increased its admission fees [by over 20% last month](https://www.sfmoma.org/press-release/sfmoma-announces-changes-to-general-admissions-pricing-effective-fall-2023/?ref=hyperallergic.com) for the first time since 2016, bumping the standard adult ticket from $25 to $30\. SFMOMA's adjusted fees announcement highlights that admissions and membership fees make up approximately 22% of the institution's annual revenue, also acknowledging the reduced foot traffic in San Francisco's Downtown since the onset of COVID-19\. As of 2022, SFMOMA's assets totaled $809 million, according to [*ProPublica*'s Nonprofit Explorer](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/941156300?ref=hyperallergic.com).

The increased ticket prices kicked off during the October 14 opening of Yayoi Kusama's latest solo exhibition at the museum, *Infinite Love*, which requires separate admissions reservations online at a [$10 surcharge](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935810/yayoi-kusama-sfmoma-infinite-love-review?ref=hyperallergic.com) to experience the artist's signature Infinity Mirror Rooms for just two minutes. Ahead of the show's opening, [Kusama apologized](https://hyperallergic.com/yayoi-kusama-apologizes-for-anti-black-comments/) for [several instances of anti-Black commentary](https://hyperallergic.com/what-the-art-world-doesnt-want-you-to-know-about-yayoi-kusama/) in her 2002 autobiography and other text-based works from her early career in New York. Kusama's comments picked up traction after Dexter Thomas's [Opinion piece for *Hyperallergic*](https://hyperallergic.com/what-the-art-world-doesnt-want-you-to-know-about-yayoi-kusama/) in June.

Local news outlet [*KQED*](https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937967/sfmoma-layoffs-2023-decline-in-attendance?ref=hyperallergic.com) reported that the seven laid-off employees spanned different departments and that some union positions were affected. Neither the museum nor SFMOMA's union have responded to *Hyperallergic*'s requests for comment.