The downtown landmark wants to be a gathering place rather than a busy day trip destination where people can stop for coffee and engage in culture, said Josh Basseches, the museum’s director and chief executive officer.
“We want as many people of all backgrounds, of all ages, whether born here in Canada or from all over the world, to feel that this is their place,” he said.  “To feel that the ROM is almost a kind of living room for them.”
The initiative for the free central floor started on Thursday and will last until September 25.  The first floor includes the First Peoples Gallery, as well as the galleries of China and Korea and two special pandemic exhibitions.  A Greek sculpture of a girl, the Kore 670, is also on display at the moment.
“The intention now is, coming out of the pandemic, at a time when people were crammed into their homes, to say: go back to civilization, go back to ROM,” Basseches said.
For some, that would be natural, he said.  But others may not find museums very accessible.
“There are a lot of people who are already fans of ROM, who buy a ticket come, become members spend a lot of time here,” Basseches said.  “We try to reach out to those people who may not know us and find all the ways we can get them to engage, experience and hopefully come back again and again.”
Free entry experimentation is common among cultural institutions seeking to enhance participation and a model also used by the Ontario Gallery.
AGO allows guests to enter for free on Wednesday nights, and those under the age of 25 never have to pay an entrance fee.  Vancouver Gallery, meanwhile, plans to make admission free for visitors under the age of 18 from July 1 and will last for five years.
Cara Krmpotich, director of museum studies at the University of Toronto, said the free admission model is becoming increasingly popular for good reason.
“People want to get involved with culture again, right?”  So after the pandemic, how can we re-engage with these institutions, our creative ideas, our sense of history, our sense of place and our sense of self?  “Museums are a place where we do that,” he said.
Krbotic said the model has worked elsewhere in the world, including the British Museum in London.
“His yard, because there was no barrier to entry, became a place where people working nearby would come and bring their food and sit in the environment,” Krbotic said.  “When I think of Toronto and our need for public spaces, museums can serve that function for our cities and our communities.”
He said the model does not necessarily need to put museums in his pocketbook because most of his income comes from sources other than imports.
Museums could have high profile artists or scientists come to give lectures, which they will charge.  They could rent space for filming and weddings, for gala and conferences.
And of course, they can do something like what the ROM is trying to do.
“This move to the ROM has to do with the fact that you will pay extra to see dinosaurs or visit exhibitions,” Krmpotich said.
Bass agreed.  Once people enter the first-floor exhibits, he said, they may feel compelled to buy a ticket to see what else the museum has to offer.
“We feel pretty confident that if people get a taste of ROM, they will want to come back, they will want to see the whole institution and they will want to become a member,” he said.  .
This Canadian Press report was first published on June 9, 2022.