If art's free, will more go see it?

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If art's free, will more go see it?

Updated: October 23, 2007 - 8:23 PM

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An experiment: Starting Jan. 1, a number of French museums and monuments will stop charging entrance fees in a six-month experiment to see whether they will draw a wider audience, Culture Minister Christine Albanel announced Tuesday in Paris.

"The main question is simply how to inspire desire -- desire for artistic experiences and culture -- in people who are not familiar with these places," said Albanel. "We'll see if free entry is the right response."

Paris venues: Three of the museums are in Paris -- Guimet, home to Asian art; Cluny, with medieval treasures; and Arts et Metiers, with scientific inventions.

A skeptic: Francoise Benhamou, a Sorbonne economics professor, points out that many French museum-goers already get in for free because of open-house days and other offers. Foreign tourists, she said, will benefit most.

ASSOCIATED PRESS