TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Fubon Art Museum (富邦美術館), which opened in May, has come under fire for its general admission ticket price of NT$1,200 (US$37).

On Sunday (June 1), art critic Chien Hsiu-chih  (簡秀枝) questioned the admission price in a Facebook post. This sparked a heated debate in the comments section.

The museum responded Tuesday (June 4) by saying that all revenues would go back toward supporting the arts and related education, per CNA. Its shows feature sculptor Auguste Rodin plus the museum's collection.

Aside from general tickets, early bird tickets are NT$880, and a limited number of 30,000 Fubon member-exclusive tickets are NT$680 for both exhibitions. Teachers and students in the 12-year national education system get discounted tickets for NT$200.

Chien compared these prices to major museums abroad, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City charging US$28 (NT$908) for general admission, which is the most expensive globally. The Louvre Museum and the Pompidou Center Museum in Paris both have general admission tickets costing less than 17 euros (NT$597).

Chien argued the museum's ticket prices, even with discounts, exceed the typical entertainment budget of general wage-earning families. Additionally, the museum is located on public land and has benefited from government subsidies.

The Fubon Group is a leading domestic enterprise. According to Chien, it should give back to the community and assist the government in strengthening the nation's cultural soft power.

Prominent Taiwanese author Joyce Yen (顏擇雅) shared Chien's post, suggesting a boycott of the museum. Another comment raised the question of whether the government would have allocated public land to a private company if not for the museum's construction.

Taipei National University of the Arts School of Fine Arts Professor Chu Teh-i (曲德益) added that private museums in Asia charge significantly less. The Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art charges 10,000 won (about NT$235) for admission to all three buildings designed by world-class architects, while the Mori Art Museum charges 1,800 yen (about NT$371) for admission.

Fubon Art Museum informed CNA that sales of discounted tickets for students and teachers have surpassed 1,000 since opening. Planning an exhibition requires significant manpower, resources, and financial investment, it added.

For example, its inaugural exhibition, which required two years of planning, incurred huge costs for transportation and insurance.