You gotta have (cultural) marketing

(In the series "You gotta have art" and "You gotta have community building.")

According to the AP story, "Louvre set visitor record in 2006," the Louvre in Paris has a huge increase in attendance. From the article:

The Louvre Museum had a record number of visitors in 2006, thanks to dynamic Friday night programming, successful temporary exhibits and a lecture series by Nobel prize-winner Toni Morrison, the Paris museum said. About 8.3 million people visited the museum in 2006, compared to 7.5 million the previous year, the museum said in a statement. Attendance has increased steadily over the past few years. The Louvre said it was still evaluating what factors affected the 2006 figures.

The statement did not mention any impact from the May release of Ron Howard's film adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code," part of which was shot in the museum, but Louvre officials have said they expected it to draw movie fans.

Both French and foreign visitors were on the rise, the Louvre said, without giving a breakdown. ... The museum also offers free open houses every Friday night to anyone under age 26, popular events that sometimes include concerts and have even featured slam poetry. Popular art exhibits included a major show on the French painter Ingres that brought 379,000 visitors, the Louvre said.

Tourists cycle on the "Pont des arts" (arts' bridge) in front of the Louvre museum in Paris. Paris is bracing for a transport revolution later this year with the arrival of more than 20,000 self-service bicycles thanks to a deal between city hall and one of the world's leading suppliers of urban advertising.(AFP/File/Pierre Verdy)