Despite a second year of war in Israel, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art has been ranked the 78th top museum in the world in a list of the most visited museums globally by international art magazine, The Art Newspaper.
The ranking, published at the start of April, is based on visitor numbers at leading museums worldwide.
This is the seventh year consecutively that TAMA has made it to the list of the world’s most popular museums, and is significant given not only the war, but also because of the unofficial cultural boycott against Israel in the global art scene.
In 2024, the museum – located next to Hostages Square, which has become a focal point for families of the hostages kidnapped to Gaza on October 7 and the site of rallies and protests – saw 1,057,362 visitors.
The annual list is this year topped by the British Museum, the Vatican museums in Rome and the Louvre in Paris.
In Tel Aviv, the museum’s most visited exhibition over the last year was “To Catch a Fleeting Moment: 150 years of Impressionism.” It was displayed in a protected space within the museum to keep the artwork and visitors alike safe from missile attacks.
“I am particularly proud that during these difficult times, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is receiving international recognition and securing its place among the world’s leading museums,” said museum director Tania Coen-Uzzielli.
“Located next to Hostages Square, which has become an inseparable part of us over the past year, the museum has become a cultural anchor for Israeli society, a healing space for many communities, and a source of comfort and hope for the public.”
