Behind the scenes at an exhibition

Museums are economic engines," reads a fact sheet published by the American Alliance of Museums. And there follows a staggering list of statistics: Museums employ more than 400,000 Americans and directly contribute $21 billion to the economy every year. "Arts and cultural production constitute 4.32% of the entire U.S. economy, a $698 billion industry, more than construction ($586.7 billion) or transportation and warehousing ($464 billion)," continues the well-intentioned list of talking points.