​​Today, AEA Consulting released the latest edition of the Cultural Infrastructure Index (CII), which tracks global capital investment in cultural projects with budgets of US$10 million or more that were publicly announced or completed in 2024.This marks the ninth edition of the CII, providing a near decade-long view of trends in the cultural sector, including an increase in the number of capital projects with budgets over $10M. 

The 2024 CII tracked a total of 334 cultural infrastructure projects worldwide, 159 of which were completed in 2024 and 175 announced as new builds, renovations, expansions, or adaptive reuse facilities. The capital project budgets were available for 70% of the 334 tracked projects - cumulatively amounting to $6.1 billion in capital investment in completed projects and $8.3 billion in planned projects.

This year’s CII also highlights trends and areas of growing interest in the sector. Notably, over $550M has been invested in 12 children’s museum projects, reflecting an increased focus on providing cultural and learning spaces for children and young audiences. The report also cites significant investments from cultural institutions in outdoor public spaces, as they use their grounds to foster civic engagement, accessibility, and environmental stewardship. In addition, the CII spotlights innovations in cultural buildings in Seoul, including the Audeum, the world’s first audio-dedicated museum, and the Seoul Robot & AI Museum (RAIM), one of the world’s first cultural institutions dedicated entirely to robotics and AI.

Highlights from the 2024 Cultural Infrastructure Index include:

• For the ninth consecutive year, museums and galleries remained the most prevalent building type, accounting for 209 announced and completed projects, valued at $8.8 Billion for 144 museum projects with announced budgets.
• Large-scale museum projects completed in 2024 include the Grand Egyptian Museum complex in Giza, with a total capital cost in the range of $1B; the Audeum in Seoul ($150M capital cost); and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw ($109M).
• Performing arts centers and facilities are the second most popular type of cultural buildings tracked in 2024, with 57 total. Half of these include renovations of existing theaters and auditoriums.
• 48% of the projects tracked in the 2024 Index are located in North America, 27% in Europe, 16% in Asia, with 10% around the rest of the world. The highest number of newly-built cultural facilities were tracked in the United States (62), China (19), United Kingdom (14), Canada (8), and South Korea (7).
• 27% of the projects tracked are located in “global cities,” including 14 in New York, 8 in London, 6 in Los Angeles, 4 in Vancouver, and 3 in Taipei.
• The three projects completed in 2023 with the highest budgets were the Grand Egyptian Museum (in the range of US$1B) in Giza, the East Kowloon Cultural Centre (US$515M) in Hong Kong, and the Paleozoological Museum of China (US$234M) in Baoding.
• The announced projects with the three highest budgets were The Metropolitan Museum of Art (US$500M) in New York, Portland State University Auditorium (US$358M) in Portland, Oregon, and the Frisco Center for the Arts (US$340M) in Frisco, Texas.

Explore more of AEA Consulting's findings in the 2024 Cultural Infrastructure Index.