Last year “Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats its Own Leg” broke the MCA's exhibition attendance record (which was previously held by “David Bowie Is”), drawing 205,000 visitors. That should come as no surprise, considering all of the photos of the Kanye bear and the flower wall that clogged our Instagram feeds this summer.
Today the MCA announced that it set an attendance record in 2017, welcoming more than 370,000 guests to the museum. While the Murakami exhibit definitely played a part, the museum also credits its Merce Cunningham retrospective and "We Are Here" exhibit as attendance drivers.
The record caps off the MCA's 50th anniversary, which coincided with a $16 million renovation of the museum's facilities, including the opening of the Marisol restaurant and a new multi-purpose space on the museum's second floor.