A digital front door to Brazil’s most beloved museum: that was the vision behind a recent McKinsey collaboration with the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP). Skip the line, buy a ticket, see a masterpiece. For art fans all over the world, it has never been easier to access the museum’s treasures.
The new digital ticket office streamlines visitor entry so it’s three times faster. It enables visitors to purchase tickets for admission, events, and experiences—and make donations—all in one place. A custom dashboard helps museum administrators track visitor volume, preferences, and trends, information that can help in supporting more targeted and relevant outreach.
McKinsey has a long history of working in the cultural sector. We have served some 100+ museums, performing arts, cultural heritage and science institutions around the world, providing strategic guidance, digital transformation, and capability building.
MASP was founded in 1947 and plays a major role as a cultural center in Brazil, with a focus on art exhibition, education, and conservation—and a collection totaling 11,000 pieces.
McKinsey’s relationship with MASP dates back over a decade, with Heitor Martins—senior partner and longtime advocate for Brazil’s cultural sector—serving as the museum’s executive president from 2014 until this year.
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“Cultural institutions, such as MASP, play a crucial role in making a more creative, equitable, and empathetic society,” says Heitor. “The museum wanted to ensure access of its tremendous resources to all of its publics and knew that a digital entry channel was an essential part of this, especially as they prepared to double their footprint with a new addition opening in March.” The new 14-floor expansion employs the latest in sustainability, technology, and construction advances, and provides space for exhibits, education, and conservation purposes.
Over just 14 weeks, a team of four experts from our business building unit, including two developers, a solution architect, and a UI designer—collaborated with MASP to launch the new platform. They built the cloud infrastructure, designed the user experience, ensured third-party integrations (with platforms like Google, Apple Wallet, and payment gateways), and then trained the museum staff for ongoing ownership. In its first few months, the digital channel generated more than $1 million in revenue, sold 45,000 tickets, and processed over 25,000 transactions—helping MASP reach more people, faster.
“We grew up visiting MASP as school kids, so contributing to this project was deeply meaningful,” says Matheus Sena, a software engineer who helped lead the work. “More important than the technology is the impact: we’ve helped bring the beauty and inspiration that comes from art into the lives of so many more citizens and visitors to Brazil.”
Special thanks to team members: Andressa Nozue, Carolina Akel, Alan Santos, Ronaldo Rocha, Thiago Delgado