Cultural Spaces for New Audiences
Amy Kaufman, Lord Cultural Resources
Cr ea t in g Cu lt u r a l Ca pit a l
Table of Contents
•
Changing Demographics
and Behavior
• Institutional Change
• Design Implications
Interior, British Museum, London
Photo: fourmthree 10 Apr
2006/http://www.flickr.com/photos/51462625@N00/126331906/http://w
ww.flickr.com/photos/51462625@N00/126331906/
The Louvre, Paris
Photo: Gregory Bastien 21 June 2008/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregory_bastien/2598585324/
It’s a New World
Technology was only the beginning…
•
New audiences, behaving in new ways
• Funders are demanding real impact on "real people"
• Budgets have been cut 10%-30%
• Expansions and new buildings on hold
Museums are responding:
•
Emphasis on social engagement through relevant and interdisciplinary
programming
• New models for collection building and storage
• New approaches to space
Changing Demographics
The Changing Face of America - 2034
Aging Baby Boomers
Acceleration of
Minority Populations
Photo: Walt Jabsco/Picassa
More Working Mothers
Photo: Karen Banez/Picassa
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?q
=old%20active%20couple&psc=G&filt
er=1#5264346987601400226
20%
of the
population will be
65+
46% of the
population will be
minorities
Women get married
and have kids later
in life
No Average American
Multicultural
Diversity
Multigenerational
Aging
Special Interest Groups
Internet
An Emerging Core Audience: Young
Cosmopolitans
YoCos, young cosmopolitans, are turning modern and
contemporary art institutions into hubs of social activity.
•
65% of all YoCos participated in cultural activities last year (vs. 35% of the general
population)
•
36% visited museums (6.1 million)
•
YoCos are:
•
•
•
•
Digital
Event driven
Fundamentally social
Guided by word of mouth
Photo: Larry Williams/Picassa
•
Living in apartments – social activity is focused outside the home
Core Audiences are Evolving
Changing Behavior
Activity Clustering
Activities Must Deliver More Than Ever Before:
Offer “Bang for
your Buck”
Be worth their
Time
Photo: Royalty-Free/Corbin/Picassa
Allow people to “Make a Day
of It” (Clustering)
Attendance Rising at Active Museums Types
Visitors are seeking out active, participatory, family
friendly experiences.
Median Attendance
Science or Tech Museum
Living Collections*
Children’s or Youth Museum
Natural History or Anthropology
Art Museum
General Museum
Overall Average
Specialized Museum
Historic Home or Site
History Museum
2009
357,103
208,574
130,870
58,176
44,878
58,500
26,500
22,000
11,700
10,000
*In 2009, AAM consolidated Zoos/Aquariums, Arboretum/Botanic Gardens and
Nature Centers into one category called “Living Collections”
Audiences Trending toward Locals
Tourism is down, but local attendance is projected to increase.
•
28% of respondents to a recent national study expect to increase attendance at
museums in the next 6 months (66% expect to remain the same)1
•
7 out of 10 looking for: convenient schedule, discounted programs, free events and
exhibitions
•
Attracting repeat visits will become more important than ever before
•35%
of surveyed museums in the UK have seen an increase in visitors, with many
reporting record figures2
1 LaPlaca Cohen/AMS forthcoming study
2 The Art Fund, “Culture Crunch? The Art Fund Museum Survey – Sept 2008 – March 2009
New Modes of Communication
Visitors are regularly using new
technologies.
• Walker Center “Art on Call”
• Cell phone tour
• Web with 2.0
• MP3 podcasts
• The visitor experience now starts at home – or
on a PDA
• Almost half of ticketing projected to be done
online
Photo: Fire Monkey Fish 29 Oct 2004/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmewuji/1136537/
Institutional Change
“The museum is like a living, cultural being. It’s an active space, a thinking
space.”
Pieranna Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art, Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum
From Aggregating to Civil Society Institutions
Emphasis on
Collections
Emphasis on
Programming
Photo: Craig Stevens 19 Jan 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beantown/3209643011/
Photo: Walters Art Museum 7 July 2009/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walters-art-museum/3697505361/
Social Engagement as the Primary Driver
Museums are promoting the social context as integral to the
experience.
• Centre Pompidou - a complete multifaceted experience
• Orange County Museum of Art - Orange Lounge, a multimedia space
youth
• Museums in general - prime sources for building
“social capital”
•Harvard Business School Alumni –
The Contemporaries
•Art Circle – 10 New York arts groups
•Young Professionals of Milwaukee – Art Mob
that targets
Art Production as Part of the Experience
Museums are increasingly
taking on the role of studio
and lab to integrate
production into the visitor
experience.
• Museum of Art and Design, New
York
• Greene Family Learning Gallery,
High Museum, Atlanta
Photo: http://www.madmuseum.org/DO/
Open%20Studios.aspx
Photo: bittermelon 2 July 2008/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bittermelon/26328
12256/in/photostream/
Focusing on the Community
Community centric initiatives are being rewarded through
increased visitation and greater impact.
•
Brooklyn Museum has reached out to its immediate community by:
•
•
•
•
•
Welcoming everyone
Producing social and family programming – Target First Saturdays
Taking in travelling blockbusters
Reimagining permanent collection
Creating a point of differentiation: The Sackler Center for Feminist Art
NOMA saw record attendance at the Rodrigue “Blue Dog” exhibition which
dealt with Hurricane Katrina and incorporated social events.
•
Partnerships & Alliances
Museums are leveraging
partnerships and alliances in
new ways to.
• The Mori in Tokyo admits visitors to the
mixed use development for free
• Munch and Stenersen are co-locating to
tell a bigger story
• Space carved out in Federal Hall for
partnership with NYC & Co.
Mori Tower, Tokyo
Photo: s.yume/ 11 Sept 2009/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/3911042876/in/photostream
Interdisciplinary Endeavors
Cultural institutions are blurring
boundaries and emerging as catalysts
of interdisciplinary investigation.
The Lab at Belmar –Mixed Tastes: Tag Team
Lectures on Unrelated Topics (Marxism and Kittens,
Silent Films and Counterfeit Currency, Tamales and
Literary Memoirs, Walt Whitman and Whole Hog
Cooking), Spoken word and musical performances
• Le Laboratorie – Collaborations and innovation in
Art Science
• Works & Process at the Guggenheim
•
Visitor Curated Content
Museums are forging deeper relationships
with visitors by allowing them to drive
narrative.
• MoMA: “unauthorized” podcast has led to visitor clips
posted on website
• Musetrek – Web 2.0 application for PDAs currently in
testing at the Louvre
•My Collection – Acoustiguide and HP technology, allows
collection items to be bookmarked and downloaded after tour
Photo: http://www.musetrek.com/
Implications for Design
Beyond Galleries and Lobbies
• Active experiences
• Welcoming for both savvy and first time visitors
• Providing for both formal and informal education
• Displaying collection in new ways
• Maximum flexibility
• Comfortable for all ages
• Setting the scene for social interaction
• Lobbies – less ticketing, more service?
Campuses and Mixed-Use Environments
Institutions continue to link in
cultural clusters to attract a critical
mass of local and tourists.
• Dallas Cultural District
• Galicia’s City of Culture
• Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island
Wyly Center, Dallas Arts District
Photo: Iwan Bann/ New York Times
Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
Photo: Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Corporation
Transparency and Permeability
There is a deliberate movement away
from imposing “institutional”
buildings to create places of meaning
and community.
• Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati
• Brooklyn Museum, New York
•Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan
State University
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn
Photo: Joe Architect/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/2673291934/
Back of House Moves to the Front
Institutions are leveraging all
their activities to provide a
more robust visitor
experience.
• California Academy of Sciences
• Chicago Botanic Garden
• Lunder Center, Smithsonian Museum
of American Art
California Academy of Sciences
Larger, Flexible Volumes
Institutions are preparing to deliver
new and unexpected forms of
exhibitions and performance.
• Park Avenue Armory, New York
Kind Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, Dharan,
Saudi Arabia
•National Museum of African American History
and Culture, Washington, DC
• King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and
Culture, Dharan, Saudi Arabia
Ernesto Neto “Anthropodino”, Park Avenue Armory Photo:
www.armoryonpark.org
Social Spaces
Social spaces are no longer an afterthought.
• Orange Lounge, Orange County Museum of Art
• Y2K Lounge, Rubin Museum of Art, New York
• SFMoMA, Sculpture Garden and Café
•Children’s Museum of Manhattan
Y2K Lounge, Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Photo: Chang Lee/ The New York Times
Visible Storage
Collections are being made
accessible and helping visitors to
understand the challenges and
possibilities of curatorial work.
• University of Michigan Art Museum, Ann
Arbor
• Brooklyn Museum, New York
• Darwin Center, London
New York Historical Society, New York
Education Centers and “Hot-Spots”
As museums serve increasingly
diverse audiences formal and
informal learning spaces are
becoming “must haves.”
• Education Center at the New Museum, New
York: Museum as Hub, Resource Center
• ICA, Boston: Mediatheque
• Denver Art Museum: hotspots
•California Academy of Sciences, San
Francisco: Naturalist Center and learning
stations
Mediateque Center
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
Photos: Franchphotos/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankphotos/2797696288/
Project Spaces and Artists in Residence
Project spaces and artist
studios are now planned
rather than adapted by
curators in need of flexible
space.
• Museum of Contemporary Art, San
Diego
• Park Avenue Armory, New York
• August Wilson Center,
Pennsylvania
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
Photo: Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
Retooling Existing Spaces
Museums are reconsidering
plans to expand and opting to
reconfigure existing space.
San Jose Art Museum, California
Grouping, Regrouping and Getting Comfortable
Cultural spaces are not known for
comfort. Visitors rarely arrive at
urban cultural institutions feeling
composed.
• Driving destinations are simpler and even
allow people to be processed in their cars.
• The new Brooklyn Museum entrance provides
outdoor seating, space to breathe and group,
public restrooms, coat check, and NO pressure
to hurry through and buy a ticket.
Interior Brooklyn Museum, New York
Photo: Tommaync 11 May 2008/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/perke/368141117/
Universal Design and Access
As active Boomers age and
intergenerational visitation
increases, universal access will
become critical - and expected.
Following ADA guidelines may not be enough.
Are there perfect examples of universally
accessible cultural spaces?
• Newseum
Newseum, Washington D.C.
Photo: Afagen 10 Dec 2007
http://www.flickr.com/photos/afagen/2101181909/
Changes in Demographics
Changes in Behavior
Changes in Institutions
Design Implications