What do you think is the key issue for the museum/gallery sector today?
In the 1980s, renowned American museologist Stephen Weil identified three issues he
believed challenged the museum and gallery sector: ‘money, power, and identity’ (Weil,
1983), and some forty years later, these three issues continue to provide significant
challenges to the survival of museums.
The museum and gallery sector has needed to re-invent its practice as its role in society has
changed in response to political, social, economic, and cultural factors. Over time museums
have evolved from being inward-facing institutions responsible for collecting and
safeguarding cultural objects to outward-facing centres of community engagement, fun, and
learning.
Weil suggests that 'the relationship between the museum and the public must be understood
as a revolution in process' noting that
‘museums were created and maintained by the high for the low, by the couth for the
uncouth, by the washed for the unwashed, by those who knew for those who didn't
but needed to know and who would come to learn. The museum was established to
"do." What was to be "done" was the public.’ (Weil, 1998)
Weil proposed that the museum's role will change in the future 'from one of mastery to one
of service' and that 'it will be the public, not the museum, that occupies the superior position'
(Weil, 1998), which is the situation museums find themselves in today as they strive to
become more person-centered.
The issues suggested by Weil provide a good starting point to discuss issues facing
museums today particularly considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which has
prompted significant changes to how museums connect with their audiences and continue
delivering their services.
The pandemic forced museums to close their doors, which ultimately reduced their face-toface audience engagement. According to the recent ICOM survey, 6.1% of participants
thought their museum may be forced to close permanently due to the pandemic, and more
than 50% believed their institution would have to operate with reduced opening hours
(ICOM, 2020), affecting how museums will deliver their services.
Museums have always sought to find new ways to engage with their audiences. However,
the immediate impact of COVID-19 forced many museums to rethink how they could
continue to provide access to collections and support those who wanted to engage with the
museum. While the pandemic brought audience engagement to the forefront of museum
practice, many museums were already dealing with these issues. The pandemic revealed
these challenges rather than creating them.
How museums continue to operate during the pandemic and deal with the aftermath of
COVID-19 is a pressing issue facing the sector today. Moving beyond the pandemic,
museums will still need to address issues that existed pre-COVID-19.
Reflecting on the issues of 'money, power, and identity' highlighted by Weil (Weil, 1983),
'identity' is crucial in ensuring museums' survival in the future. The museum's identity is
fundamental as it encapsulates who the museum is as an institution and who they exist for.
Weil suggests that this issue involves 'two forms of shift in the identity claimed by the
institution: the identity it represents and a reconfiguration within the institution itself' (Weil,
1998). This shift in identity is a result of 'rapid societal development' that causes museums to
change their ‘definition and public practice' (Black, 2012) in order to stay relevant.
As Weil correctly suggested in 1998, audience involvement is now central to the museum’s
purpose, and before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was already a growing need for
museums to find new ways to be relevant to their existing audiences while also trying to
reach out and engage new audiences. The pandemic and subsequent global 'lockdowns'
required museums to explore how they will continue to connect with audiences, especially if
they remain closed to physical visits in the longer term.
21st Century museums aim to be people-centered but for the most part, the people who visit
museums are not a true reflection of people living in the local communities or the wider
population. Worldwide evidence and statistics show that only a small part of the population
regularly visits museums, with typical visitors ‘being well-educated, affluent and versed in
deciphering museum code' (Burton & Scott, 2003).
Statistics from the latest Taking Part survey commissioned by the UK Department for
Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) showed that cultural participation is higher among people
from 'upper-socio-economic groups' than those that live in the 'least deprived areas.' Results
also showed that museum visitors vary by age, 'with younger (16-24 years) and older (75+
years) adults generally less likely to have visited a museum, gallery or archive in the last
year than those aged 25-74 years' (DCMS, 2020).
Until recently, research into museum audiences focused on quantitative information using a
market research approach, which segmented visitors according to age, gender, education,
and family status. This initial research revealed that the largest group of traditional museum
visitors are 'white, middle class, well-educated professionals who visit occasionally for
leisure purposes' (Black, 2012). Further studies highlighted that this social class factor is
evident across different museums and cultural institutions (Hood, 1993).
Quantitative research can explain who is visiting museums but offers no additional
information about why they visit, what they expect from their visit, or whether their
expectations were met. Today, research widely uses qualitative methods to provide this
information, which tells us what motivates visitors to come to museums, their needs, and
expectations, and how satisfied they are with their visit (Black, 2012).
What this new research fails to show, are the reasons why people do not visit museums.
With 53% of the adult population never visiting museums (DCMS, 2020), it is crucial that
new ways are found to reach out to this potential audience while remaining attractive to their
current audience. Kathryn Thomson proposes for museums to realise their full potential, they
need to 'find out who still isn't coming to the museum and why?' stating, 'it's about growing
an audience by creating converts who have never visited before' (Thomson, 2020).
According to the Taking Part survey, the most common reasons for people not visiting
museums in England were 'not being interested (41%), not having time (38%), having a
health problem or disability (13%), difficulty getting there (8%') and too expensive (7%)'
(DCMS, 2020).
This survey revealed that 'not being interested' was more of a barrier for lower socioeconomic groups who do not feel the 'arts' are relevant to their lives, whereas 'not having
time' was more relevant to those in the higher socio-economic groups. Findings also
highlighted that 'the least affluent in society benefit least from the wide range of arts
opportunities available in this country' (Bunting et al., 2007), resulting in a large section of
the population being overlooked and excluded.
Museums need to offer audiences what they want, and with many visitors only going to
museums as little as once a year, considering the needs and opinions of current audiences
will help museums tackle how to encourage regular, repeat visits while finding ways to
attract new audiences.
As Bunting et al., (2007) point out, 'any strategy for increasing public engagement with the
arts should therefore seek to reach out to the disengaged and less privileged.' The question
is, how do museums reach out to the 'disengaged and less privileged'? Findings from this
survey highlight the need for museums to offer something different if they are to change the
opinion that museums are not for everyone.
Research study Culture Track '17 examined the changing behaviours of cultural audiences
in America. Their findings showed that the primary motivators to cultural participation were
'having fun (81%), interest in the content (78%), experience new things (71%) and learn
something new (71%)’. Respondents to the study reported that the main factors driving
audiences away were 'lack of representation (82%)' and 'accessibility fails (59%)'.
Respondents stated that people of colour did not participate in cultural activities because
they felt cultural institutions did not reflect people of all backgrounds. People with disabilities
said they were more likely to stay away from cultural activities because of a previous
negative experience. (La Placa Cohen, 2017).
The Culture Track '17 study surmised that 'the very audiences that are breaking down the
current definition of culture are also helping to rebuild a new one' (La Placa Cohen, 2017).
By listening to why people do not regularly engage, museums are better equipped to change
their practices to meet these needs.
The museum sector has struggled for a long time to address the problem of accessibility and
diversity. Graham Black explains, 'As populations become more diverse, museum audiences
are not' and 'unless the sector does something about it urgently – and at scale – museum
audiences will be increasingly less diverse than the population at large' (Black, 2020).
In the 1990s, the 'New Labour' government initiative changed museums' priorities from the
political/economic demands of delivering value for money to social demands of tackling
inequality, engaging with marginalised groups in society, and increasing visitor numbers
from diverse communities.
This change in policy failed to grow a diverse audience despite museums working to address
social challenges and involve under-represented groups. Participants in these projects
expressed feeling more like recipients than collaborators, which subsequently resulted in low
engagement. People need to be involved with the decision-making process so they can feel
reflected in the end result. 'Potential audiences and local communities will not engage with
the museum unless they feel it is relevant to their lives' (Black, 2020).
Sometimes the terminology used can have a negative impact on engagement. Richard
Hylton identified the problem of using terms such as 'culturally diverse' and 'ethnic minority'
to describe communities with low engagement, stating that these terms ‘privilege a limited
notion of difference based on "race"’ and that 'such notions are unhelpful, because they
presuppose or imply normality to be white and everything else to be diverse' (Hylton, 2007).
Evidence shows that people are less likely to visit museums if they do not feel welcomed or
cannot see other people like themselves involved. Removing physical barriers and changing
services to reach out to marginalised groups is one way museums can encourage visits from
diverse audiences. However, to be fully inclusive, museums need to reflect and represent
diversity in their collections to protect everybody's heritage.
Museums have 'failed on the whole to engage with new communities and traditional visitors
are coming less often' (Black, 2012, p. 17). Museums run the risk of becoming irrelevant if
they neglect to tackle accessibility and ignore a diverse and changing population's
expectations.
Community engagement is central to the social value of museums. It upholds the values in
the Code of Ethics that states museums should 'work in partnership with communities,
audiences, potential audiences and supporters of the museum (1.6)' and 'ensure that
everyone has the opportunity for meaningful participation in the work of the museum (1.7)'
(The Museums Association, 2008). Continuing to be relevant to society is one of the most
critical challenges for museums, especially as people, communities, and society are
continually changing. Museums need to adapt to these changes to meet their audiences'
expectations, both in interacting with the community and how projects are organised and
delivered and present an identity that communities can trust.
Museums need to avoid what Hylton describes as ‘a “tick box” culture' where marginalised
groups are periodically involved in projects as a short-term solution to address aims of
improving cultural diversity instead of actively participating in the decision making and
creating of projects (Hylton, 2007).
An excellent example of working collaboratively with local communities can be seen in the
‘Collecting Birmingham’ project launched by Birmingham Museums Trust in 2015, which
focused on four under-represented groups: the Caribbean, Muslim and LGBTQ
communities, and people under 25.
The project was initially started to address the lack of objects on display reflecting post WWII
Birmingham, working-class and immigrant communities as the practice of people donating
objects to the museum was not commonplace in Birmingham. There was a lot of mistrust
with the museum service, especially from immigrant communities, as previous attempts at
engagement had been disorganised and objects that had been donated had not been
treated with care and respect. This lack of trust resulted in a collection and exhibitions that
did not represent the diversity of the people who lived in the city.
(Waugh, 2019)
The trust focused on rebuilding relationships by engaging with 3500 people across diverse
communities which resulted in more than 1,800 new objects being acquired by the museum.
‘The legacy of the project continues as Birmingham Museums has now permanently
changed its approach to collecting, recognising the need for ongoing public
consultation, allowing the Trust to become a powerful agency for promoting diversity,
social cohesion and inclusion in the city’
(Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, 2019).
When striving to engage future audiences, museums need to ensure exhibitions created now
will still be relevant to the future visitor, rather than just reflect the visitor of the past. The
Collecting Birmingham project is a great example of how to achieve this. Morris and McIntyre
note that museums should use 'intelligence and insight' to better understand and connect
with their audiences. 'Intelligence is needed to have an awareness of the changing world
around us' and 'insight is needed to understand the needs and motivations of existing and
potential audiences' (Morris & McIntyre, n.d.).
Marginalisation occurs when people are excluded from taking part in meaningful activities in
their communities. Museums are in the unique position of being able to create experiences
that can reach across the boundaries of social differences, in audience-facing work using
collections and exhibitions to connect with communities, and through internal museum work
where policies and governance can address social injustices.
‘Museums have the potential to amplify marginalized voices and celebrate unheard
stories. They can be spaces for acknowledging and reflecting on difference and for
bridging divides. They can be spaces for justice, growth, struggle, love, and hope.’
(Murawski, n.d.)
Cultural diversity strategies should be beneficial to everyone who visits the museum, not just
minority and marginalised groups. Museums need to consider changing what they do to
remain relevant; and find new ways of doing it. They need to ask their audiences what they
want from their museum and use this as a starting point to create programmes that will
become sustainable in the long-term rather than one-off projects.
As discussed, identity is one of the key issues for the future of museums. In an everchanging leisure market where audiences have less free time, museums need a strong
identity to stand out if they are to impact visitors and potential audiences.
People will go to places where they feel they will get a better visitor experience, so museums
must shake off the opinion that they are not fun or exciting and offer something different.
Today's museum audiences are 'expecting more' and 'to be involved more with the purpose
of the museum' (Black, 2012).
The impact of technology has created new ways for people to interact and communicate with
each other, which has resulted in people wanting to be more than just 'passive participants'.
Today people want to play an active part in what is happening. Mette Houlberg Rung found
that younger audiences want to 'adapt content and use it for their own personal purpose' and
look for 'unique experiences' to share on social media (Rung, M.H. (2014) as cited in Black,
2020). Using collections in unique ways and linking up with other organisations is a practical
way to stay relevant and exciting in this new fast-paced digital age.
One innovative example is The Van Gogh Bnb project, which was part of a campaign to
promote the 'Van Gogh's Bedrooms' exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art
Institute commissioned a fully functioning, three-dimensional recreation of Van Gogh's
Yellow Room and rented it out to members of the public for $10 a night.
(Twisted Sifter, 2016)
This project created an interactive experience that went further than simply allowing the
audience to look at the painting. People were encouraged to get closer to the artist and feel
like they were living in a painting. Thousands of people stayed in the room and shared their
experiences online. The exhibition increased the museum's attendance figures by 133,000
and generated $2 million in revenue, showing how the campaign's unique and interactive
nature successfully turned virtual visits into real visits – which museums should aim for when
embracing social media.
Museums are institutions that 'primarily deal with issues of the past' and have often
'struggled to embrace new technologies and the changing attitudes and expectations of the
museum visitor' (Black, 2020). Utilising digital technologies, moving collections online, and
sharing information on social media can be useful tools for museums to engage with
audiences, specifically younger audiences such as 'Generation Z.' They are among the
demographic less likely to have visited a museum, gallery, or archive in the last year.
Generation Z is the current social generation and includes people born between 1997 and
2020. Traditional static, passive museum exhibitions hold little interest for the generation
who grew up with the internet and digital technology who can access information in seconds
using their phones.
Museums need to find innovative ways to attract a generation that has used technology
since childhood, especially with many now 'entering the workforce and socialising as adults
with disposable incomes' (Straughan, 2019).
Engaging with the Generation Z audience is vital for the future of museums. Generation Z
'don't just want to look at interesting collections…they are looking for physical spaces they
can invest in, communities they can engage with and tribes to belong to' (Straughan, 2019).
This potential new audience is best placed to help increase current and future visitors to
museums. They are well skilled in using social media, publishing content, sharing, and
comparing their experiences with friends, and making recommendations to consumer review
websites, which can encourage other people to visit.
The COVID-19 pandemic encouraged museums to use digital skills more than ever, with
many museums moving content online. Museums that use digital culture can better connect
with audiences, improve access to cultural heritage, and encourage future collaborations for
communities. Museums can improve the chance of potential physical visits if the online
content is interesting and relevant as there is a 'once only opportunity to gain new audiences
when people visit museums online' (McGhie, 2019). If online content is not engaging, visitors
are less likely to return.
Virtual collections and online exhibitions have been essential for museums to stay connected
with audiences during the current climate, and if nothing else, the pandemic provided an
opportunity for museums to reimagine their role and examine how they can deliver a better
service.
Returning to identity as a key issue for the museum and gallery sector today, it is essential to
remember that museums are about human experience, museums are for people. It is people
who make meaning in museums. By knowing who visits, why they visit and do not visit, and
embracing new ways to reach out to potential visitors, museums will inevitably strengthen
their identity in the future as a place for all people, cultures, and classes.
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