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For quite some time, museums have been doing
everything possible to engage new audiences. Are you doing the same? Are
you engaging your viewers?
For ten years, I went into work each day
at the museum trying to figure out new and innovative ways to engage our
visitors. This was always part of my job: to get people in the door and
to make sure they wanted to come back again.
When you visit a museum, you are greeted
by a friendly (hopefully!) staff person who takes your money and hands
you a guide to the galleries. Then, you're sent on your way to explore
by yourself. You can turn right or you can turn left. (The vast majority
of visitors, studies show, turn right.) In large museums, you can skip
entire floors and sections. For example, I sprint through the armory
section at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and do much the same in
what I call the "dark Dutch paintings" galleries. They're just
not my bag. I only have so much time and I'm going to spend it with my
favorite art.
So, while you think you have all these
choices, museum staff people have done everything possible to engage you
along the way and help direct your experience. These are just some of
the ways they try to educate and entertain their visitors:
►They
label the artwork. Duh, I know. But, they add stories and extra text
to reach more people who won't know the importance of a work by Odilon
Redon or Seymour Lipton. And there is a science to writing label copy.
It has to be both historically correct and articulated in a way that can
be understood by the masses (no "curator-ese"). That's why
staff educators are often involved. I know of many a museum that has
strict guidelines for label writing and design. The Alaska State Museums
have several articles with guidelines for labels in past bulletins: http://www.museums.state.ak.us/Bulletin/bulletin.html
►They
create hands-on learning experiences. While you may think most of
these were created for kids, think again. Adults enjoy them as much as
the kids! A silk kimono might be interpreted with the help of a cocoon
and sample of raw silk. Maquettes and molds sit next to bronze
sculptures to explain the lost-wax method. These things are amazing to
people, but often difficult to grasp. Having touchable examples helps
tremendously.
►They
have videos or DVDs to tell viewers about an artist or enlighten a
process or aesthetic concept.
►They
display books with similar subjects or related topics. Viewers can
sit down, relax, and read more in-depth information. Children's books
are also available.
►They
create gallery guides, which highlight certain works. These guides
are different from an informational brochure. They use questioning
strategies to engage you in a dialogue with the art. The best of them
help you hone your looking skills without your even knowing it.
►They
use the art as a jumping-off point to touch on other subjects that
might interest you. For instance, a museum featuring Japanese art might
have a Japanese teahouse with discussions about the special place of tea
ceremonies in that society. They might further explore Japanese cuisine
and include maps and photographs of the terrain.
►They
develop a take-home project, which might be as simple as
"Create a Paper Kimono" or "Make Your Own Sun
Prints." If you do something like this as an artist, of course you
would add your name, Web site and contact information to the photocopied
paper.
Museology is a word you may not have
heard before, but is the study of museum culture. And the people who
work at museums spend lots and lots of time studying art viewers and how
to best serve them. You could probably pick up a trick or two by staying
tuned in to what museums are doing.
To learn more about museums, join us in
the online class beginning next Monday: http://www.artbizcoach.com/classes/museums.shtml
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