Art marketing as a tool to enhance cultural participation of youngsters in museums

Transcription

1 Master Thesis Article; Graduate School of Communication, Persuasive Communication, University of Amsterdam; Supervisor: dr. S.M. Zwier; Art marketing as a tool to enhance cultural participation of youngsters in museums R.M.C. Reijnders Student ID: Renee.Reijnders@student.uva.nl One of the tasks of contemporary museums is to win over new people. Youngsters (19-26) are a group of people that are underrepresented in the museum-going population. These people may be reached through art marketing. One of the barriers youngsters experience to visit museums is the information barrier. This study examined this information barrier and examined to which extent information provision can positively impact the relationship between mission oriented marketing in museums and the task of winning over new people. Results showed that the information barrier is clearly present for youngsters. Solely providing information does not however change youngsters intention to visit the museum. It is likely that other barriers are too strong. When trying to win over youngsters to visit museums, all barriers should be taken into account. Introduction Art is autonomous: l art pour l art. However, art does need a public. Boorsma (1998) states that art cannot exist without a public. The production of art, and the consumption of art thereby are inseparable and a public needs to be found. Also, museums more and more have to look after their own interests since a great deal of financial support is being cut in many Western countries, such as in the Netherlands. It is therefore important to reach a large audience, since this will generate income. Groups of people who are infrequent visitors or do not visit museums at all need to be reached. One of the main tasks of present-day museums is therefore to win over new people by means of art marketing. Youngsters (between years old) are a group of people that are generally underrepresented in the museum-going population. Art marketing may be a way to reach 1

2 these youngsters and overcome the barriers they are experiencing. One of the barriers is the information barrier, which will be studied in the present study. The study consists of two parts, the research questions are: What does the information barrier consists of? And: To which extent can information provision as a marketing tool positively impact the relationship between museums mission and winning over youngsters? In-depth knowledge of youngsters is needed to examine the information barrier and examine whether information provision positively impacts their intention to visit museums. Qualitative semi-structured interviews will therefore be held. In the next paragraph research on arts marketing so far will be discussed, explaining what it is, and what makes it different from regular commercial marketing. Thereafter, the specific form of arts marketing on which this present study is based, will be explained: museum marketing. The visitors and non-visitors of museums in the Netherlands will be discussed, as will the barriers for visiting museums of youngsters. This information combined will form the model, given at the end of this section, on which the present research is based. Marketing of the Arts Marketing means being active on the market (Leeflang, 2003). According to Colbert (2009), marketing promotes exchange that fulfills the needs and goals of both organizations and consumers. It follows from this that it is important to know the consumer, what his motivations and interests are. When this is clear, the demand of the consumers needs to be managed, by communicating with them (Colbert, 2009). Marketing is usually strongly linked to the profit-sector, but also the non-profit sector, such as museums, can benefit from marketing. This is known as the promotion of the exchange of values (Boorsma, 1998). According to Colbert (2009), cultural organizations are currently struggling with saturation of the market. The demand of the consumer for the products cultural organizations offer, is no longer growing. Nevertheless, new product are being developed, which causes a higher supply than demand. Colbert therefore deems it essential that companies in the cultural organization, such as museums, develop good marketing strategies to keep their heads above water. Art is a broad concept. A distinction can be made between high art and low or popular art. In marketing of the arts, it is important to make this distinction, for low art tends to have a market focus, while high art tends to have a product focus (Colbert, 2003). The present research focuses on the arts marketing of museums. Museums are seen as high art, and thus 2

3 have a product focus. Marketing of the high arts is different from marketing other products, in that is it a mission oriented entity (Colbert, 2003, p. 30). Colbert (2003) explains that the product that needs to be marketed sprang from a mission and is developed by an artist, not a marketing manager. A product is not developed to fulfill the demands of the consumer like in traditional production markets. Instead, after developing the product, the consumers who could be interested need to be found and reached. In short, the mission comes first, not the demand. Marketing is a possible tool for fulfilling the mission (Colbert, 2003). Much along the lines of Colbert (2003), Boorsma (1998) defined marketing of the arts as a non-primary-artistic exchange promotion activity (p. 288). This means decisions made about the artistic product are not part of the marketing domain, only the decisions about other things such as facilities and support services are. The latter are usually market oriented decisions, while the artistic decisions are not. The artist is autonomous. Boorsma (1998) developed an ideal type of marketing of the high arts. Some important characteristics are: a) The underlying principles of the marketing of the arts are the artistic choices or decisions. b) To strengthen the position of cultural organizations as a leisure activity, compared to other leisure activities, the marketing should carry out a strong image policy. c) The characteristics of the target group of consumers, such as motivations and frequency of visits, should be taken into account. d) Through communication and positioning of the product, consumers should get the right expectations, so these will be met when eventually exposed to the product, although the communication should not stand in the way of the consumer s trust in the arts and the artists. Museum marketing The specific cultural organizations on which this study is focused are museums. There are many different kinds of museums, in all forms and sizes. Therefore, also museums need to compete for audiences and support. The museums need to make the audience curious about their collection through communication. This communication can be done through art marketing (Kotler & Kotler, 1998). Kotler and Kotler (1998) wrote one of the first books on the specific topic of museum marketing. Strategic planning and marketing are instruments for shaping, communicating, and distributing quality experiences and programs and reaching the broadest possible audience (Kotler & Kotler, 1998, p. xxi). The book is focused on museum experience, which is, according to Kotler and Kotler, the key outcome of a museum visit. 3

4 Kotler and Kotler (1998) state that museums both want to attract as many people as possible, and want to give these people high-quality visual, aesthetic, and learning experiences. These two goals are sometimes conflicting. Too many people at once can for instance reduce the experience. Museums need to create a coherent mission and identity from their values, which are their core beliefs and norms. This mission can be framed in many different ways, although most museums have the mission to both be educational and entertaining (Kotler & Kotler, 1998). This mission forms the starting point for the general policy and the marketing strategy of a cultural organization (Boorsma, 1998). According to Kotler and Kotler, all museums have a fundamental mission in common, regardless of their particular characteristics, namely to collect objects and interpret them, show them and educate the public about them, and inspire people to support the museum. Without support, a museum cannot last (p. 29). When museums are unsuccessful in attracting a sufficient amount of visitors, they will not survive. They need to build an audience and retain it. Kotler and Kotler (1998) identify three tasks of museum marketing: first, winning over new people by making the museum visible, familiar, and inviting (especially to the underserved groups); second, retaining the existing audience by giving them a satisfying experience so they will become regular visitors; and third, museums need to compete with other leisure time activities, so a museum-visit will become a more common way for people to fill their leisure time. The three tasks described above are all about expanding the museum-going population, either in the number of people visiting museums, or the number of visits to a museum. In their concluding chapter, Kotler and Kotler (1998) differentiate three ways to do this. 1 The first is to get children to enjoy museums. The authors believe that this should mainly be completed through education at schools and at home. Museums can contribute by making their exhibitions enjoyable to children, but the entertainment should be in balance with education. The second way is to get the adult non-museum-goer to become a museumgoer. In order to make this happen, Kotler and Kotler suggest that museums can experiment with different techniques like organizing events, performances, workshops etcetera (known as side activities), and of course new collections and exhibitions. The third way is to get museum-goers to visit more frequently. Museums have to find a balance between permanent exhibitions, that attract audience from other areas, and new products and exhibitions, for 1 According to Kotler and Kotler (1998), museum-goers are people who visit one or more museums a year, which are fewer than one out of three people. 4

5 regular visitors. Many museums also have the possibility for frequent visitors of becoming a member, and can develop a strong membership program. The first two ways to expand the museum-going population are part of the first task of a museum: winning over new people. The last way is part of the second task: retaining the audience and making them regular visitors. The present study is focused on the first task, and the second method in fulfilling this task, given by Kotler and Kotler (1998): winning over new people by getting (young) adults to become museum-goers. This target group will be described in the next paragraph. Museum visitors Museums more and more have to look after their own interests, since a great deal of financial support is being cut. It is therefore important to reach a large audience, since this will generate income. Groups of people who are infrequent visitors, or do not visit the museum at all need to be reached. According to Kawashima (1998), economic, social and cultural barriers exist among non-museum-goers. When tackling these barriers, in-depth knowledge of the public is important. Ranshuysen (2009) conducted research on cultural participation in the Netherlands through a large-scale annual national survey taken between 2003 and 2008, with respondents over six years. This study showed that the typical Dutch museum-goer is highly educated, culturally active and autochthonous. Women are slightly overrepresented, and seniors form the majority of the museum visitors. The percentage of youngsters between the ages of 19 and 26 showed a small decline from 8% in 2003 to 6% in The share of youngsters in museums-visitors in the Netherlands is the smallest of the different age groups, as shown in Table 1. Table 1: Share of different age groups in museum visitors (Ranshuysen, 2009) Age years old (youngsters) 518 6% years old (middle group) % years old (young seniors) % 65 years old + (seniors) % 2 These are the adult age groups, the remaining 4% are children between 13 and 18 years old. 5

6 In another study, Ranshuysen (2005) studied museum visitors and non-visitors and concluded that the museum-going population is aging. More than half of the visitors are above the age of 50. According to Ranshuysen, this is due to an overall aging of our population, but also because of a decrease of interest in a museum visit among youngsters. Ranshuysen found that, besides a large share in the museum visitor population, the 50+ age group also visits museums more frequently than younger people. Results showed that the motivation of youngsters to visit museums was mainly to gather information (62%). Recreation (39%) and inspiration (32%) were important motives as well. New experiences and relaxation were also, but to a lesser extent, motivations to visit a museum. All in all, the share of youngsters visiting museums is low. Because the visitors-rate is low, it may be assumed that the barriers for visiting museums are perceived as higher than the motivation to visit museums. When museums want to win over new people in visiting their museums, their marketing could thus be aimed at youngsters; the age-group with the smallest share in the museum-visitors. Barriers to visit museums As indicated above, youngsters do not visit museums very often, from which it may be assumed that several barriers prevent them from visiting museums. Ranshuysen (2005) identified five of these barriers: social, knowledge, time, financial, and information barrier. The social barrier consists of the idea that museums are for the higher educated. Museums have a persistent image of being boring and not very customer friendly. Nonvisitors usually do not feel comfortable or welcome at a museum. Youngsters feel as if the museums and established art do not address them, since the content is often not part of their interests. Youngsters are increasingly focused on their own subculture, in which high culture as a museum visit does not fit. A museum visit could even be considered un-cool in this subculture. Another social barrier is that the communication of the museums mainly happens through media that is not often used by youngsters (Ranshuysen, 2005). The knowledge barrier entails that to enjoy a museum visit, a certain cultural competence is needed. Non-museum goers have less experience and therefore less knowledge of art. They also consume fewer programs on television or radio about art. Youngsters are often culturally active themselves by playing an instrument, writing or acting etcetera, however the content of museums requires a different competence which they often do not have. Some concepts used in exhibitions for instance were unknown by most youngsters (Ranshuysen, 2005). 6

7 Time and financial barriers are more practical barriers. Youngsters have a busy life these days. When they have some leisure time, there are more and more ways to fill this. Opening times of museums are not always very practical, most of them close at 5 o clock and are closed on Mondays. If people are not interested in the museum, they will not visit, even if there is no admission fee (Ranshuysen, 2005). The information barrier implies that non-visitors usually do not know what museums have to offer. This is because they are not interested in museums, which is why they are not likely to look for information about it. Also, as with the social barrier, museums tend to use media such as newspapers or opinion magazines to communicate their information, which are not used often by youngsters. When youngsters do see advertisements of museums, the content of these messages often confirms the unattractive image youngsters have of museums, that they are boring and old fashioned (Ranshuysen, 2005). Youngsters also find it difficult to judge whether an exposition is interesting for them. It was found that most youngsters, after they were exposed to an advertisement for an exhibition, did not understand it enough to know what to expect from the exposition (Elffers, van der Hoeven & Ranshuysen, 2004). The focus of the present research will be on the information barrier among youngsters. This barrier is chosen because the present study is grafted on communication and media studies. The information barrier best meets this perspective, it may be tackled by means of marketing strategies. As indicated above, the information barrier consists of different elements namely reach, image, and understanding/expectation. Model In summary, museums can be seen as high art, and their marketing therefore has a product focus. Museums have a certain mission, their marketing is therefore a mission oriented entity (Colbert, 2003, p. 30). Part of this mission is to inspire people to support the museum. To fulfill this mission, Kotler and Kotler (1998) identified three tasks for museums: winning over new people, retaining the visitors, and competing with other leisure activities to make a museum visit a more common way to fill this leisure time. The first task winning over new people will be examined in the present study. Earlier studies on the visitors and non-visitors of museums showed that youngsters between the ages 19 and 26 do not visit museums often. These youngsters can therefore be those new people that are to be won over. Extant studies also showed that there are several barriers for this age group in visiting museums. One of the barriers is the information barrier. Youngsters often do not know what museums have to offer, 7

8 while the media used to inform the public about the museum are usually not used by youngsters. Youngsters have a poor image of museums and often do not understand the advertisements and therefore do not know what to expect. Possibly, this information barrier can be addressed by means of marketing strategies in which youngsters are reached and addressed. The present research examined the effect of lowering the information barrier among youngsters on their intention to visit museums. The three different elements of the information barrier (reach, image, and understanding/expectation) were examined. Figure 1 shows the model developed for the present research. The model indicates that: Museums have a mission, and part of this mission is to inspire people to support the museum. Museum marketing can be a tool to achieve this mission. Museum marketing could thereby be targeted at lowering the information barrier (with its different elements), throughh which youngsters would be won over. Museum mission Inspire peoplee to support the museum Museum marketing Tackle information barrier Win over new people: youngsters Reach Image Expec tation Figure 1: Model Method A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted to examine the information barrier, and whether museumm marketing targeted at lowering the information barrier has a positive effect on the intentionn of youngsters to visit museums. Participants The target group of the present study is youngsters between the ages 19 and 26 years old, who are non-museum goers. According to Kotler and Kotler (1998), museum-goers are people who visit one or more museums a year. The non-visitors are therefore defined as people that visit museums less than once a year. Nine non-visitors of museums were interviewed in three focus groups of three participants. The interviewees were between the ages of 19 and 25 years 8

9 old. Four of the interviewees are men, and five women. An overview of the participants age, gender, study/occupation, and number of times they visit museums can be found in Table 2. Table 2: Characteristics of participants in focus groups Focus Parti- Age Gender Study/occupation Museum visits group cipant 1 # 1 19 Male Student Medicine Between 0-1 a year 1 # 2 24 Female Student Facility Last time: 6 years ago Management 1 # 3 20 Male Quit study Art & Design; Once every two years part time job at cinema 2 # 4 22 Female Student Pedagogy Last time: 5 years ago 2 # 5 23 Female Student Media & Culture Last time: 6 years ago 2 # 6 22 Female Anesthesiologist assistant Once every two years 3 # 7 22 Male Student Psychobiology Can t remember last time 3 # 8 25 Female Graduated Socio-pedagogi- Once every three years cal assistant 3 # 9 23 Male Student Sound Design Between 0-1 a year Interviews The interviews were held by means of qualitative semi-structured interviews in small focus groups of three participants. The interviews of focus group 1 and 3 took place at a private VIP lounge of cinema Tuschinksi in Amsterdam. Focus group 2 took place at one of the participants living room in Aalten. The interviews were conducted within 2 weeks time. The length of the interviews were between 40 and 60 minutes. The interviews were held following a topic list (Figure 2), based on previous research. The topic list consists of two different parts. The first part are questions to answers the first research question: What does the information barrier consists of?, the second part consist of questions to attempt to answer the research question: To which extent can information provision as a marketing tool positively impact the relationship between museums mission and winning over youngsters? The first part includes introductory questions about the participants age, education and media use. Participants were also asked how often they visit museums, when they last visited a museum and what kind of museum this was. The answer to the question how often they visit museums was followed by the open question why the participants do not visit museums more 9

10 often. This question tapped into the barriers perceived by the participants. The questions following their answer went deeper into the information barrier specifically. Questions were asked about the three elements of which the barrier consists according to the theoretical model used for the present research: reach, image, and understanding/expectation. Topic list interviews I: What does the information barrier consists of? Introduction: age/ study or occupation/ media use museum visit: last time? What (kind of) museum? open: why don t you visit museums more often? Elements of information barrier: Reach: Do you ever see advertisements or other marketing of museums/expositions? Do you ever look up information about museums? If yes, where? Do other people ever recommend a museum? (friends/parents/teachers etc.). Image: What is your general image of museums? Understanding/ expectation: Is it clear from ads what museums actually have to offer? Know what to expect? II: information provision and impact intention to visit 3 different marketing techniques, 1 type of museum (modern) Internet: Website of De Pont Video: Pindakaasvloer of Boijmans van Beuningen Print: Folder of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Intention to visit: did you know about it? Interesting? Do you now have to intention to visit? Again: why don t you visit more often, taken first answer into account. Did anything change? Figure 2: Topic list Reach: This topic consists of questions about the current marketing of museums. The information barrier partly consists of the fact that museums advertise in media that are not used by youngsters. Questions if the participants have ever seen advertisements or if they have ever searched for it were asked. Besides this, intermediaries showed an important information source for youngsters, so they were also asked if someone had ever recommended a museum to them and if this was a reason to visit. Image: The following topic consists of questions about the image the participants have of museums, because previous research showed that youngsters often have a negative image of museums, they find them unattractive (Ranshuysen, 2005). This can be an important reason for youngsters not to visit museums, and a problem that could be solved by making museums more attractive through marketing efforts. Understanding/expectation: Previous research also showed that youngsters find it difficult to judge whether an exposition is interesting for them, because they often still do not 10

11 know what to expect after they have been exposed to a form of advertisement (Elffers, van der Hoeven & Ranshuysen, 2004). It was therefore also asked if the participants understood the advertisements, and if they knew what to expect. In the second part of the interview an attempt was made to remove the information barrier to examine whether this had a positive effect on the intention of youngsters to visit a museum. This was done in three different ways. One kind of museum was chosen (museums of modern art), and three different marketing techniques: website, print and video. The three modern art museums chosen are three important museums in the Netherlands: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in Amsterdam, De Pont in Tilburg, and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. At every interview, the exact same information was given, in the following order. The website of De Pont was shown first at the interviews using a laptop, to offer information about the museum. The home page was shown, the list of names of artists of the permanent collection, four artworks out of the permanent collection, 3 and background information about the museum. Second, a video clip about the artwork The Peanut-Butter Platform at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen was shown, again using a laptop. Lastly, one information folder about Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam was given to the three participants. This information folder was about Temporary Stedelijk 2, the current collection of the museum. 4 After the exposure to these three different marketing materials, the participants were asked questions if they knew about these museums and expositions, and if they have the intention to visit now they received this information, if it changes things for them. Analysis The transcripts of the three focus groups interviews form the basis for analysis. The data was analyzed by means of the grounded theory, which is the most used framework for analyzing qualitative data. The text of the interviews was coded. Coding means categorizing segments of data with a short name that simultaneously summarizes and accounts for each piece of data (Charmaz, 2006, p. 43). The grounded theory consists of two phases: initial coding and focused coding. With initial coding the text is coded very detailed, which produce many different codes. Out of all these codes, the most useful codes are selected and categorized, this 3 Out of the alphabetic list of names of artists of the permanent collection, the artwork of every fifteenth artist was shown. 4 See appendix for pictures and screenshots of the information provided during the interviews. 11

12 is focused coding. Throughout the coding process, constant comparison between different codes, categories, data etcetera is required (Charmaz, 2006). In coding, important segments were highlighted. Nine different colors were used to highlight general important quotes, these are the thematic codes. The nine thematic codes are demographics, museum visit, reasons not to visit more, reasons to visit, image, reach, understanding/expectation, and after offering information negative and positive reactions. Afterwards, within these thematic codes, variation codes were made: what the interviewees say about these themes. In these nine lists of coding, categories were made through selective coding. For instance in the list of codes for reasons to visit a museum, four different reasons could be distinguished, namely when there is recognition, when the art is clever/difficult to make, when on vacation, and when it is youthful. Also within this distinction, there was searched for different causes (for instance: within vacation, a distinction could be made between the reasons of time that was now available or to do it because everybody does it ). Results At the start of each focus group interview, participants were asked why they do not visit museums more often than indicated. Four different categories could be distinguished. The participants also indicated when they would visit a museum, also here four categories of answers could be distinguished. Thereafter, the information barrier with its three elements was discussed. For each element, three answer categories were found. In the second part of the interviews information was provided, this both had a positive and a negative effect. To visit or not to visit Four reasons not to visit and four reasons to visit museums were given by the participants (Figure 3). The non-visitors do not visit a museum because of practical reasons, lack of interest, they do not know or do not think about it, and/or they think it is not for them. All barriers discussed above can be found in these reasons. 12

13 Practical reasons Not, because... Not interested Don't know/ think about it Museum visit Not for me Recognition/ a must Yes, if... Clever art/difficult Vacation Youthful Figure 3: Museum visit The time and financial barrier are part of the practical reasons. Almost all participants talk about these practical reason. Participant 3 for instance answers the question why he does not visit museums more often partly with: tijd, geld, dat soort dingen, weet je wel (time, money, things like that, you know). The time barrier includes both the idea of the participants that they do not have the time for a museum visit, and that a visit would take too long: ik vond het ook wel leuk, alleen het duurde altijd zo lang, ja ze willen dan alles zien en ik heb het na een half uurtje al wel gezien (#7, It was okay, but it always took too long, yeah they [parents] wanted to see everything, but I want to leave after half an hour) ). Another practical reason not to visit museums are the crowdedness and many tourists at such a place: in Amsterdam, heb ik altijd het idee dat er heel veel toeristen rond lopen. Dan is het veel te druk (#2, in Amsterdam, I always have the idea that there are many tourists. Then it s way too crowded). A few participants also give place as a barrier, a museum is too far away for them. The knowledge and social barrier can be found in the reason participants give that a museum visit is not for them. All participants feel museums are either for the artistic, old, rich or tourists, but not for them. Museums are not very accessible for them. Many also feel they need to know and understandd the art to appreciate it, they do not believe they have this knowledge. Ik heb vooral het idee bij een museum dat echt, uh, schilderijen hangen en dat je er wel een beetje verstand van moet hebben, wil je er echt uh... ja, iets van vinden, dat idee 13

14 heb ik (#4, I mainly have the idea that at a museum, that there are paintings, and you have to have some knowledge about it, if you want to have an opinion about it, that s what I think). Or participant 5 about the public at a museum: hele kunstzinnige mensen waarvan ik ook denk, die hebben er heel veel verstand van, en die kijken er met een bepaalde blik naar (very artistic people of which I think they have a lot of knowledge about it, and they look at art in a certain way). The fact that many participants simply do not really know why they do not visit museums more often and do not think about it, is part of the information barrier. They do not come in contact enough with information that makes them think about it. They also think they are not interested in museums, but admit they do not really know what museums have to offer. Participant 8: Ik weet niet waarom ik niet ga. Het interesseert me denk ik niet. Ik weet het niet, nee (I don t know why I don t go. I think it doesn t interest me. No, I don t know). Participant 3 thinks there is nothing of his interests at museum: ga je niet omdat het je niet interesseert, maar zijn er wel andere dingen die je interesseren en daar heb je niks van (I don t go because it doesn t interest me, but there are other things that interest me, but those are not there [at museums]). Most participants say a museum visit does not even cross their minds to do as an activity. It is not at all on the top of their minds: ja het komt eigenlijk sowieso niet in me op. Dat ik denk, ik heb een vrije dag, laat ik naar het museum gaan (#1, yes, it really does not occur to me, I don t think I have a day off let s go to the museum). Many participants say they do not think about a visit to the museum, but rather see a movie at the cinema instead. One of the participants reaction to this: en dan kan ik daarna nog wel tien andere dingen bedenken om eerst te doen, voor ik naar het museum ga (#8, and I can still think of ten other things to do first, before I visit a museum). The participants also pointed out when they would visit a museum. They would visit famous museums/artworks that they recognize, they respect art which is difficult to make, they visit museums on vacation or when it is youthful. Many participants have visited famous Dutch museums such as Rijksmuseum once in their lives, mostly a long time ago. A frequently recurring answer is: je moet er geweest zijn (you have to have been there). This is also the case with famous paintings and artists ( dat moet je gewoon gezien hebben that you just must have seen). The participants like recognition. Participant 2 for instance states about a museum visit: ik heb ook CKV gedaan heel lang geleden, en dat je daar loopt en dan dingen herkent zeg maar, dat je denk oh ja, dat is die schilder [ ] oh, inderdaad ik weet wie dat is (I ve had an art class a long time ago, 14

15 and when you walk there and you recognize things and you think oh that s that painter, I know whose that is). Participant 1: ja dat vind ik wel leuk dat je een schilderij ziet waar je wat van af weet (yes, I like that, that you see a painting and know something about it). Many of the participants set great value on the difficulty of art. Art should be clever, original and unique. It should not be something which is easy to make, of which they think that I can do too. Participant 3 says: als een kunstenaar iets maakt wat heel moeilijk is, heel ingewikkeld is waar echt uh.. ja daar heb ik meer respect voor (when an artist makes something which is very difficult, very complicated, of which was really that I have more respect for). Participant 4 talks about woodcut art and ice sculptures of which she thinks it is very neat, and participant 2 calls good artists geniuses. All participants said, if they visit a museum it is almost always on vacation. Several reason were given why suddenly they would visit museums when on vacation. Important reasons are time, and visiting because everybody does it. The time barrier participants say they have at home disappears on vacation: ja, maar dan kan het ook, dan hoef je niet te werken en heb je vrije tijd (#2, yes, but then it is possible, then you don t have to work, you have free time). According to the participants visiting a museum is something every tourist does. They talk about it being obvious to visit the Louvre museum when in Paris. Participant 7 and 2 talk about the atmosphere of an old city, which makes them want to visit a museum, participant 9 likes to visit for the variety. Participant 8 states: als toerist, dat je denkt dan moet ik toch wel iets verantwoords gedaan hebben, ik heb tenminste één museum bezocht, toch? (as a tourist you think I have to do something responsible, I visited at least one museum, right?). Participants also indicated that it would be more likely for them to visit museums which are youthful. For instance, museums with collections which align with the participants interests. Interactivity and museums which are targeted at youngsters are also much appreciated by the participants. Participants that were aware of Museumnight, found it appealing because of other youngsters participating in it, and it being a real activity, and not just looking at paintings. #3: zo'n Museumnacht [ ] spreekt me gewoon meer aan, [ ] ja het is gewoon wat toegankelijker, het is leuker en het is, je betaalt één bedrag toch, en dan kun je elk museum doen? Ik weet niet, ik denk gewoon wat meer mensen die dezelfde instelling hebben als ik, die dan op een Museumnacht naar de museums gaan. #2: Een beetje onze doelgroep, van onze leeftijd die daar heen gaan [ ] dan is het niet alleen een museum bezoeken, maar echt een activiteit (#3, such a Museumnight just appeals to me more. Yes, it is just more accessible, more fun, and you pay one price right, and you can visit all museums? 15

16 I don t know, I think more people like me would go to museums on Museumnight. #2, a little bit more our target group, people of our age go there. It s not just a museum visit, but a real activity). Reach, Image & Expectation The three elements of the information barrier all have three answer categories (Figure 4). In discussing the element reach, with the question if participants ever come in contact with advertisements or other marketing of museums, three answers came up. Participants had seen advertisements on the street, in the newspaper, or on television. The participants know the advertisement are there, however, they do not pay attention to them. Participant 6 says: we hebben thuis wel de Trouw en volgens mij staat daar wel vaker informatie daarover in, want ze hebben ook een speciale cultuur pagina daarin, maar die sla ik altijd over (we have a newspaper at home and I believe there is information about it in there more often, because they have a special culture section in it, but I always skip that). Very little info Reach Street, paper, television Intermediaries Information barrierr Image Understanding / expectation Boring/ passive For the old, rich and tourists Should have knowhow Museum too vaue Names artist don't mean anything Knowledge barrier in general Figure 4: Information barrier 16

17 Besides the media, intermediaries are an important information source. The participants all indicated school as such an intermediary, in information, but also mandatory visits. Participant 5 says about a visit to a museum through school: omdat het moest, bij één of andere excursie of zoiets (because I had to, with some excursion or something). Also parents showed to be important intermediaries. Most participants visited museums with their parent in their youth, however now they are older this intermediary-role of parents declined. Mijn ouders gaan wel eens naar het museum, en mijn broer, maar dan zeggen ze van ja het was leuk, maar ze weten dat ik het niet echt... dat ik niet zo n museumganger ben, dus ze zeggen niet van je moet er heen (#7, my parents visit museums sometimes, and my brother, they say yes it was fun, but they know I don t that I m not a museum-visitor, so they don t say that I should go). Friends were never intermediaries: de mensen waarmee ik om ga gaan denk ik zelf ook niet naar musea (#1, the people I hang out with, I think they don t go to museums themselves either); nou ik moet zeggen, in mijn omgeving gaan mensen echt niet naar een museum ofzo, dus dat uh dus dan raden ze me ook niets aan (#4, I have to say, people in my environment really don t go to museums or anything, so they don t recommend anything either). Besides these intermediaries and some sporadic advertisement, all participants said they hardly ever get information about museums. Ik vind het heel weinig eigenlijk... (#2, I think it s not much actually); nee, dat vind ik eigenlijk wel inderdaad, dat er gewoon heel weinig marketing en reclame voor is, voor het museum (#6, no, I actually think that s true, there s very little marketing and commercials for it, for museums); ja er zit daar wel een probleem denk ik ja [ ] nou moet je natuurlijk niet doodgespammed worden, maar je mag wel een beetje gepaaid worden om (#9, yes, I thinks there s a problem there. You shouldn t be spammed to death, but you could be seduced a little to ). Because of this lack of information, the participants say they do not search for information themselves either, participant 9 calls it a vicious circle. Participant 4 says: als je een keer iets hoort, van hier en hier is een museum over dat onderwerp, dan zou je er sneller over denken om er misschien naar toe te gaan. Maar nu... omdat je er zelf niet echt wat over hoort, ga je er ook niet zelf actief naar op zoek (if you hear something about a museum with this and that topic, then I would think about going there sooner. But now because you don t hear anything about it, you are not actively going to look for it either). The image the participants have is that museums are boring and passive, for the old, rich and tourists, and they believe you should have some knowhow or knowledge of art to enjoy a 17

18 museum visit. Participants overall image of museums is that it is not for them, as discussed above in the reasons not to visit museums. It is stuffy and boring, and for an old public or artistic people. Besides this, they also think it is boring and a passive activity. Participant 1 thinks the following when he thinks about a museum: Niet zo heel spannend, zeg maar [ ] waar je niet zo veel doet. Je kijkt er alleen maar naar. Je doet zeg maar zelf niet veel. Je loopt alleen maar rond (not very exciting really, a place where you don t do much. You only look at it. You don t do much yourself. You only walk around). Understanding/expectation is another element of the information barrier. When the information reaches the youngsters, they have a difficult time understanding it and knowing what to expect. This is also evident in the participants answers. They find museums too vague, the names of artists do not mean anything to them, and there is a knowledge barrier in general. The participants do not know what to expect because of the vagueness of museums. None of the participants knew for instance the difference between the collection of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Rijksmuseum. 5 The participants mainly think of museums with paintings when they think of museums. Participant 9 compares these vague painting museums with more concrete museums with a clear topic: er is natuurlijk wel een verschil met, ja ik weet niet of dat onder een museum valt, ik denk het wel, maar dat je zo'n vliegtuig museum ja, dat vind ik dan wel weer anders, en dan begrijp je ook van ok, dit is gewoon het vliegtuigen museum, dan weet je ook van, ok, ik ga naar het vliegtuigen museum dus ik ga dingen leren over... en dan kun je denken van dat lijkt me wel interessant ofzo (there is a difference of course with I don t know if that s also a museum, I think it is with an airplane museum... Yeah I think that s different, then you understand, okay, this is simply the airplane museum, then you know, okay, I m going to the airplane museum so I ll learn things about and then you can think if it might be interesting or not). With art museums it is more difficult to judge whether it might be interesting or not. When the participants come across an advertisement of a museum, they still do not know what to expect because names of artists are used. Non-museum visitors do not know what this means, if it means traditional art or contemporary art. The names do not mean anything to them. Nou, ik ja, nee het zegt me niets, het is gewoon een naam en dan denk je van nou, ok... (#9, well, no, it doesn t mean anything to me, it s just a name of which you 5 Stedelijk Museum and Rijksmuseum are two large museums in Amsterdam. The collection of Rijksmuseum is mainly art from the 16 th till 19 th century, whereas Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has contemporary art. 18

19 think, well okay ); dat je denk bij zo'n affiche: nou het zal wel (#8, you think of such a poster: okay whatever). Lastly, there appeared to be a knowledge barrier in general. The participants did not understand conceptual art itself and do not understand why museums have to buy conceptual art. Participant 5 for instance says: nee, bij heel veel moderne kunst denk ik van ja, ik vind dit niet mooi. Maar volgens mij moet het soms gewoon zo stom mogelijk zijn, haha... ik hoorde laatst bijvoorbeeld de Pindakaasvloer, ja dat vind ik gewoon dom. Ik kan ook wel pindakaas op de grond gooien, maar omdat ik het dan niet bedacht heb is het dan wel kunst bij die andere en bij mij niet (no, with much contemporary art I think, I don t like it. But I sometimes think it just has to be as ridiculous as possible, ha ha I recently heard about The Peanut-Butter Platform, yes, I think that s just stupid. I can also throw peanut butter on the floor, but because I didn t think of it, it is art when he does it and not when I do it). Information provision In the second part of the interviews information about the museums Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (print folder), De Pont (website), and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (video of The Peanut-Butter Platform) was given to examine whether this had a positive effect on the intention of youngsters to visit a museum. The information provision got both positive and negative reactions (Figure 5), but mainly negative. The participants did not like the marketing or the art. The information only confirmed the poor image the participants had. They do not have the intention to visit the museums. The artwork The Peanut-Butter Platform however was considered funny and different, and the video which showed it was youthful. Participants also liked the fact that the museums do not only have paintings, but also other artworks and the possibility of a workshop. A few also thought about visiting a museum, because of talking about it. Most participants had heard of Stedelijk Museum, but none knew the content of the museum. A few participants had heard of Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, and some knew the artwork The Peanut-Butter Platform. None of the participants had ever heard of museum De Pont. The majority of feedback on the information provision was negative. The participants were not triggered to visit the museum by either the folder, website, or video. Especially the folder and website were experienced as boring, grey, and outdated. Participant 6 about the folder: Ik vind het ook somber, het spreek mij totaal niet aan, alleen de kleuren al. Ik denk niet van: goh dit ga ik even lezen (I think it s dreary, I don t like it at all, I don t like 19

20 Information provision Negative Positive Boring, grey, outdated marketing Don't like the art Only confirmed poor image No intention to visit Peanut-Butter Platform is fun/different Video is youthful Not just paintings Figure 5: Information provision Thinking about a visit the colors. I don t think: gosh lets read this). Also the content of the folder and website, the art, were not liked by the participants: nee, ik zou gelijk naar de plaatjes gaan, en dit sprak me echt totaal niet aan (#2 about the website of De Pont: no, I would immediately go to those pictures [of artworks], and I didn t like it at all). Many participants say this art is not their taste or find it not interesting. Participant 7 is obviously not triggered at all by the folder and website, on the contrary he states: nou dit en die website van De Pont die heeft het alleen maar meer... [#9: bevestigd] bevestigd ja, [ ] het klassieke beeld wat ik van musea heb (well this [folder] and that website of De Pont only further [#9: confirmed] yes, further confirmed it: the classicc image I have of museums). The video was not experienced as boring or old-fashioned, but more as youthful and amusing. However, the participants are still not interested in visiting the museum about which the video was. Participant 9 for instance says about the artwork in the video: maar ja, ik zie m nu ook, dus ik ga niet naar het museum ofzo (but yeah, I see it now, so I don t have to visit the museum or anything). The opinions about the artwork The Peanut-Butter Platform are divided. None of the participant have the intention to visit it, but three find it funny and like it that it is something different than paintings. The remaining six find it a waste of money and terrible, some find it no art at all. Participant 5 says: ja, ik vind dit echt heel... 20

21 Ja, ik vind het erg dat iemand daar geld voor krijgt zeg maar (yes, I find this very Yeah, I find it stupid that someone gets money out of this). In the video the artist talks about his artwork, one finds him crazy, another woolly. The video shows how the artwork is placed at the museum: workers plaster the peanut butter on the floor. Many participants find it ridiculous that the artist does not even carry out the artwork himself. Besides the above negativity, some positive reaction were provoked by the information provision. As written above, some find The Peanut-Butter Platform interesting because it is funny and different. Participant 6 did not like the artwork, but was still curious about it. Also the folder got some positive feedback: it was considered to be diverse. A few participants namely noticed a text about a workshop in the museum, which they appreciated. The website did not receive much positive feedback, but four participants appreciated the fact that the museum also has installations and statues, besides paintings. A few participants said they were triggered, not by the information provided, but by the conversation held during the interview about museums, to visit a (different) museum. Participant 2 for instance says: nou ik denk dat ik nu sowieso even bij het Rijksmuseum ook wil gaan kijken, want dat is ook wel heel erg dat ik daar nog niet geweest ben. Ik denk dat ik dadelijk wel even wil gaan kijken, maar dat komt meer omdat we het er nu over hebben gehad (well I think I m going to have a look at the Rijksmusem, because it is pretty bad that I ve never been there. I think I want to have a look there later on, but that s mainly because we re talking about it now). However, she adds: maar ik denk dat als ik het nu niet doe, dat ik het morgen niet meer doe (but I think, if I don t do it now, I m not going to do it anymore tomorrow). Conclusion & Discussion Museums mission to inspire people to support the museum could be fulfilled by winning over youngsters between the ages 19 and 26 to visit their museum, because only a small percentage of this group ever does. Previous Dutch research (Ranshuysen, 2005) suggested that youngsters absence from museums is due to several barriers: the social, knowledge, time, financial, and information barrier. All of these barriers actually came up in the present research, in which the open question was asked why the respondents do not visit museums more often. Participants indicated that in their view, a museum visit is not for them, but for the old, rich, and tourists (social barrier). They also expressed that they need to know and understand the art which they do not to appreciate it (knowledge barrier). Time and money 21