Connecting Experience and Research

Research is the fuel in the engine of the museum’s output. Like a car, which is basically inert without a driver, the museum only fulfills its full mission when drawing visitors. Visitors are now a scarce commodity. Drawing more visitors requires considering our offerings and the way those offerings come to fruition. This does mean going all the way to the sources, including research. We need to be thoughtful about how we do research, who does research, and which research is prioritized. All those choices will eventually determine which visitors we draw. When we place research outside the realm of bias and inclusion conversations, we are putting bad fuel in our engines.

 

Centering visitors takes work. Museums often start with objects then come up with ideas for installations and exhibition, then turn to thinking about visitors while producing the outputs of that research, like in the diagram below. The challenge is that when you do your research that not centered on your visitor. Now, this is in some ways a challenging proposition. Research is an unwieldy process.  Anyone who has done research understands the sort of free-flow, errant paths that you must travel and the secret travails you must brook. Centering your visitor in your research means simply as you look at your work remember you are doing this for someone–not just yourself or your museum. Use that as a guiding idea throughout your work (as seen above). Just as a writer knows that someday someone will read these words (please read these words :>), a museum researcher should hope that their work will be consumed by someone. In other words, keep that goal in mind throughout your research.

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