by Jon Lackman | 21 May 2009 | Museums
In the June 2009 ARTnews, executive editor Robin Cembalest writes that although museum attendance remains good for now, numerous directors are focusing greater energies on luring visitors, be it with esthetic coat checks, Facebook pages, yoga, or belly-dancing demonstrations:
… some have begun reaching out to scientists, futurists, game designers, and other specialists outside the art world. If these leaders succeed, the art museum of the future will offer the customer service of an Apple store, the comforts of a Barnes & Noble, and the dynamism of a town square. It will have areas where visitors can plug in or tune out, where they can immerse themselves in virtual-reality games or speak to live curators in the galleries, and where they can comment on the art they see—or make their own. This trend represents a sea change from a decade ago, when Arnold Lehman was ridiculed by many colleagues for staging dance parties and offering shows like “Hip-Hop Nation” to lure new audiences into the Brooklyn Museum … When the [Walker Art Center's] new installation opens in November, says chief curator Darsie Alexander, curators will hold in-gallery office hours … But for all the talk of accessibility, the cost of admission remains an elephant in the room … [Museum of Modern Art director Glenn Lowry also] adds a cautionary note to the talk of outreach … “Museums should be accessible to all. But that doesn’t mean everyone needs to or should enjoy the benefits of a museum. Not everyone enjoys football or Sartre.”
