Revitalizing Art Galleries: Exploring Innovative Practices to Enhance Visitor Engagement and Societal Impact

Introduction

Art galleries have been in existence since 1895. However, in recent years, there is a relatively low attendance of people visiting art galleries. Studies have found that some of the reasons for this declining popularity include; lack of knowledge over the existence of such exhibitions or fear arising from doubt if they will be allowed in such events (Heath & Vom, 2010). In order to satisfy the ever-changing needs of the society and maintain its relevance and attract diverse clientele, artists and gallery owners have adopted various interesting practises that were never in existence years before to accommodate different art lovers. This academic finding coupled with my passion for art has directed me to focus this research on exploring the practices used by art galleries, exhibitions and artists to attract customers, keep them engaged and interested in attending art events; because like any other business, art exhibitions depend on people’s participation and attendance to keep running. Meanwhile, Chatterjee & Camic (2015) recognise that although the creative industry has received various substantial inputs from law makers and legislations, very little research has been done on the impact of practices in art galleries on people. The benefits of art are immeasurable and significant to our lives as it educates us and acts as a tool for storing information (Burton et al., 2009). This small-scale ethnographic study aims to fill in this lacunae by exploring the ways in which behavioural patterns and attitudes are developed and expressed during an art gallery exhibitions and examining how these behaviours and attitudes are influenced by the environment in an art gallery exhibition. If you are seeking insight or guidance for your art dissertation journey, consider seeking expert guidance from professionals who have expertise in art dissertation help.

To frame the discussion, this research considers the theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory with its notion of triadic mechanism as the theoretical lens to explain people’s interactions and behaviours during such events (Bandura, 2014). This study adopted the theory of planned behaviour in order to establish the behaviour patterns and attitude of people at the events, predictability of their reactions on specific activities and the level of their engagement during the art display. The theory of planned behaviour, which was initially developed by Ajzen and later advanced by Conner, McEachan is significant as it creates an understanding and predictability of human behaviour. In accordance with the six constructs of the theory of planned behaviour by Manning (2009), I was able to relate to and establish intent, attitudes, social norms and perceived power by observing their expressions and behaviour. As the theory of planned behaviour mostly focuses on personal intent in consideration for as it, I also adopted the social cognitive theory to explain the effect of external influences on a person’s behaviour (Bandura, 2014). The combination of these two theories should establish a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of the topic of enquiry

Method

This data collection for this study was conducted in two sites: the King’s College Art, Conflict and Remembering Exhibition (from the 28th of January to 5th February 2020) and the art exhibition at the Picasso Exhibition in Royal Academy of Arts (from the 10th of February to 9th of March 2020). Both exhibition events focused on visual art which gave me more room to act as an observer of different people, maintaining a keen interest on their behaviour and attitudes. Communication as stated by Musante & DeWalt(2010) is one of the challenges faced by an observant participant since it may influence the actions and reactions of the people being observed. To address this challenge I made limited interactions with people at the galleries with an aim to minimise the risk of researcher’s bias and influence during the research process (reference). Both events were open to public participation; the King’s College Art exhibition was free while the Picasso exhibition was at a fee of £35 (King’s College London, 2020).

I managed my attendance to align with my observational goals as the event went by. Over the period of six weeks of fieldwork, observation was made during active exhibition and display hours enabling active collection of data on information relevant to my study. In total, 16 visits were made with each visit lasted for about one to two hours. The visits were purposely done at, different time periods, ranging from early morning to late evenings and alternating between the beginnings of weekdays to the end of weekends in order to enrich my observation while limiting information bias. I attended two exhibitions for two reasons; based on the emphasis of George (2019) on the benefits of comparison and mediation of different factors of data collected in order to achieve quality outcomes. Due to the limited time within which Kings College held its art exhibition, I was not able to achieve adequate amount of visits and observations therefore I conducted a multi-place observation for my study.

Observational approach is justified by Musante & DeWalt (2010), who recognise participant observation as a natural method of data collection for ethnography. In this ethnographic research I have chosen to act as a participant observer. Participant observation is important as it a flexible method of data collection and prevents the alteration of the actions and reactions of subjects studied during observation hence prevents the Hawthorne effect (Iacono, 2009).

The relaxed ambience of the galleries as the events took place made it easy and possible to actively take notes as a way to record observations during the events. Documentation of observations, containing “thick descriptions” of the events was recorded in a notebook, to ensure actions and reactions were accurately captured as they occurred. This field note, which was later translated into vignettes, forms the primary source of data for analysis (Iacono, 2009).

Relevant information heard from conversations between participants that related to my study was put into consideration and recorded in writing. It’s important to note that no chronology or order of events was therefore followed with regard to data collection on behavioural patterns as observation solely relied on actions of the individuals observed.

On ethical consideration, all reference materials used during exhibition were left at the exhibition as required by the event organisers. Consent was obtained from the art gallery event organisers which enabled me to take photos and notes during the event. The data collected would be analysed guided by the theoretical framework under theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory. Attitudes and behavioural changes observed would then be coded and analysed based on the constructs provided under the two theories.

Analysis

Establishing art theme as a practice to keep people interested in art exhibition

As the focus of this study was to establish the creative practices that attract people to art galleries and keep them interested, a quick finding was established on the art theme through the display of murals and live demos. The theme of the art display is about recognition of conflict and remembrance of civil rights movements in 1960’s. At the start of the event at the King’s College Art exhibition the focus of my observation was on the responses of people toward the 12 large murals and the interaction amongst the gallery visitors.

The 12 large murals are displayed in a large enclosed room and are so bold and clearly visible from the contrast of the white painted walls. They were hung high on various walls and on display stands showing a sequence of events. Movement at the event is free and while one could skip one mural to the next, most people chose to follow a non-stated path in observing the art so as to follow the chronology of events captured by the murals (See Appendix 6).

Simple observations

Vignette 1

People are walking individually and in smaller groups of two to three people. Most of them are talking freely and chatting and laughing while others are talking in whispers. There are about 15 people – a mixture of both old and younger people – at the event. The younger ones look like university students. People have their phones and cameras ready to take photos of the event. As the event starts, most people are quiet at the site of art displays. While there’s no employee directing line movements, people in attendance are keenly following one another. Shallow applauds can be heard from a group of people ahead. As one person expresses how large the murals are in a group of three people, the rest of them acknowledge. One lady mentions the grey and black choice of painting demonstrates sadness and the other lady who is listening agrees frowning at the statement as they move on to the next display.

Observation of various people in attendance shows the change in demeanour of individuals before and at the sight of the large murals. Prior to the sighting, some people are taking photos of the information catalogue at the entrance, most people are having fun and chatting with their friends while others are just calm and composed. Upon sighting the murals, expressions of sadness and an unquestionable quietness engulfs the place. The change in demeanour could be directly linked to the theme of the art paintings. This is demonstrated by some people as they specify so in their conversations (Bettadapura, 2012): two girls discussing the choice of color make note that the grey and black painting used demonstrates sadness. A change in attitude is observed through facial expression of one lady as illustrated in vignette 1 where she frowns at the other lady’s expression of sadness alluded by the painting. Through the triadic mechanism, we are able to observe influencing factor which is the negative themed painting that influence behavioural and attitude change which is sadness. Despite the lack of a clear-defined movement pattern and direction to follow during the observation of the art displayed, most people followed an undefined but arguably existing theme of the art paintings which portrays a story like conclusion from the observation of the paintings.

Deviant observations

Vignette 2

The distance between paintings is reasonably long. However most people keep moving from one painting to the next painting, unto the next until the final art display. Groups are quieter at the site of each painting and most people are focused on the details and information displayed by each painting. Girls are more facially expressive while boys are more talkative throughout the observation of the art exhibitions. In a group of two boys, one of them asks, “what would you have done if you were them?”, unto which the other boy replies “joined the fight like the others”

Madzlan (2017) states that despite people have the ability to hide and prevent the expression of emotions arising from an event impacting their lives however, the change in attitude and behaviour of various people intensified and became more observable as the art display continued. This further illustrates the influence the theme of the art displayed had on individual people’s emotions. Silence can be interpreted differently ranging from, grief anger, dissatisfaction or withdrawal. In in this instance, silence represents a reflection of sadness in response to the displayed art. The difference in expression in behaviour and attitude amongst boys and girls can be related to the societal norms (Madzlan, 2017). As expressed in the vignette 2 above, girls tend to respond to arts in silence, whereas boys respond verbally by discussing about the paintings relating the displays to their personal experiences. Indeed, Carlo et al. (2012) argue that these differences in behaviors might be linked to the societal expectations about masculinity and femininity, in which girls are expected to show more empathy, whereas boys are not expected to show signs of vulnerability.

Establishing art demos as a practice to keep people interested in art exhibition

While attitude and behaviour changes observed at the King’s College Art exhibition relied heavily on the theme which had an observable emotional impact on the people, the Picasso Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts attributed its behavioural influences to the live demonstrations done at the exhibition. The Saloon style setting of the exhibition creates a more intimate environment for art exhibition attendees (See Appendix 5). Art paintings displayed on the walls are not as big as those in Kings’ College Art exhibition, but they are pretty bold and colourful. Plain yet boldly coloured walls create a beautiful contrast making the art pieces more pronounced and visible. The room is highly diverse in terms of attendance, there are older men and women and mostly younger people probably in their 20’s. The older people in attendance are keener on staring at the art hanging on the walls, while the younger people are crowding the demonstration area.

Complex observations

Vignette 3

The exhibition organizers are signaling for a start of the demo at the farthest end of the room, Younger people seem to be more interested than the older visitors as they make their way to the venue in singles and pairs. Some people are so knowledgeable of the art displayed and as they walk around, discussions about the artwork continue to take place. As we gather around the demo area, I overhear a conversation between a boy and a girl standing right in front of me

Person A: “Hi I am Nick’’

Person B: “Hello I am Hanna’’

Person A: “Are you an artist?’’

Person B: “Yes and you?’

Person A: “yes; so is this your style of painting?’’

Person B “No but am O curious, if it’s interesting enough I might adopt it’’

They both smile and focus at the demonstration which just began. As the demonstration continues, some people are not interested at all in the event and despite the crowd gathered around the demo, they maintain previous activity of observing the paintings mounted at the walls

Art has been a key resource in expressing information and passing knowledge from generation to generation. Conversation between the two young people as described in vignette 3 illustrates that they are artists or have basic knowledge about art as well as different styles of art. By establishing experience from the two young people above, their reaction is important as it provides reason for their curiosity for the live demo. It demonstrates their curiosity to learn something new or different from what they practise from the live demonstrations. Concentration is observed as the conversation between them ends as soon as the live demonstrations are about to begin. The silence can be associated with social courtesy. Owing to the how expressive most people in attendance were with tattoos, piercings, hairstyles and the conversations they were having, it is safe to conclude that most of them are artists and their visit at the art exhibition was not just to see pieces of art but also to learn from the experts at the live demo. In this context, art does not only capture attention amongst people as a socially interesting activity, but also portrays itself as a learning tool and reference point for comparison. The normal expectation of people in the event of an interesting occurrence is their attention towards it; that however was not achieved at the live demonstration within a specific group of people. Lack of interest to the live demo from certain people in my observation could be linked to significance of the wall painting to be more relevant to them than the live observation. The diversity of the room could also be important in explaining the need for learning amongst different generations. While older people were keen on the already painted art, younger people were more interested in the live demonstrations as they are more open to learning new ideas and practises from the event.

Vignette 4

As the live demonstrations continue, applauds and cheerful noises can be heard from the crowd. The crowd grows larger from about eleven people initially to twenty people. As the illustrations continue, people’s faces vary from blank episodes where I can’t tell what they are thinking to expressions of curiosity, eagerness, surprise and joy. The crowd is still and quiet looking at the painter doing a demo and suddenly they burst into cheers and clap/give applause as he finishes the demonstration and people can now conceptualize what the painting represents. Upon finishing the demonstration, the demo artist calls on anybody interested to give a demonstration similar to what he had done or even better. He is asking for one person, but two people step forward. He eventually decides to accept both people. He goes for pencils and the two drawing boards, which he hand over to the two volunteers to use.

Live demonstration invokes different reactions and behavioral patterns observed from the crowd. Firstly, it builds curiosity, which is attributed to the increase in the number of people observing the exhibition of the live demonstrations. As illustrated in vignette 4, the crowd increases from about seven people to eighteen as the live demonstrations continue. While intention cannot be demonstrated by attitude and behavior, the crowd expresses eagerness and curiosity through applauds and cheers at the demonstrations. These expressions reflect on their ability to recognize the work done by the artists, their digestion and understanding of it and their ability to interpret the art work. The interest of the crowd to learn is reflected on their willingness to volunteer for another demonstration when given a chance and not only does one person volunteer as requested but one more comes forth. Having not observed any direct communication between people who were already at the demonstration and the ones looking at paintings on the wall, the attraction of more people as the demonstration continues can be attributed to understanding their intention which is to learn; and behavioral influence which results from the applauds of people observing the live demo.

Methodological discussion

The ethnographic study was conducted at two art galleries as a participant observer to examine the impact of theme and use of live demonstrations as activities used by art galleries to attract customers regardless of the aesthetic property of the art itself. Being an observer made it possible for me to study people’s facial expressions and analyze their reaction against occurring events. It also enabled me to read their body language and listen to conversations amongst people where possible. While observation created a picture on behavior arising from body language and attitude, with hindsight, the validity of the study would have been enhanced by having actuals conversation between me and the participants. Having said that, one of the benefits of being an observer during the study is it eliminated chances of influencing or manipulating the behavior of the participants (Iacono, 2009). People act comfortably and more naturally when they are unaware of being observed since they are more relaxed and unpressured. The use of participant observation as my method of data collection helped retain the validity of people’s actions and outcome of reactions arising from the art galleries. It also eliminated the chances of conversations being altered to compromise or suits the purpose of my study (Musante & DeWalt, 2010). Being a participant observer creates room for misinterpretation since the understanding and analysis of behavior and attitude observed during the study is open to my interpretation. For example as a group of people applaud, I could interpret this applause as appraisal or acknowledgement towards an action done. However, that interpretation may not reflect on everybody’s view or feel towards the event. Some actions done by people in a group could be as a result of influence by other people in the same group. As a qualitative research method, observation is prone to subjectivity and subject to bias as participants observed are subject to the observer’s interest and curiosity; that limits the qualitative aspect of the data collected (Queirós et al., 2017).

Having established the existence of influence and impact of visual art themes and live demonstrations on people’s behavior and attitude, future studies can be carried out to establish the impact of theme and live demonstrations on their knowledge and perspective; this may help influence change of attitude and behavior towards negative believes and actions.

Due to communication deterrents, the study does not put into consideration age limitations on the participants being observed during the study. It however notes that the behavioural patterns between the young and old people differed. As such given a chance to do the study group again I would choose to emphasize my focus on one group of people based on their age group so as to establish behavioural differences and compare them against another age. My study established impact on behavior without consideration for ethnic or cultural background of participants and their interpretation of different art themes; Research has suggested that there may be different interpretations on art displays across different cultural backgrounds and hence this may affect their behaviour (Holbrook & Hirschman, 2012). As this study has not fully considered the role of cultural backgrounds in the behaviour of the participants, future research may wish to build on this research by looking at the impact of cultural backgrounds and the attitudes of people towards art. Despite the lack of consideration for age and cultural influences on the impact of outcomes, this study establishes the importance of theme and live demonstration as practises that have significant influences on achieving interest and attracting people to attend art exhibitions. Similar action can also be used to influence positive behaviour amongst people and encourage the acceptance and adaptation of new behaviour amongst people. The same observation is shared in a study where to combat 80% of infections resulting from the spread of germs and bacteria especially amongst school going children. The use of negative themed art has been applicable as a constant reminder for them to wash their hands in order to combat the spread of colds and other infections (Burton, 2011).

In support of data collected through observation, the use of either open- or close-ended questionnaires would have created a greater understanding of impact felt from theme and influence of live demonstrations on behavioral and attitude changes (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Being the only researcher limits the time for observations when taking notes, I could have missed on important behavior and attitude changes that may have impacted my study. Moreover, the presence of multiple observers may reduce the risk of bias and increase the validity and reliability of research. Having established that, I recommend the use of video to record events as they occur. Videos provide important material for detailed specific and accurate analysis. This would only be advised if recording devices are available and consent from the people being observed is obtained (Forsyth et al., 2009).

Academic and practical implications

As most researchers focus on the impact of gallery location and interior design as a method of attracting customers, the impact of art theme and live demonstrations are widely understudied. In an attempt to bridge this gap, this study contributes by analyzing attitude and behavior change observed from live demonstrations and observation of theme at art exhibitions. It also recommends that gallery managers should also include marketing of their exhibitions based on theme and live demonstrations so as attract diverse clientele regularly, having observed that the two have an impact on people’s behavior and attitudes

Personal attitude and behavior have been illustrated by various models and theories. Using the theory of planned behavior and social cognitive theory as its conceptual lens, the study focuses on exploring and establishing practices that keep people interested in art exhibitions and understanding the importance of emotional stimulators as a way of keeping people interested in art galleries.

The theory of planned behaviour has been used to predict human behaviour in finding solutions especially in the medical field. For example theory of planned behaviour has been used to predict behavioural patterns such as smoking, alcohol and substance abuse. This model however is only useful in the establishment of intent which as illustrated above is about creation of interest and attraction of people to an art exhibition. By building on intent, the model can be used to predict expected behavioural patterns and to evaluate risks and benefits from the expected outcome (Ajzen, 2011). My study was able to identify the utilisation of the intent model in attracting people at the art galleries and invoking interest in the art work. A study conducted by Pettigrew et al., (2012) found that television adverts have successfully influenced social behaviour and triggered food consumption by the use of negative advertisement themes to capture the attention of targeted population; themes that invoke emotional response such as food cravings and mood enhancement. A similar response is observed in my study where the use of negative theme invokes emotional response from art observers.

Social cognitive theory has been used to explain various behavioural patterns especially those relating to learning, absorption of information and distribution of information. A study by Lee et al. (2012) on the effect of appeasement and past experience amongst social media users found that study respondents who were motivated by the need for gratification, influence or social status were more likely to share any type of information on social media. Study respondents driven with prior experience in social media communication however were very particular with the type of information they shared. My study shares the same findings with Lee’s research as respondents in this study were influenced by their prior experiences. As discussed earlier the number of attendees at the art gallery for live demonstration were mostly artists who were showed a high level of curiosity to learn the new style of painting (see appendix 30 social cognitive theory heavily relies on dynamic association between people, the behaviour and environmental influences (Schunk, 2012). My study does not establish which amongst the three carries more influence than the other. In order to establish impact of the determinants, the study hence calls for a more extensive research on the level of influence each determinants of the triad have and their outcomes. In the event this study is used as is, all determinants must only be used in relation to one another and all three factors must be put into consideration when establishing behavioural patterns.

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