A Democratic Approach to Audience Development: A Case Study Based on the Statens Museum for Kunst: Multi-Scale Analysis of the Needs and Barriers of the Users and Non-Frequent Users of Art Museums

Abstract

This thesis explored the challenges art museums face in audience development, focusing on integrating the concepts of culture democratisation and cultural democracy, through a case study of the Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), the National Gallery of Denmark.6.2.1.1 Despite being publicly funded and conceived as communal assets, art museums often cater predominantly to a niche audience, maintaining an elitist stance. This research embraced the idea of the museum as a public space, and aimed to support the SMK in becoming a museum for “more people and more kinds of people.” The study examined the differences and similarities between frequent and non-frequent users, investigating what keeps part of the population from visiting, what activities are pursued instead, and whether the art museum could fulfil the same needs. Simultaneously, it explored the characteristics of frequent users to find a middle ground between both groups. The research demonstrated a sophisticated integration of socio-psychological theories and strategic business models, applied to audience development in art museums. To this end, the Comprehensive Museum Usage Model (CMUM) inspired by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) was created, and integrated into the strategic frameworks of the Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS). By weaving together these interdisciplinary perspectives, the study highlighted practical solutions to real-world challenges faced by art museums and cultural institutions, incorporating the concepts of culture democratisation and cultural democracy. Content and process theories of motivation were innovatively integrated, grounded in Vroom’s Expectancy Theory (1964) and further enriched by incorporating frameworks from Maslow (1943, 1954, 1964) and Falk and Dierking (2016). The results revealed moderate to moderately high expectancy for art museums visit, in comparison to both cultural and leisure needs and contexts sought. The valence indicated that self-fulfilment needs and personal context were prevalent across leisure and cultural activities and visits to art museums. The instrumentality was especially high on nine subcategories particularly relevant for the SMK to consider. The analysis of the barriers and constraints to visit, based on Crawford and Godbey’s (1987) framework and supplemented with subcategories, revealed that non-frequent users generally experienced higher barriers and constraints, particularly on structural barriers related to the constraints of time, and awareness. This multi-scale analysis not only enhanced the understanding of audience engagement strategies, but also positioned the study as an interesting methodological and practical resource for both academics and professionals in cultural institution management, particularly those committed in broadening access and ensuring diverse representation in cultural spaces.