Aztecs at Our Place: Meaning-making in an international touring exhibition

<p>While it is claimed that international touring exhibitions are highly valuable in terms of promoting intercultural understanding, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. In particular, there is a lack of visitor research on the subject. “Aztecs at Our Place” addresses this current lack of knowledge by seeking to provide an insight into the impact of touring exhibitions on their audiences. It examines the ways visitors to the exhibition Aztecs: Conquest and glory built impressions and “made meaning” about an unfamiliar culture. The exhibition was on display at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) from 28 September 2013 to 9 February 2014. It was developed by Te Papa in partnership with the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico, and the Australian Museum and Museum Victoria. From Te Papa, the exhibition travelled to Melbourne Museum and then the Australian Museum in Sydney. This dissertation studies the visitor experience at Te Papa only but forms part of a broader study which examines two exhibitions across several international venues. “Aztecs at Our Place” draws on recent theoretical and methodological developments in the field of visitor studies including visitor meaning-making, narrative-based methods and long-term visitor insights. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, centering on narrative-based interviews with twenty-three visitors to the exhibition. Follow-up interviews were conducted with eleven of the original participants in order to determine visitors’ lasting impressions of the exhibition. The findings reveal how participants’ impressions of Aztec culture were informed by different aspects of the exhibition. Information and objects relating to everyday life were essential for creating a broader, more sympathetic understanding of Aztec culture beyond human sacrifice. The research also demonstrates that cultural comparisons, objects and emotions including empathy helped participants gain an appreciation for the Aztec way of life, in conjunction with aspects of participants’ identity. The findings shed new light on the way visitors “connect” to another culture through experiencing an international touring exhibition. Considering that cultural diplomacy is reportedly growing in importance, this research has implications for museum professionals seeking to promote intercultural understanding through an exhibition.</p>

Aztecs at Our Place: Meaning-making in an international touring exhibition

<p>While it is claimed that international touring exhibitions are highly valuable in terms of promoting intercultural understanding, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. In particular, there is a lack of visitor research on the subject. “Aztecs at Our Place” addresses this current lack of knowledge by seeking to provide an insight into the impact of touring exhibitions on their audiences. It examines the ways visitors to the exhibition Aztecs: Conquest and glory built impressions and “made meaning” about an unfamiliar culture. The exhibition was on display at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) from 28 September 2013 to 9 February 2014. It was developed by Te Papa in partnership with the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico, and the Australian Museum and Museum Victoria. From Te Papa, the exhibition travelled to Melbourne Museum and then the Australian Museum in Sydney. This dissertation studies the visitor experience at Te Papa only but forms part of a broader study which examines two exhibitions across several international venues. “Aztecs at Our Place” draws on recent theoretical and methodological developments in the field of visitor studies including visitor meaning-making, narrative-based methods and long-term visitor insights. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, centering on narrative-based interviews with twenty-three visitors to the exhibition. Follow-up interviews were conducted with eleven of the original participants in order to determine visitors’ lasting impressions of the exhibition. The findings reveal how participants’ impressions of Aztec culture were informed by different aspects of the exhibition. Information and objects relating to everyday life were essential for creating a broader, more sympathetic understanding of Aztec culture beyond human sacrifice. The research also demonstrates that cultural comparisons, objects and emotions including empathy helped participants gain an appreciation for the Aztec way of life, in conjunction with aspects of participants’ identity. The findings shed new light on the way visitors “connect” to another culture through experiencing an international touring exhibition. Considering that cultural diplomacy is reportedly growing in importance, this research has implications for museum professionals seeking to promote intercultural understanding through an exhibition.</p>

Giving and Receiving: A Case Study of the Stowaways Exhibit in Blood, Earth Fire - Whāngai, Whenua Ahi Kā at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

<p>The role that the physical environment of an exhibition plays in the visitor's experience of a museum is a topic that, though increasingly acknowledged in museum studies, has not yet received detailed attention from researchers. The interaction of exhibitor and visitor, in and through exhibitions, can be situated in the wider context of the recent paradigm shirt within museum practice, towards communication with the public and developments in museum theory, which consider the qualitative aspects of the visitor experience as an active dialogue, conversation or a process of meaning-making. This dissertation examines the interactive exhibit Stowaways in the permanent exhibition, Blood, Earth, Fire - Whāngai, Whenua, Ahi Kā, at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. It considers the question 'How does the physical environment affect the meanings that the visitor makes in and after visiting the exhibition?' The study builds on existing New Zealand research, which questioned the gap between exhibition creation and visitor reception. A theoretical framework was constructed from relevant strands of the literature of museum studies, visitor studies and exhibition design. A qualitative approach was employed, in order to examine in detail both the exhibition development process and then how the visitor responded to the exhibition. Several methods were used to conduct the research, such as archival research and interviews with both the museum staff and seven visitors, who came with their families to the exhibit. The findings provide interesting evidence of the complex and deep affect that the built exhibition space can have on the visitor, not just at the time of the visit but long afterwards. This was an affect that rippled out from the individual to their family group and everyday life. This dissertation makes a small but significant contribution to museum studies in New Zealand, through an integrated examination of the production and reception of a museum exhibit, from the perspective of both the visitor and the museum. One of the main conclusions was to re-iterate the important role of exhibition evaluation in facilitating a more complete communication between museum and visitor, by allowing museum professionals to build on the experience of the development process in a way that can inform future practice.</p>

Giving and Receiving: A Case Study of the Stowaways Exhibit in Blood, Earth Fire - Whāngai, Whenua Ahi Kā at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

<p>The role that the physical environment of an exhibition plays in the visitor's experience of a museum is a topic that, though increasingly acknowledged in museum studies, has not yet received detailed attention from researchers. The interaction of exhibitor and visitor, in and through exhibitions, can be situated in the wider context of the recent paradigm shirt within museum practice, towards communication with the public and developments in museum theory, which consider the qualitative aspects of the visitor experience as an active dialogue, conversation or a process of meaning-making. This dissertation examines the interactive exhibit Stowaways in the permanent exhibition, Blood, Earth, Fire - Whāngai, Whenua, Ahi Kā, at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. It considers the question 'How does the physical environment affect the meanings that the visitor makes in and after visiting the exhibition?' The study builds on existing New Zealand research, which questioned the gap between exhibition creation and visitor reception. A theoretical framework was constructed from relevant strands of the literature of museum studies, visitor studies and exhibition design. A qualitative approach was employed, in order to examine in detail both the exhibition development process and then how the visitor responded to the exhibition. Several methods were used to conduct the research, such as archival research and interviews with both the museum staff and seven visitors, who came with their families to the exhibit. The findings provide interesting evidence of the complex and deep affect that the built exhibition space can have on the visitor, not just at the time of the visit but long afterwards. This was an affect that rippled out from the individual to their family group and everyday life. This dissertation makes a small but significant contribution to museum studies in New Zealand, through an integrated examination of the production and reception of a museum exhibit, from the perspective of both the visitor and the museum. One of the main conclusions was to re-iterate the important role of exhibition evaluation in facilitating a more complete communication between museum and visitor, by allowing museum professionals to build on the experience of the development process in a way that can inform future practice.</p>

Animal-Visitor Interactions: Effects, Experiences, and Welfare

Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVI) within zoos and aquariums have become an increasingly studied topic. Influenced by both the broader field of Human-Animal Interactions (HAI), as well as visitor studies conducted in museums, AVI studies can be separated into two areas of focus: (1) Visitor effects, or the impact visitors have on the animals housed within a zoo, and (2) visitor experiences, or the impact zoo animals and visiting a zoo have on the visitors. Historically, visitor effects have been of primary concern to the study of AVIs, as have the potential negative impacts on the welfare of animals, particularly those of zoo primates. This special issue examines the impact of AVIs in greater detail through twelve recent papers on the topic, equally addressing visitor effects and experiences. Many of the papers focus on positive welfare indices, as well as less traditional measures to examine both visitor effects and experiences, such as visitor proximity and visitor interviews. In addition, we discuss the relevance of future AVI work, with particular attention to (a) increased interest in visitor experience research, (b) examinations of signage effects, and (c) continued focus on positive welfare indices and direct interactions, such as public feedings.

Visitor studies, zoo education and zoo research.

This chapter contains questions on the behaviour of visitors in zoos, and the role of zoos in education and research.

The Predicament of Representation in the Politics of Diversity: A Discussion Through Tate Encounters

Considering the recognition by Arts Council England that cultural diversity within national museums and cultural organizations is ‘treading water’, the article proposes a typology of the criticisms available before putting forward the hypothesis that, no matter how legitimate those criticisms are, most of them are underpinned by an essentialist concept of representation. In order to test this hypothesis, it discusses Tate Encounters, a research project carried out at Tate Britain from 2007 to 2010, as a case study at the intersections of cultural policy and museology, visitor studies and audience engagement. The project provides a situated and multitextured account of the limitations restricting cultural diversity policy. However, it also demonstrates the difficulties in attempting to overcome those limitations – what I call ‘the predicament of representation’. Building upon a post-structuralist perspective, the article understands that, since we cannot escape from representing and being represented, a non-essentialist conception of representation has to be put into practice.

Modern Technology Based Methodologies for Visitor Studies at the Museum Exposition

In the second half of the 20th century, important changes took place in the relationship between the museum world and society, which led to appearance of new approaches in museum theory and practice. First of all, they affected the principles of interaction between museums and their audience. The evolve-ment of communication approach to museology, where a visitor is considered the main figure in mu-seum activity, dates back to this time. The peculiari-ties of museum audience behaviour were studied from the beginning of the 20th century. The exposi-tion is the main channel of communication between a museum and its visitors, therefore, the use of modern technical means that allow an objective as-sessment of the quality of such communication is a priority when studying the museum audience. Due to the development of technical progress by the beginning of the 21st century there is a possibility of using technological methods of qualitative and quantitative recording and analytics of main indica-tors of interrelation between museums and their target audience. The present research considers new technical means of studying specific features inher-ent to visitors behaviour at exhibitions (tracking, eye tracking, video analytics). Such studies have been carried out in some of Russian museums in recent years.

Who Hates Magic? Exploring the Loathing of Legerdemain

Magic is an ancient, universal, diverse, and wide-ranging domain of artistic performance. Despite its worldwide popularity, however, any working magician will tell you that some people really hate magic. They seem to see every illusion as a challenge to be solved and every performance as an insult to their intelligence. A distinctive feature of magic is that it seeks to create wonder and amazement through deception—practitioners create the illusion of the impossible, which can provoke intense curiosity, but will not explain the method—so we speculate that disliking magic could stem from (1) low propensity for curiosity, awe, and wonder, and (2) high needs for social status and dominance, which make a person averse to being fooled and manipulated. The present research explored people’s attitudes toward magic with our Loathing of Legerdemain (LOL) scale. In a multinational sample of 1295 adults, we found support for these two broad classes of predictors. People who hated magic were marked by (1) lower Openness to Experience, lower awe-proneness, and lower creative self-concepts; and (2) higher socially aversive traits, such as lower Agreeableness, higher psychopathy, and lower faith in humanity. We suggest that magic is an interesting case for researchers interested in audience and visitor studies and that the psychology of art would benefit from a richer understanding of negative attitudes more generally.