Mind the Gap

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Mind The Gap: The SequelEen onderzoek naar het vrijetijdsaanbod voor jongeren in Vlaamse en Nederlandse musea

Olga Van Oost

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Introduction

Initiator: AmuseeVous

Grant: Flemish Ministry of Culture (Heritage Decree; 6 months)

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Enthousiasm, curiosity, scepticism

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The Facts: young people are not interested

Paternalism: museums are ‘good’ for you?

Museums are not educational or audience-oriented from the outset

Photo: Bozar, Brussels

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‘Public’ Museum/Gallery? A Controversial History

  18th – 19th centuries: object-oriented

  Bourgeois institution: reproduction of specific values and moral standards

  NOT accessible to all

  Specimens of established culture: clash with youth culture

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Why Should We Bother? Central question

  Do Museums Bother?

  Do Museums develop Programs for Young People in Their Spare Time?

  What’s the position of policy makers?

  What’s the position of young people?

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Methodology

  - Focus: Flanders and Brussels + The Netherlands

  - Study of Literature: historical approach

  - Policy Analysis: agenda setting government decisive for policies individual museums

  - Web survey in Flanders and The Netherlands: 660 museums addressed; 60% response rate (quantitative approach)

  - Casestudies (qualitative approach)

  - NO audience research due to a lack of time and resources

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Position Policy Makers

  - Flemish and Dutch Museums:   subsidy-dependend

  - Agenda-setting Policy Makers:compelling

+stimulating

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Audience-centred Museumconcept: Different Sides of a Coin

  - 60’ies-70’ies: decisive role governments in establishing educational departments in museums

  - 80’ies – today: ‘participation’, social inclusion, community building (democratic principles)

  - 90’ies – today: visitor-consumer, target groups (economic principles)

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Central policy question: how to increase gallery/museum participation?

  Importance of:

  - upbringing  - education (school)  - cultural experience   - practical obstacles (price,

location, opening hours, etc.)

  Dutch Government: focus on EDUCATION

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Impact of Policy. Increase of participation? NO!

  Problems:

  - Focus on figures

  - Focus on quantitative goals

  - Focus on Formal Learning and the Educational System?

  The Netherlands + Flanders: beginning of a mental shift towards non-formal learning?

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What about the museums?

  Both countries:   - focus on schools; formal

education  - limited programs for

young people in spare time  - guided tour most

common  - attracting young people

in free time not a focus  - not a target group  - limited targetgroup

communication

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BUT:

  Remarkable:  - museums want to do more

for this target group  - museums think programs

for schools do not suffice

  Reasons for NOT DOING it:  - practical and organisational  - lack of expertise  - lack of time  - lack of budget

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IMPORTANT

  Policy makers and museums can meet:

  … when policy makers make a mental shift towards non-formal learning

  … when museums take up this role of non-formal learning

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Casestudies that go against the grain! Young People Count!!!

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Museum/culturele instelling Project

Tate Modern,London Raw Canvas

Whitney Museum, New York Youth Insights

MOMA New York Red Studio

Witte de With, Rotterdam Speak Out, JET

Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam Mister Miyagi, Rookies

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Blikopeners

Centraal Museum, Utrecht XPOSE

Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht M2LIVE

MU, Eindhoven kaMUraden

Foam, Amsterdam Foam_Lab

AmuseeVous, België Polsbandactie, 1 Eurocampagne (i.s.m. CJP), Soirees, Kotroute

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Casestudies

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Museum/culturele instelling Project

Bozar, Brussel Bozarstart

Fotomuseum, Antwerpen JEF

Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, Jubelpark, Brussel

Museumfreaks

Stedelijke Musea Antwerpen Kunst om 8

MAS, Antwerpen Musea in Jonge Handen

Diamantmuseum, Antwerpen (i.s.m. Piazza dell’Arte)

Bling Bling

Stichting Museumnacht, Amsterdam

CJP Vlaanderen

CJP Nederland

Brusselse Museumraad Museum Night Fever

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Succesful Examples

  Qualitative Approach and evaluation

  - Peer Education

  - Expert Guidance

  - Peer Communication

  Long Term Course: 3 to 12 months (a process)

  Festive Closing Moment

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Why they do it…

  - show that museums can be interesting  - establish the contact between youth and museums  - convince people to come  - establish local networks (community building at a local scale)  - increase audience rates  - increase brand awareness and improve the museum’s image  - explore talents and develop capacities + skills youth  - contribute to personal development of youth  - give them a voice in the museum

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What’s in it for the organisation?

  - Investment in young talent

  - Exchange of knowledge and experiences

  - Young people advise the organisation

  - Young people communicate and promote the organisation: ambassador

  - Local anchoring

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What’s in it for young people?

  Personal development:  - receives responsibility  - talent / knowledge development  - development of specific skills

  General development:  - gets an insight in the organisation  - follows a specialised learning course outside school  - receives a certificate  - a first ‘jobexperience’ and more chance on a job in the

cultural sector  - builds a network

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Should we bother? YES!

  Idea of social inclusion

  Idea of community building

An alternative to education in a school environment

Informal learning

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How to put theory into practice?

  Policy makers

  - Focus on cultural education in schools

  - Elaborate on the idea of informal learning

  - Put it on the agenda so organisations can structurally embed these programs (a long term perspective is necessary)

  - Reward and stimulate volunteer work (also very important when dealing with social inclusion and outreach programs)

  - Invest in research: what is the impact of alternative ways to stimulate participation?

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How to put theory into practice?

  Museums:

  - Need of staff, time, budget

  - Young people should be everyone’s ‘problem’

  - Develop special skills (peer education and communication)

  - Work together with specialized organisations when necessary

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Make room for selfreflection and selfcritique

  - What message do you want to get across?

  - Focus on content and on a qualitative program

  - Make sure to make a distinction between education and communication

  - Beware of too much ‘targetgroup-thinking’: young people are valuable individuals who should be respected as such

  - Is my museum interesting enough?

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For More Information:

  Olga Van Oost (2009) Mind The Gap. The Sequel. Een onderzoek naar het vrijetijdsaanbod voor jongeren in Vlaamse en Nederlandse Musea. Leuven: AmuseeVous.

  AmuseeVous vzw,  Brusselsestraat 63  3000 Leuven  T 0032 (0) 16 20 43 20  E info@amuseevous.be  W www.amuseevous.be

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