Project:

Learning and motivation in the contemporary art gallery


Project Leader(s): Areti Galani, Andrew Newman, Rhiannon Mason and Chris Whitehead

This project is currently being developed as a major bid to the ESRC and involves Areti Galani, Andrew Newman, Rhiannon Mason and Chris Whitehead as investigators. The project is a qualitative investigation into the importance of visitor motivation for non-formal learning in the contemporary art gallery and vice versa. It aims to explore the nature of motivation and non-formal learning and their relationship, and to provide a detailed psychological and sociological account of individuals’ gallery visits. This account will comprehend: origins of the visit (e.g. reasons for visiting, visitor aims, prior knowledge and the personal and social visit contexts); details of the visit (e.g. the gallery resources with which individuals choose to engage); and, finally, short-term and long-term legacies of the visit (e.g. identifiable learning, repeat visiting and increases in interest, skills, cultural capital and social capital). The study will focus on the experiences of a sample of adult visitors over time, employing qualitative methods to gain insights into the nature of motivation, learning and their connection.

Staff

Dr Areti Galani
Lecturer

Dr Rhiannon Mason
Senior Lecturer and Director of ICCHS

Andrew Newman
Senior Lecturer

Dr Christopher Whitehead