Young People are the Future of Art Museums

In the last article, we talked about the opening of the Linde Wing at the MFA. At the time, there was some criticism that while the opening was supposedly for young people, the price of the event tickets excluded them. Additionally, the museum had a lot of flashy hashtags designed to initiate conversations on social media, but they weren’t accessible on the website and were largely abandoned. We didn’t go into too much depth on museums and young people in the last article, because I think the MFA’s missed or misused opportunities really deserve their own article. So let’s take a deeper look today.

It is imperative for museums today to engage in a meaningful way with young people. Most research in this area has focused on Millennials, but the oldest members of Generation Z are now 23, and so they’re a part of the 18-34 demographic that museums should be engaging. Additionally, the oldest Millennials are now 39 and outside that young person demographic. Keep this in mind, because some statistics referenced in this article refer to Millennials. Also, while the oldest Millennials may not quite be young people anymore, they still should matter to museums because the Millennial cohort is the largest generation in human history. They have massive purchasing power and they will have an unrivaled influence on policy and culture for the next forty years or so, since they’re not having children at the rate of previous generations and there is unlikely to be another generation that matches the size of Millennials. In this article, “young person” means anyone from ages 18-34, but with the understanding that older Millennials may still be included.

Markers of Young People

Young people are, for the most part, diverse and socially driven digital natives. They want to feel that what they are doing is meaningful and they want to have fun while they do it. Millennials grew up during the advent of computers and smart phones, while Generation Z grew up using these devices. Both cohorts are very connected to technology. Also, 1 in 4 Millennials is a person of color, while 48% of Generation Z are people of color. There has also been a tremendous acceptance of an expansive and inclusive view of gender identity and sexual identity from both generations.

Museums Lack Young People

The average museum visitor is white, female, and over the age of 50¹. Museums have been struggling with trying to find ways to get young people through the door. Part of the issue is that many people grew up going to museums for school trips, so going to the museum has become associated with obligation and often boredom. People who felt forced to visit museums as children probably don’t feel very inclined to go of their own free will when there are so many other activities vying for their attention.

The other major part of the problem is that museums don’t really know how to actively engage adults. They have wonderful programming for children, but aside from lectures, there are rarely real programs for adults. Cynthia Robinson describes this obstacle: “A romp through museum literature reveals a startling lack of focus on the adult in her own right—the adult not defined in relation to other family members, such as a mom².” Adults are also associated with their occupations. But are they seen as individual, curious learners? No. How do you create compelling programs for people you don’t really see as people, but as bankers and moms?

The obvious question might be “is this a problem?” Do we need young people in our museums? Aside from the principle that these institutions are open to all and everyone should feel welcome in art spaces, there are some very good reasons for museums to actively try to engage young people. The first is the purchasing power and influence young people will have for decades that we have already discussed. But also, museums that don’t evolve “will be seen as irrelevant, out of touch, and more importantly, will squander their ability to contribute to solutions³.”

How Museums Can Attract Young People

It’s become a trend to discuss engagement with Millennials and Generation Z in terms of “impressions.” Museums have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and likes, retweets, and shares are very popular metrics. This is because they’re quantifiable. One of my first jobs after college was in online marketing, and there was a push from the top down in the company to “make something go viral.” There was a general belief that if anything went viral from our company, surely we would take off and all retire at 30. And there is some justification for this belief. The Ice Bucket Challenge is the golden child of online marketing; it went viral in 2014, raised $220 million, and ALS went from being a relatively unknown disease to being a household term. However, success stories like that are few and far between and even the ALS Association has not been able to replicate anything close to their success six years ago.

Engagement isn’t just about impressions. The art of engaging another person has not actually changed; we’ve only developed new tools. Liking posts and even sharing posts are passive activities and do not actually indicate real engagement. Telling stories, sparking discussions, and evoking emotions in others is how you resonate with anyone. For young people, it is necessary to do that, or at least initiate the conversation, online. Organizations need to provide content that clearly aligns with their mission: “An organization may post certain words related to its mission on social platforms, but if the overall essence of the posts doesn’t match that “promise,” it risks eroding perceived trust⁴.” The mistake the MFA made at the Linde Wing opening is relevant again here; by creating hashtags to spark conversation and then never coming back to them, they did not follow through on that initial promise, which erodes trust.

Young people expect more than a generic social media presence. Being digitally friendly for Millenials and Generation Z means providing spaces in the museum that are Instagram friendly, encouraging selfies with art, and providing charging stations for devices. Young people use the internet to connect, but they also use it to make their lives easier; it’s important for museums to have “a digital hub that contains ticket pricing, exhibition information, and virtual tours, is becoming a useful device for a variety of potential patrons and offers another way to connect⁵.” A really great example of this is the American Museum of Natural History’s app, Explorer. It provides in-depth info for anyone who is curious, but it also gives accurate directions to exhibits, gift shops, and restrooms from wherever the user is standing in the building. It is quite remarkable and hopefully an example of the future of museum maps.

Offline Engagement

The key question that most museums are grappling with is how to get young people through the door. Online engagement is good and useful, but you still have to do something to get young people to visit. Events akin to parties are a common way that museums attempt to engage with this demographic. At the Linde Wing opening, there were late night entry times which were clearly intended for a younger audience. Playing music or having a live band is a great way to get young people in, as is having a bar. However, the price point must be accessible. Make sure that people can maximize their time for what they’re paying; for instance, “I can do the $15 lecture, or I can do events where I can also get food, drinks, and have friends for $15⁶.” But are parties enough?

The Gardner After Hours

The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum is unique: the building and art collection belonged to Isabella Stewart Gardner and she decreed in her will that nothing should ever be changed. This presents a challenge: how does an institution stuck in time evolve? They have gotten around some of their constraints by building an annex that can house temporary exhibits, concert spaces, and a restaurant. But the perception of a museum left in the 19th century remains.

Like other institutions, they found it particularly difficult to engage with young people, but they did something that most other institutions with far fewer constraints have not thought to do: they hired young people to create programs for young people. Julie Crites, who was in the target 18-34 demographic when she was hired, was the lead on creating the museum’s flagship program for young people, After Hours.

There is a study on the Gardner After Hours called More Than Just a Party and I have referenced it here, but I highly recommend that anyone who is interested in creating programs for young people read it in full. After Hours was highly successful: “crowds consistently are at capacity; 73% of visitors fall into the target demographic; the museum has recruited 241 new members; 25% of attendees are repeat visitors; and 93% explore the galleries⁷.” The event was held in the evening, but early enough that people could drop by after work, before going home or heading to a late-night activity. There were games and mini lectures to entice people through the galleries. They created conversations with small groups or with individuals about the collection through their Ambassador program. There was a bar and music to create a party atmosphere, but the focus was always about getting people to engage with the art: “because After Hours and all of its elements are so directly rooted in Isabella Gardner’s fundamental mission, there’s a distinctively authentic feel to the event⁸.” This is so crucially important because this is how you get young people in the door and it’s how you get them to return: provide them with an authentic, unique experience. The Gardner now does Third Thursdays, which operate in much the same way.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

The core of this issue is not really about purchasing power or the fact that Millennials and Generation Z are going to have influence for decades. The reality is that they are the future, and if these institutions want to continue to thrive in that future, they have to engage with the people who are shaping it.

This isn’t an impossible task, as the success of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum demonstrates. Institutions have to make some changes, but they’re slight changes in programming—massive changes aren’t necessary. Millennials and Generation Z both want to engage with culture in a meaningful and social way, with digital integration and a friendly and inclusive atmosphere. At the end of the day, the message is still absolutely the most important thing; it’s just that institutions need to deliver it a little differently.

Cynthia Robinson, “Into the Future: Adult Professional Groups and the 21st Century Museum,” Journal of Museum Education 36, no. 1 (March 2011): 103–11, https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2011.11510688
Cynthia Robinson, “Into the Future: Adult Professional Groups and the 21st Century Museum,” Journal of Museum Education 36, no. 1 (March 2011): 103–11, https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2011.11510688
Cynthia Robinson, “Into the Future: Adult Professional Groups and the 21st Century Museum,” Journal of Museum Education 36, no. 1 (March 2011): 103–11, https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2011.11510688
“Generation Why: History Repeats Itself (Even When It Comes to Engaging Millennials),” 2020, 3)
“Shifting Perspectives: The Millennial Influence on Museum Engagement,” The Museum Scholar, June 12, 2018, http://articles.themuseumscholar.org/tp_vol1bellomatchette)
“How To Design Programs for Millennials,” 2020, 9)
Bob Harlow et al., “More Than Just a Party: How the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boosted Participation by Young Adults,” n.d., 45
Bob Harlow et al., “More Than Just a Party: How the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boosted Participation by Young Adults,” n.d., 45