Still popular: Museums and their visitors 1994–2004

Abstract

The starting point for this article is the author's 1994 study of the museums and galleries' market, By Popular Demand. The article sets out to look at some of the key findings and track any developments in the 10 years since its publication. The article examines both quantitative and qualitative evidence from national (rather than local or regional) data. The subject matter covered includes the old questions of how many visits are made to UK museums and galleries each year, who visits and why do they visit. This is a period only partly impacted upon by the policy initiatives of New Labour, notably free admission to the national museums and galleries and the Renaissance in the Regions programme. The author demonstrates that, at best, the total number of visits grew only a little and those who visit became more middle class and more middle aged rather more than the population did itself in these years. Museums and galleries might maintain their audiences but they were not expanding them or broadening their social appeal. This alone was sufficient justification for New Labour's policies, the early stages of which seem to have been successful.

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