Part of a panel at AERA 2013 on Learning in Art Museum. Other panelists were: Betsy DiSalvo, Georgia Tech, Karen Knutson, UPCLOSE at U. Pittsburgh, and Sarah Schultz, Walker Art Center with Palmyre Pierroux as Discussant.

1. Learning in Art Museums: Engagement With Art
Maria Mortati
Independent Exhibit Developer
San Francisco, CA | AERA 2013

2. FORMAL
Interactive Galleries, Contemporary Wing,
Baltimore Museum of Art
Center for Creative Connections,
Dallas Museum of Art
Children’s Creativity Museum
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

3. INFORMAL
The Great Calculation, Exhibit & Events
The Giant Hand
Machine Project @ The Hammer Museum
The San Francisco Mobile Museum
Desire Trails Public Program,
Headlands Center for the Arts

4. Museum experience
Vatican Museum
Museum experience
Open Field at the Walker
Museum experience
Experiments in Engagement

5. Engagement Platforms at Art Museums
Through the art and artists
With the art or collections
• Civically Engaged
Participatory Art
• Center for Creative
Connections, Dallas
Museum of Art
• Interactive galleries at the
Baltimore Museum of Art
– Queens Museum and art
projects that address local
social and political issues
(Tania Bruguera)
• Participatory Art
– Open Field at the Walker Art
Center, Portland Art
Museum’s Shine a Light
Socially Practice projects

6. Dallas Museum of Art
THE CENTER FOR CREATIVE
CONNECTIONS (C3)

7. C3 is a 12,000 sq ft
dedicated space for
different types of
participation.
It was about working an
institution’s content in
multiple ways.

8. Gallery as Lab: we went back to the original statement and
interpreted it as the theme

9. What they bring to the table: The Framework for Engaging Art
Observers…
Are somewhat comfortable looking at art, have the most limited backgrounds in art and
art history, least comfortable talking about art. They tend to prefer a guided experience at
the museum, may be new to art viewing and just beginning to experience it.
Participants…
Stronger knowledge of and interest in art. Enjoy learning and the social aspects of their
experiences and have strong interest in connecting with works of art in a variety of ways,
including through music, dance, dramatic performances, and readings.
Independents…
Individuals in this group like to view a work of art independently, without explanations or
interpretation. These visitorsare confident about their knowledge and seek intense
interactions with art. Independents are often practicing artists. The group is less likely to
use interpretative resources during their visit.
Enthusiasts…
Are confident, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and comfortable looking at all types of art.
These visitors actively participate in a wide variety of museum programming, they are the
most emotionally affected by art, and are most interested in the artist materials and
techniques, and in explaining the meaning of a work to a friend. They frequently use the
museum and are most likely to be members.

10. Irvine Foundation Report
Source: Getting In On the Act, Understanding Participatory Arts Practices

11. Initial Definitions of Visitor Activity in C3
As we begin to think of how to define a spectrum for activity, we
could consider in this way:
• Responding to a prompt or question about a work of
art
• Reflecting on a work of art in an active way: visitor
makes or does something that mimics or reflects the
idea of an artwork
• Inventing something inspired by a C3 prompt or by
simply having the environment and tools to do so
11/14/11
C3#3 Concept Phase Interim Presentation
11

12. What outcomes do we want to have?
• Engagement with art, it’s ideas and the cultural
community surrounding our visitors and museum.
– How can we put ourselves in the position of
addressing the relevance of an object in our
contemporary world?

13. Exhibit Planning Outline
1. Select a variety of objects that offer deep engagement
2. Use of an object's inherent entry points: and develop “interactives”
tailored to them
3. Variety of activities for our demographics (age, gender, ethnicity,
learning styles, FEA)
4. Modular exhibit approach with a gallery layout revised to mesh
architecture with activity
5. Connect to current events in the contemporary world

14. Object vs. Theme-based
Methodology

15. An Emerging Spatial Language

16. A new criteria for selecting objects emerges:
1. Ripe for visitor engagement
•
fosters curiosity
•
depth: potential for rich content
•
breadth: allows for entry points across a diverse audience
•
potential for community interaction
•
connects with the contemporary world today
•
lets us play with the subjectivity of art
2. Diverse across the Museum Collection
•
showcases the diversity of the collection
3. Diverse across the Gallery
•
there are visual dynamics amongst all works of art at any
given time
4. Able to be on loan for an adequate period of time

18. New Contemporary Wing - Interactive Galleries
BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART

19. Interactives & Conceptual Art
This is a place where art museums battle
participation- where there can be an outright
rejection of participation.
These projects highlight the potential and
problems of such an approach.

20. Starting with Spatial Evaluation
Two new galleries: one a hallway to an elevator, the other, a small space off the
atrium yet prominently featured in the architecture of the wing, flanked by the main
galleries

21. Gallery 1: “Open Studio”
• This gallery became a space that explored the
creative practice of a single artist through a
variety of media, activities, and programs
• The artist we were opening with was Sarah
Oppenheimer, who was producing a large,
permanent installation that transected the
entire wing of the museum.

22. Sarah Oppenheimer, W-120301, 2012

23. Sarah Oppenheimer, W-120301, 2012

24. Sarah Oppenheimer drawings

25. Research into the artist’s influences

26. Hands-on prototypes to get at the essence of playing with the grid of a building

27. Sketchbooks to let visitors try the artist’s approach on, surrounded by other
contextual materials.

31. Gallery 2: “The Big Table”
• Initially, this gallery was going to be where
visitors could dive deep and engage with the
concept of one work of art and one artist.
• Things don’t always work out as planned.

32. We began with a work in
the collection that could fit
in the gallery, and have a
visual in it that would
provide a hook for visitors
to play with.
Mel Bochner, Optic Chiasma

33. Front-end prototyping and evaluation

35. Magnet Activity
•Engaged for a few
minutes and went to
other activity
•Used the magnets to
stack, slide, but not
exclusively to mimic
the painting
•Visitors looked at the
work of art while
completing the activity
•Liked that the activity
was interactive
•Did not understand
the connection
between the questions
and activity

36. Drawing Activity
• High dwell time
• Worked socially or in
isolation
• Drawings were varied and
arrangements were varied
• Visitors liked seeing what
other visitors had drawn,
and those drawings were
also a helpful indication that
they were allowed to sit and
draw in the Museum.
• Visitors did not approach,
and/or look at the work of
art, although a few
interviewees later said they
noticed it.

37. Drawing Activity, #2
Worked out the
conceptual and
physical issues around
space and perspective,
and allowing visitors to
move the pieces
around, while keeping
the drawing element
front and center.

38. Starting Over

39. Working with a
concept across
contemporary art, vs.
a work of art
Finding local experts
to collaborate with
and realize the vision
Baltimore Museum of Art

41. Baltimore Museum of Art and Post Typography

43. Pages deep letterform drawings

46. What do you think the possibilities
are for children, art, and museum
experiences?
THANK YOU.
MARIA@MORTATI.COM
WWW.MORTATI.COM