At the request of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery (NPG), the Office of Policy and Analysis (OP&A) conducted a two-part visiting study of the NPG exhibit. This was also true of visitors who came specifically to the Reynolds Center to see Hide/Seek. Visitors came to Hide/Seek anticipating an enriched understanding of art and history, and the exhibition offered in this area.
For much of its run, Hide/Seek was also located directly next to the temporary photography. With the exhibit "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture," one of our federally funded museums, the National Portrait Gallery, is in town. Bronson, that his work Felix —a supporting part of the exhibition— be removed from Hide/Seek; and negative comments in the mainstream art media and the blogosphere.
The research team conducted 55 semi-structured interviews with a total of 69 visitors to the Hide/Seek galleries. The respondents formed a representative sample of all visitors to the exhibition at the times when the survey was carried out.
Qualitative Findings
I realize that the exhibition was privately funded, but the fact that it is here does a number of things. For me, the role of government is to ensure that. people occasionally think. A photo of the choreographer and his partner] holding hands, but very discreetly – I mean, it's really cute.
Others] may not always like the story, but [it's still] part of the human experience. I think it's the photo [itself] that allows you to imagine what you want to imagine. I am the gallery owner and I can throw whatever I want on these walls.” It's a different thing when it's the Smithsonian.
It is so difficult when you are immersed in it; you don't have the same perspective. It's like the difference between seeing a picture of the Washington Monument and then standing at the base of it - a completely different experience. You can look at it from afar, get up close - it's a three-dimensional experience.
Quantitative Findings
Exhibition-specific visitors were also more likely to expect to rate the exhibition Superior (22%, vs. 6% for general visitors). Exhibition-specific visitors were more likely to anticipate emotional connections, reflect on meaning, and be moved by beauty than general visitors. This difference in awareness and use of the mobile phone tour strongly suggests that general visitors read less in Hide/Seek than exhibition-specific visitors and were likely less engaged overall.
While general visitor ratings were below the Smithsonian average, exhibit-specific visitors rated their overall experience well above the Smithsonian average. Outgoing general visitors were less critical of Hide/Seek than the general visitors expected to be. Both exhibition-specific and general visitors reported more emotional connection and reflection on meaning than visitors anticipated.
However, both exhibit-specific and general visitors reported experiences of emotional connection and reflection on meaning significantly more often in the exit survey than their entry counterparts predicted. Specific visitors to the exhibition rated the artwork and theme much higher than general visitors. In contrast, a similar percentage of overall visitors (43%) rated the theme at the lower end of the scale.
As noted above, responses to the question about mobile phone tours suggest that general visitors read less about the exhibition than exhibition-specific visitors. Exhibition-specific and general visitors did not differ in their assessment of the presentation/layout of the exhibition. Repeat visitors to the Reynolds Center were more likely to be exhibition-specific visitors than first-time visitors (57% vs. 34%).
Repeat visitors were significantly more likely to be local (61%, compared to 29% of first-time visitors), and exhibition-specific visitors were slightly more likely to be local (53%, compared to 42% of general visitors). Visitors who came to the Reynolds Center specifically to see Hide/Seek were older than general visitors. The average age of exhibition-specific visitors was 39 (median age 36), while the average age of general visitors was 34 (median age 29).
Exhibition-specific visitors were also more likely to live locally (with 55% of them in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, versus 45% of general visitors). For other visitor characteristics, there were no significant differences between exhibition-specific and general visitors.
Discussion
Reflecting on the meaning of what I saw.” Discussions with visitors suggest that reflective experiences typically involved visitors' reflections on their past;23 their own and others' efforts to define personal identity; and society. Enriching my understanding.” Interviews indicated that visitors' understanding was often enriched by understanding how social and cultural norms regarding homosexuality have changed over time and how this has been reflected in art and portraiture. Interviewees, some of whom are quoted above, often comment on the beauty and appeal of the art itself, and exit evaluations of aesthetic and learning-related experiences met the expectations of incoming visitors.
Nevertheless, it seems that overall visitors were more likely to see the basic point of the exhibition in terms of reflection, understanding and human connections than in terms of aesthetic or learning experiences. The evidence collected by the study team suggests that Hide/Seek was no less successful (judged by standard exhibit statistics) than a "typical" Smithsonian display, and that it became unusual for some visitors. If a significant proportion of visitors were offended by this, it did not emerge in any obvious way in the study.
It could certainly be argued that those who are most likely to be offended by Hide/Seek are unlikely to visit it and will probably leave quickly if they happen upon it. 22 For general visitors, the experience of “Getting an understanding of the daily lives of others” increased significantly between entry and exit. 23 For specific visitors to the exhibition, the experience of “remembering memories” increased significantly between entry and exit.
Inquiring about the motivations of people who choose not to visit is an entirely different research question, and not one that OP&A typically pursues when asked to study an exhibit. Far from being a cautionary tale, Hide/Seek shows how the Smithsonian can manage to present a potentially sensitive issue while staying within boundaries that most visitors are willing to accept, even if ultimately not all are enthusiastic not about it. If the Smithsonian is to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world, it may sometimes have to be willing to grapple with social and contemporary issues of the kind addressed in this exhibit.
The National Portrait Gallery's mission and strategic priorities make it particularly well-suited to present exhibitions and other offerings that tie together the cultural, historical and human dimensions of relevant contemporary issues in a compelling way. When the Smithsonian tackles topics that include potentially controversial elements, those elements should be. This may mean, for example, sponsoring public and online forums related to exhibitions to provide opportunities for reasoned public debate on relevant issues; providing spaces for discussion within the exhibits themselves where visitors can talk to each other and museum staff about their reactions; or conducting ex ante and formative assessment to identify potentially controversial elements of exhibits in order to pre-plan for any.
Appendix A: Qualitative Interview Guide
Appendix B: Entrance and Exit Questionnaires
Appendix C: Response Frequencies Entrance and Exit Surveys
How many segments of the Hide/Seek mobile phone audio tour have you listened to?
