This document outlines an innovative process used by a museum to engage visitors called Process, Data, and Participation (#PDP). It involves creating interdisciplinary teams to develop new exhibitions, collecting visitor feedback, and facilitating participatory in-gallery experiences and programming. The approach aims to make the museum more visitor-centered by incorporating visitor interests, testing new ideas, and evaluating exhibitions. Examples provided include a drawing activity inspired by an artwork that received over 3,000 submissions and an autoportrait app that over 3,700 visitors used.

1. Engaging Visitors in Innovative
Ways: Process, Data and
Participation (#PDP)
Silvia Filippini-Fantoni
@silviaff20
@imamuseum
Director of Interpretation,
Media, and Evaluation

3. The Collection

4. User-centred Approach
Visitor-Centered Approach

5. Process:
• New exhibition development
process
Data:
• Research and evaluation
Participation:
• Participatory in-gallery
experiences
• Innovative programming
Visitor-oriented approach: #PDP

6. Process: New Exhibition Development Model

7. • Interdisciplinary core
team is created at the
start: curator, an
interpretation specialist,
an evaluator, a designer,
and an exhibition
manager
• Big idea: identification
of the main thesis and
learning outcomes to
inform checklist, layout,
interpretive plan,
content, title, etc.

8. Before

9. After

10. HIGHER VISITORS’ SATISFACTION BETTER COMMUNICATION OF KEY MESSAGES
BETTER INTEGRATION OF INTERPRETIVE TOOLS
40-60% 60% 30-50% 30-50%

11. Data: Collecting Visitors’ Feedback

12. Methods

13. n=576
21% 21%
27%
31%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Art Deco
Automobiles
Duesenbergs Automobile
Masterpieces
Concept Cars
Front-End: Automobile Design

14. Visitors’ interests:
• Artist’s life (30/40)
• Inspiration (30/40)
• Process/technique
(26/40)
• Artist’s or other’s
explanation about the
meaning behind the
work (7/40)
Formative: Robert Indiana

15. Design Thinking Workshop

16. Prototype Testing

18. Visual Identity Testing
Option 1 Option 2
Option 3

19. Summative: Exhibition Evaluations
• Have learning outcomes been
met?
• Are visitors satisfied with their
experience?
• How do they engage with the art
and interpretive tools?
• What problems do visitors
encounter?
• Who visited the exhibition
(demographics & psychographics)?

20. Participation: In Gallery & Programming

21. Inspired by Matisse

26. • 3,922: # of drawings
submitted
• 30,709: online visits
•3% of drawings with
comments
•1,457 votes: Most popular
drawing
•Visitors responded to
patterns, colors, shape and
compositions seen in
exhibition
Key Results

27. • 2,655 drawings left
behind
• 23% of exhibition
visitors made a drawing
• 77% inspired by the
display
• 11% inspired by
exhibition
• 75% of visitors looked at
the drawings
Draw a Still Life

28. Create
Your Autoportrait

32. http://www.imamuseum.org/autoportrait

33. • 3,706: # of autoportraits
made
• 40% of exhibition visitors
created an autoportrait
• 51% of exhibition visitors
looked at other visitors’
autoportraits
•Reinforced the understand
that words, numbers, forms,
and colors symbolize specific
events in Indiana’s life
Key Results

34. Pontillize Yourself

35. • 71% of exhibition visitors
were with other people
• 59% of exhibition visitors
45+ used the app
• 61% of exhibition visitors
used the app
• 400+ positive comments
“fun”, “engaging”,“easy”
Key Results

36. Scott Stulen
@middlewest
@imamuseum
Curator of Audience
Experiences and Performance
Innovative Programming

37. Stuart Hyatt: E is for Equinox

38. Monster Drawing Rally

39. B-movie Bingo

40. • Increasing # of facilitators
(who visit to engage in a
social experience)
•Increased exhibition
attendance (44,000 in 2013
vs. 81,000 in 2014)
•Increased # of members
•Change of perception:
visitors have responded
positively to the museum
willingness to engage
people in different ways.

41. Questions?
sfantoni@imamuseum.org
@silviaff20