|
During the initial
phase of the Event Coast project the exhibition producers set
research objectives as follows:
Has digital art attracted a new audience?
Who are the audiences for digital art?
What prompted them to respond to this project?
What was their reaction to and experience of the work, both positive
and negative
What could be done to expand and develop their experience of the
event
Methodology & Response
A self-completion questionnaire was devised to be used at all
the exhibitions (with the exception of Microhenge). A pilot survey
was conducted at the Incident exhibition, and the resultant questionnaire
was used for the remaining three exhibitions. The wording and
format of the questionnaire remained almost identical for these
three exhibitions.
With the exception of the De La Warr Pavilion the level of response
to the survey was low, and in the case of Otter Gallery no surveys
were returned to Sussex Arts Marketing. SAM would recommend for
future multi-venue projects that one member of staff is identified
per venue who is responsible for co-ordinating the survey within
their venue. This would involve them making sure enough questionnaires
are available for visitors, that the questionnaires are in a suitably
visible place and that the completed questionnaires are returned
to whoever is undertaking the analysis at the end of the exhibition.
Event Coast: An Overview
The research findings from each exhibition have been analysed
individually. The aim of this report is to present an overview
of the research findings.
Has digital art attracted a new audience?
Is this your first visit to this Gallery/Museum
The percentage of first time visitors varied from 22% for Maximum
Cube at the De la Warr to 70% for There's No Simulation Like Home
at Fabrica.
Overall the % of first-time visitors to the Event Coast exhibitions
was over a third of those surveyed, at 39%.
Have you attended other arts events which featured the creative
use of new technologies?
Overall 61% had never been to a digital exhibition before.
Exhibition/Gallery
% of visitors who had not been to a digital exhibition before
There's No Simulation Like Home @ Fabrica
55%
There's No Simulation Like Home @ Hastings Museum
63%
Maximum Cube @
De la Warr Pavilion
64%
Who are the audiences for digital art?
Age Groups
The percentage of different age groups again varied between exhibitions.
For example the under 16s were the largest single group at the
De la Warr Pavilion, whereas there were no respondents in this
age group at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery. The variations
are best demonstrated by looking at the results charts from these
three exhibitions alongside each other:
Gender
Overall the visitors to the Event Coast exhibition were 61% female.
Employment
Maximum Cube at the De la Warr Pavilion and There's No Simulation
like Home at Fabrica had the same four occupations as the most
common (these are detailed in the table below). The Hastings Museum
survey did not produce sufficient data to analyse in this category.
Areas of Employment
% of Fabrica survey
% of De la Warr survey
Student
24%
27%
Arts & Publishing
15%
20%
Health & Education
9%
16%
Administration /Secretarial
9%
5%
Geographical Origin
50% - 60% of the respondents to the Event Coast survey were visiting
an exhibition in their local area. Most of the remainder were
from within a one hour drivetime.
Internet Usage
62% of respondents had access to the internet. The chart below
shows the percentage with access per venue:
Those who had access used the internet mainly for communication
(emails), information and for studies or work.
What prompted them to respond to this project?
How did you hear about this exhibition?
14% of respondents overall had heard about the exhibition through
The Event Coast leaflet.
‘There’s No Simulation Like Home’ benefited from
national press coverage which prompted 12% of respondents at both
Hastings and Fabrica.
Similarly ‘Maximum Cube’ was featured on Meridian TV
prompting 18% of respondents to visit that exhibition.
The De la Warr has a popular cafe which would appear to bring
in visitors who perhaps would not otherwise had come to the exhibition,
with 25% of the ‘Maximum Cube’ respondents saying they
were just passing or on a chance visit.
Other reasons for visiting the Event Coast exhibitions included
on a school visit, recommended by a friend and local newspapers.
What aspect of this exhibition interested you the most?
For all three galleries the aspect that interested respondents
the most was the combination of virtual image and real event.
The table below shows the percentages for all three galleries,
which varied slightly between the three:
what aspect interested you?
Fabrica
Hastings
De la Warr
the combination of virtual image & real event
73%
63%
40%
the way technology was used
33%
50%
39%
your involvement in making the work
46%
50%
7%
the artists concept and idea of the work
42%
25%
32%
the contact with the artist in residence
9%
13%
18%
Other
12%
13%
11%
Information
Both positive and negative comments were made about the information
available. The respondents who were positive felt the information
available was ‘helpful’, ‘interesting’ and
‘substantial’. Those who were negative had either not
seen any information or felt that what they had seen wasn’t
enough.
What was their reaction to and experience of the work, both positive
and negative.
Overall 94% of respondents said they enjoyed the exhibition they
were attending (for ‘There’s No Simulation Like Home’
at Fabrica the satisfaction rate was 100%.)
Overall almost exactly half the respondents (49%) said the exhibition
was not what they expected.
For both ‘There’s No Simulation Like Home’ exhibitions
there was an expectation that there would be some sort of link
between the two venues who were showing the exhibition simultaneously.
Often their expectations were high, with several respondents from
the De la Warr and Hastings saying they expected ‘something
bigger’.
Others said they had not known what to expect:
‘no pre-formed view’
‘I couldn’t imagine [what to expect]’
There comments perhaps indicate the difficulties in communicating
information about a digital exhibition through conventional channels
such as two-dimensional print.
How important do you feel your contact with the artist in residence
was to your enjoyment of the exhibition?
The amount of contact with the artist in residence varied between
venues. For ‘Maximum Cube’ at the De la Warr 84% of
respondents had contact with the artist in residence, whereas
at Hastings the figure was 50% and at Fabrica only 33%.
The tables on the following page show how important meeting the
artist in residence was for each exhibition (percentages shown
are the percentage of those who actually had contact with the
artist in residence):
What could be done to expand and develop their experience of the
event
What one thing could we have done to make your visit to this exhibition
more enjoyable?
Responses to this question varied between venues.
For ‘There’s No Simulation Like Home’ at Fabrica
respondents commented that it would have been good to have ìmore
of itî as it became very crowded when the gallery was busy.
There were also comments on the lack of heating in the gallery
and that they wouldíve liked more contact with the artist.
At ‘There’s No Simulation Like Home’ in Hastings
Museum & Art Gallery respondents felt they wouldíve
liked more information about the exhibition, and that the images
werenít very clear.
The respondents at ‘Maximum Cube’ at The De la War Pavilion
felt the exhibition could have been bigger, they wanted more information
about the exhibition available and the setting was distracting
when the gallery was busy.
EVENT COAST
There’s No Stimulation Like Home at Fabrica
Nov/Dec 1999
RESEARCH INTO AUDIENCES FOR DIGITAL ART
This report was prepared by Sussex Arts Marketing for Lighthouse
and BN1 2000
Research Objectives
Event Coast was a series of five large-scale multimedia commissions
located at galleries along the South Coast during 1999 and 2000.
During the initial phase of the Event Coast project the exhibition
producers set research objectives as follows:
Has digital art attracted a new audience?
Who are the audience for digital art?
What prompted them to respond to this project?
What was their reaction to and experience of the work, both positive
and negative
What could be done to expand and develop their experience of the
event
There's No Simulation Like Home at Fabrica
The response to the questionnaire was higher than at the two previous
Event Coast exhibitions where surveys had been undertaken, but
is still low in terms of analysis figures. This report is based
on an analysis of thirty-three questionnaires.
Has digital art attracted a new audience?
70% were visiting Fabrica for the first time
55% had never been to a digital art exhibition before
The other digital arts events that respondents had been to are
listed below:
"Something at Fabrica"
"Eureka (Halifax)"
"Video and picture together"
"In Switzerland"
"Installations"
"Most of them are very boring"
"Video installations, can't really specify, interactive sound
installations, animations stuff etc."
"Bits and pieces all over"
"Tate Gallery"
"Mariko Mori at Serpentine/Street style exhibition at Barbican"
"Mariko Mori"
"At the Barbican - can't remember title"
Two respondents had seen this exhibition or components of it elsewhere.
Who are the audiences for digital art?
a. Age Groups
The largest single age group was 25-34. There were no respondents
over 54.
b. Gender
70% of the respondents were female.
c. Employment
Areas of employment given by respondents are listed in the chart
below:
AREAS OF EMPLOYMENT
% OF RESPONDENTS
Student
24%
Arts & Publishing
15%
Health & Education
9%
Administration/Secretarial
9%
Construction
6%
IT
3%
Catering
3%
d. Postcodes
Almost half the respondents (48%) were from the Brighton &
Hove area. There were two visitors from London, two from Switzerland,
one from Surrey, and the remainder were from East Sussex.
e. Internet Access
79% of respondents had access to the internet.
This is much higher than the current national average, recently
quoted in a Guardian/ICM opinion poll as 37%.
f. Internet usage
Of those who had access to the internet:
50% use it for emails/communication
35% use it for information
19% use it for their studies/work or for research
Most internet users specified more than one use.
g. Visual Arts attendance
Exhibitions which respondents had visited in the past six months
included "circulations" at Gardner Arts Centre, Howard
Hodgkin, De Kooning, Rodin at Lewes, "Size immaterial"
at British Museum, plus exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, Phoenix
Gallery and Brighton Festival.
A full list of responses to this question can be found in Appendix
1.
What prompted them to respond to this project?
12% had heard about the exhibition from an Event Coast leaflet
12% had read about it in a national newspaper article
30% were on a school visit
21% came because it had been recommended by a friend
6% saw it in the Source listings
3% came because it had been recommended by their teacher at college
The chart below shows what interested respondents most about the
exhibition.
73% thought the combination of virtual image and real event was
the most interesting.
Information
Almost half the respondents (46%) were positive about the information
available on the exhibition, saying it was ‘good, substantial
and useful’. A quarter made no comment and the remaining
quarter were negative, commenting that there was ‘not enough’
or they ‘hadn’t seen any’. The full list of responses
to this question is in Appendix 2.
What was their reaction to and experience of the work, both positive
and negative?
All respondents (100%) said they enjoyed the exhibition
When asked if the exhibition was what they expected 18% said it
was, 24% felt it wasn't and the remaining 58% didn't left the
question blank.
When asked what they were expecting several said 'pictures', one
respondent expected a link with the simultaneous exhibition in
Hastings and others had not known what to expect. A full list
of responses can be found in Appendix 3.
67% did not meet the artist in residence. The chart below shows
how important
respondents felt meeting the artist in residence was. This indicates
that of those who had contact exactly half (50%) felt it was important
or very important to their enjoyment of the exhibition.
When asked for any further comments reactions were very positive:
"Great exhibition, a bit embarrassing at first, would have
liked to meet artist. Thank you that it was free."
"Really good easily accessible to the masses. Popular culture,
not only for art lovers."
"Brilliant - great fun - I will recommend to friends"
"It was really funny - Thank you!"
A complete list of comments can be found in Appendix 4.
What could be done to expand and develop their experience of the
event?
When asked what one thing would have made their visit more enjoyable
just over half the respondents (55%) chose to comment, indicating
a relatively high level of satisfaction with the exhibition overall.
Those comments made are listed in Appendix 5, and included:
"Held it in a heated space"
"Video recordings showing 'best of' peoples reactions and/or
'performances'"
"More rooms as it was busy"
Artist-in-residence Observations
The exhibition "There's No Simulation Like Home" had
an artist in residence who divided her time between Fabrica and
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery where the exhibition was running
concurrently, giving her the opportunity to compare the two sites.
She reported that the visitor experience was very different in
the two galleries with the visitors to Fabrica generally moving
through the exhibition faster and a higher turnover overall.
The nature of the exhibition generated much debate on ëwhat
is artí, with the presence of the artist giving a focal
point for visitors to sit down and talk both with each other and
with her. Whilst there were some scheduled debates there were
also frequent spontaneous discussions, where people just ëgot
talkingí. The debates were very varied and included:
can you call this art?
can you trust what you see?
whatís real and whatís not?
how we use technology
the entertainment factor of exhibitions such as this
There was also some debate on whether a gallery was the appropriate
setting for this exhibition. The artist observed that although
the gallery setting perhaps made the exhibition feel a little
contrived, it created not only a safe environment in which to
debate but also a safe environment in which to be extrovert.
Appendix 1: Can you tell us of any exhibitions you have
attended over the past 6 months
"Size immaterial" at British Museum
A video installation @ Delfina Gallery in London (can't remember
name), circulations as part of Brighton Fringe, more but I can't
remember.
Alison Lapner
Art College
Art Gallery in Amsterdam
Circulations, photographer galleries etc
Developing exhibition, circulations at Gardner Arts Centre, Chuck
Close at Hayward
Eureka (Halifax), Brighton Festival Open Houses
Gallery of pictures
Howard Hodgkin, De Kooning
I see as many local exhibitions as possible
Madame Yvonde at Focus, Vincent Gallo stills
Museum, Art Gallery
Museum, Royal Pavilion
Museums
None
None
None
Phoenix Gallery
Pictures from my brothers girlfriend
Portsmouth Open Art Workshops
Prado - Palacuo Real (Madrid)
Rodin at Lewes
Royal Pavilion
Tate Gallery
University of Sussex Degree
Appendix 2: What do you think of the information available
about the exhibition?
Positive
"A lot of good information"
"Good information"
"Good"
"Good"
"Good"
"Is quite enough - friendly"
"Nice"
"Nice"
"Nice"
"Substantial"
"Sufficient"
"Useful"
"Very good"
"Very informative"
"Very nice"
Negative
"Clear but not enough"
"Didn't look"
"Haven't seen any"
"Haven't seen it"
"Not advertised enough"
"Not advertised"
"Not read it yet"
"Vague"
"Would like to be able to take away more"
Appendix 3: From the publicity you saw was the exhibition
as you expected it would be?
I really have no idea. I didn't think it would be so interactive.
This!
Not sure
Didn't know what to expect
Pictures
Pictures
I don't know. I had no idea
Picture
I knew something with video
The same
I knew that I would see that
The same but so big and interesting
Pictures
I thought you would have a sort of slide image of the other person
in your room
Less sale
Other people in rooms not being able to impose yourself on them.
I wasn't sure
Nothing like this
As it looked but not what it felt like
I didn't realise how interactive/or to what extent the interaction
would be
Didn't see any publicity
Link with Hastings more projection
Appendix 4: Any further comments?
Rock 'n' Roll
My 5 year old was very keen
Very friendly staff
Brilliant - great fun - I will recommend to friends
It's a little bit cold
It was very funny, interesting - Thank you.
It's really fun
It was very funny and interesting! Congratulations!
It was really funny - Thank you!
Thank you!
More of this please
Great exhibition, a bit embarrassing at first, would have liked
to meet artist. Thank you that it was free.
No
If you wanna flog us the Ikea bed call 279352. eva@n2.com
Very good indeed. Nice work!
Excellent and well done
Fabulous - cheers very much!
Marvellous
I really enjoyed it
Excellent
No
Really good easily accessible to the masses. Popular culture,
not only for art lovers.
Appendix 5: What one thing could be have done to make your
visit more enjoyable
More of it!
Reversed TV - like mirrors
More people
Use objects, i.e. on dining table
Put sound on
It can be a little bit warmer
It was exciting like this
Video recordings showing 'best of' peoples reactions and/or 'performances'
To speak with the artist
More visual effects - blurring
Perhaps made the outside darker to create more involvement
Nothing
Nothing - it was great
More kids
More rooms
More rooms as it was busy
Held it in a heated space
Nothing - really good
|