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Abstract
Museum visitors are not reflective of the diversity present in communities around the nation. In this study, we investigate the racial and ethnic diversity of art museum participants as well as the potential motivations and barriers to visiting a museum. Using the General Social Survey, we examine race and ethnicity and arts participation in the USA. We find Black individuals are less likely to attend an art museum than white individuals. Certain motivations and barriers to participating may explain part of the lack of diversity. We find Black and Latinx individuals are motivated to participate in art museums for cultural heritage reasons more than white individuals, but race and ethnicity are unrelated to perceiving admission fees as a barrier. This research highlights the urgency in the field to make museums more inclusive.
Highlights
Discussions of diversity, inclusion, and equity continue to grow in the arts and museums
We find Black and Latinx individuals are motivated to participate in art museums for cultural heritage reasons more than white individuals, but race and ethnicity are unrelated to perceiving admission fees as a barrier
This study draws upon data from the 2016 General Social Survey (GSS), a national project from the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago that includes a Cultural Module with questions pertaining to museum and arts participation
Summary
Discussions of diversity, inclusion, and equity continue to grow in the arts and museums. Like the UK, Australia, and Canada, have mandated museums to become more inclusive (Australia Council for the Arts 2020; Hooper-Greenhill 1994; Kinsley 2016; Sandell and Nightingale 2012), American museums have had difficulty finding a consistent path that is welcoming to audiences. In a world aspiring for equality and equity, museums are critically reevaluating their role in society. 23% of US adults attend an art exhibit every year; 27% of those individuals who participated were white, 17% of individuals were Black, and 16% of individuals were Latinx (National Endowment for the Arts 2019). We first examine whether race and ethnicity are significant predictors of art museum participation
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