Museum visiting in Edinburgh and Glasgow – 150 years of change and continuity

Abstract

ABSTRACTDespite, or perhaps because of, being only 45 miles apart and of a similar size, Glasgow and Edinburgh are famous for their historical and cultural differences and notorious for their rivalry. This article will explore the history of museum visiting by comparing the current visitor demographics of Glasgow Museums, with those of the National Galleries and the National Museums in Edinburgh, and exploring the extent to which these differences can be traced back to the founding cultures of these institutions. Drawing on historical visitor data and discourse analysis of official museum commentary on visitor behaviour, this article will assess Davies, Paton and Sullivan’s museum version of the Competing Values Framework and Wouter’s theory of informalisation as approaches to interpret how institutional traditions have interacted with wider social developments. It will conclude with reflections on the implications for museum history, and for current policy and practice.