Sculpture-Adjacency: A Challenge Facing Sculpture Park Permanent Collections

Abstract

The number and variety of sculpture parks has grown steadily since the 1960s, when the first entries into this unique typology were founded. As early entrants to the field, sculpture parks founded between 1960 and 1990 have developed ways to stay relevant and attract new audiences by leveraging the asset of their parkland and producing seasonal entertainments and special exhibitions. The enticing combination of these offerings can overshadow permanent collections, the primary reason for their existence. This article explores the challenge sculpture parks face in activating the important asset that is their permanent collection, a problem that has multiple causes. Sculpture parks are not able to rotate their collection, an established museological method for giving the collection new life. This inability produces a static sameness for visitors. The tours that are on offer tend to be in the traditional museum-as-expert mode instead of visitor-centric. Deepening this predicament is the reality that sculpture park curation and programming are sculpture-adjacent, a term I use to signify their vague relationship to the sculptures. Drawing on research from the field of visitor engagement and museum education, this article argues that sculpture parks should turn to visitor-centric programs as the principal method to bring permanent collections to life.