University of Manchester

Manchester Business School

An investigation into art gallery

revenue streams:
A new approach to tackle government cuts.
A dissertation submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of
Bachelor of Science in the Faculty of Humanities

May 2012

Jack Coffin
BSc (Honours) in Management
73307150

Supervisor: Dr Anna Goatman

Statement of Originality
This dissertation is my own original work and has not been submitted for any other
assessment or award at The University of Manchester or at any other university.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all four respondents for taking the time for taking part in this study.
Your contributions have made this dissertation interesting to write and hopefully interesting
to read.
Also, I would like to thank Kirsten Collis for being my library angel, encouraging me to put
in the many hours of work that was required to bring this project to fruition.
But most importantly I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to my dissertation
supervisor, Dr. Anna Goatman. Her role has been hugely significant to the creation of this
final piece, through endless patience and fantastic advice. Dr. Anna Goatman has made
the entire process a positive and worthwhile experience, so I would like to thank her for all
her hard work.

Abstract
This study aimed to understand how galleries were being affected by government cuts to
arts funding. There was a perception from preliminary reading that funding from the
government and similar bodies was becoming rarer, and would therefore be less reliable
as a significant form of income. The study adopted a grounded theory approach and used
semi-structured interviews to allow the researcher to explore the area using the
observations of the respondents.
There were several key findings. The first was that the respondents felt that funding bodies
would remain an essential part of revenue for galleries and this often involved attracting
key demographics as part of funders goals. However the galleries felt compiling
demographic data by itself wasnt particularly useful and instead they were primarily
concerned with understanding what motivates visitors to attend art galleries. Visitors were
seen as having dynamic motivations, able to adopt and change motivations like hats,
although this idea was underdeveloped in the literature. This study incorporated ideas from
a wide range of theoretical areas, including some elements of postmodernism and
Consumer Culture Theory, to develop a conceptualisation of art gallery visitors in line with
these observations.
The conclusions from the study are that art galleries can continue to raise money from
funders by understanding motivations better, which seem to have a link to demographics
and can thus be used to attract key groups. In addition, understanding visitors allows the
marketplace to be segmented, with the gallery offering different value propositions to
different groups. Importantly, some of these groups are willing to pay for additional benefits
and therefore the gallery can generate revenue from their visitors through price
segmentation. Given that galleries are non-profit organisations, this segmentation must be
carefully managed to raise enough revenue without jeopardising the social goals of the
gallery.

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction
!

1. Introduction

1.2. Why is this research important?

1.3. Research Questions

1.4. Dissertation structure

Chapter 2: Methodology
!

2.1. Research Methodology

2.1.1. Ontology

2.1.2. Epistemology

2.1.3. Axiological

2.1.4. Rhetorical

2.1.5. Methodological or methods

2.2. Practical concerns

2.2.1. Grounded Theory

2.2.2. Interviews

2.2.3. Data collection and sample

2.2.4. Data analysis and theory building

2.2.5. Conclusion

Chapter 3: Data and analysis

!

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Visitors wear hats of motivation

3.3. The tension between financial and non-financial goals

3.4. The Importance of funders

3.5. Fragmented research

3.6. Demographics and motivations

3.7. Is segmented pricing the solution?

4

3.8. Conclusion of the data

Chapter 4: Literature Review

!

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Demographics

4.2.1. Introduction

4.2.2. Socio-economic groups or class

4.2.3. Ethnicity or race

4.2.4. Gender

4.2.5. Age

4.2.6. Conclusions

4.3. Motivations

4.3.1. Introduction

4.3.2. A simple concept of motivation

4.3.3. Moving to a more complicated model

4.3.4. Indistinct motivations

4.3.5. Dynamic motivations

4.3.6. Is there a base motivation?

4.3.7. Conclusion of motivation research

4.4. Postmodernism

4.4.1 Introduction

4.4.2. Postmodern concepts

4.4.3. Fragmented self

4.4.4. Fragmented art galleries

4.4.5. Dedifferentiation

4.4.6. Conclusion of postmodernism

4.5. The art gallery as a marketplace of symbolic resources

4.5.1. Introduction

4.5.2. Symbolic consumption

4.5.3. Why Consumer Culture Theory is appropriate

4.6. Segmentation and the problem of price

4.6.1. Introduction

4.6.2. Price segmentation

4.6.3. Price segmentation in galleries

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4.6.4. The challenges of price segmentation

4.6.5. Price segmentation conclusion

4.7. Conclusion of the literature

Chapter 5: Conclusions and discussions

!

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Conclusion

5.2.1. Recommendations

5.2.2. Research Limitations and future research

5.3. Personal reflection

References
Appendix A
!

!
Contents of Figures, Images and tables

Figure 3.1. Diagram of themes in a nonlinear fashion

Figure 4.1. The hierarchy of visitor engagement.
Figure 4.2. The Impact climbing frame.
Figure 4.3. The hierarchical value map.
Figure 4.4. The additive tree.
Image 4.1. Charles X distributing awards to artists exhibiting at the salon of 1824 at the
Louvre. Franois-Joseph Heim 1827.
Table 4.1. Potential conflicts and conflict resolution strategies for price segmentation

1. Introduction
1.1. Introduction
Arts funding has been cut significantly in many areas as part of the recent austerity
measures. Many arts organisations, including art galleries, are struggling to survive and
may need to reassess how they raise funds to continue achieving their social goals. This
study seeks to explore the issues that have arisen because of these changes, and the
potential solutions that art galleries could use to continue to sustain themselves financially
and succeed in their non-profit goals.
1.2. Why is this research important?
Art can be considered important to many peoples lives. For example, 5.2 million people
visited the Tate Modern in 2007/8, also making it the most visited modern art museum in
the world in that period (VAGA, 2010). Furthermore, museum and art gallery visits actually
increased between March and September in 2009 by 50% despite, or perhaps because of,
the recession (VAGA, 2010). Regardless of these positive figures, recent government cuts
have made funding increasingly rare with 200 arts organisations losing their funding from
2012 (Higgins & Brown, 2011). Although funding is still available (e.g. BBC 2012a; Higgins
& Brown, 2011) many organisations have been affected (e.g. BBC 2012b), with even long
established organisations having cut by between 11 and 15% (Brown, 2011).
Alongside these issues, the purpose of the art gallery has been evolving and there exists
some confusion and debate over what the goals of a gallery should be. Originally the main
goal of an art gallery was the preservation of objects and education of the public, but this
is shifting to include entertainment and stimulation (Yeh & Lin, 2005; Lagrosen, 2003). Still,
the ingrained hegemony is that education and preservation is paramount, making
management and curators in this area were especially resistant to marketing tools and
customer-focused ideas (McLean, 1994; Axelsen, 2007). Although this resistance seems
to be diminishing (McLean, 1994; Caldwell, 2005; Boorsma, 2006), and may be further
affected by the government cuts, it is not unilaterally accepted that a customer-focus will
be increasingly important (McLean, 1994; Axelsen, 2007). These debates begin to
question the function of an art gallery and this will have implications on what are
7

acceptable ways to raise revenue. Although research seems to find a link between
audience emphasis and financial return (e.g. Rentschler et al., 2007; McLean, 1994;
Caldwell, 2005; Boorsma, 2006) as a non-profit organisation ethical and moral concerns
must be considered. Financial gain is not the purpose of the art gallery but it is an
unavoidable reality and this study hopes to find a strategy that allows the gallery to raise
finances whilst incorporating the non-financial concerns of the gallery.
1.3. Research Questions
As discussed later in section 2.2.1. this research has adopted a grounded theory approach
(where the term grounded theory is used to refer to the method, not simply the outcome).
In essence, this means that data was collected early on in the study, with the literature
being search later. Although there were some general questions that initially guided the
research and informed the early questions, this did not restrict the progress of the project
to a particular hypothesis. The open-ended nature of the questions allowed new
discoveries to be made, and the research questions evolved as part of this process.
Initially, the researcher was expecting to discover a typology of art visitors in order to
understand how to replace lost revenue from funding bodies, as initial background reading
indicated that this might be the case. However, during data collection, it rapidly emerged
that art galleries did not see visitors in this way (see section 3.2) and that funders
remained an essential part of the revenue portfolio (see section 3.4). The study
consequently adjusted its focus to be grounded in the data because these initial ideas
were inappropriate in retrospect.
Instead of specific hypotheses, a more general query lead the research: How can art
galleries adapt to the changing funding environment?. This was broad enough to be able
to adapt and change as the data emerged whilst giving the study an area of interest and
informing what kind of sample would be required and what issues would be broached.
1.4. Dissertation structure
The structure of the dissertation reflects the iterative, reflexive process of the research
(discussed further in section 6), and is outlined below.
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In Chapter 2 the methodology will be discussed prior to the literature review, discussing
both philosophical and pragmatic decisions taken by the researcher. As a grounded study
(see section 2.2.1) the data will form the basis of the literature search, as opposed to the
literature forming the basis of data collection. Chapter 3 contains the findings from primary
data collected in this study and a description of the narrative that emerged. Following this,
Chapter 4 consists of the literature review based on the themes discovered in the data.
Chapter 5 contains a conclusion of the dissertation, including some proposals for future
research. Finally, section 6 will consist of a personal reflection by the researcher.

2. Methodology
Section 2.1. will explore the philosophical aspects of the research, including decisions
made about ontology and epistemology. Section 2.2. will then focus upon more practical
aspects of the methods chosen. A discussion on grounded theory is placed in section 2.2.
because although it is also a philosophical stance, the debate focuses largely around the
practical considerations caused by choosing this approach.
The research aim outlined in section 1.3. is to discover How can art galleries adapt to the
changing funding environment?. The approach chosen thus reflects this broad area of
interest.
2.1. Research Methodology
Methodology is a term that incorporates the entire process of research, which can be
broken down into several interrelated elements. Creswell (2007) described these in five
categories: Ontological, Epistemological, Axiological, Rhetorical and Methodological.
2.1.1. Ontology
Ontology relates to the nature of reality itself and what a researcher assumes about it
(Hatch, 2006), with two major examples being positivism and interpretivism. In terms of
ontology and epistemology (discussed in section 2.1.2) the researcher has adopted an
interpretivist stance. After significant debate between many academics in the literature,
Creswell (2007) suggested that interpretive methodologies are now established and do not
need to be justified against positivism. In spite of this, the subsequent discussion will
occasionally juxtapose interpretivism against positivism so that the reader can account for
the choice of interpretivism by the researcher. However, this debate has been considered
elsewhere and shall not be discussed at length (Silverman, 1985).
Marketing theory was originally based on the established natural science ontology and
epistemology of positivism. Ontologically, positivism posits that there is a single external
world that can be measured objectively and explained with universal laws (Brown, 1999).
According to Brown (1999), it was Anderson (1983; 1986; 1989) who seriously proposed
10

the relativist, or interpretivist, approach as a credible alternative more applicable to social

science. This holds that despite the potential existence of an external world, human beings
can only access it indirectly through their senses and consciousness. As such, social
constructions are paramount (Brown, 1999), with each individual experiencing the world in
a different way (Creswell, 2007).
Despite an increasing uptake of interpretivist approaches, there are still critics who deplore
interpretivist research as nihilistic and irrational (Creswell, 2007; Brown, 1999). Hunt
(1984; 1990; 1992; 1994) writes that by treating all viewpoints as equally meriting
discussion researchers are placing science on the same level as mystical beliefs such as
palmistry. Furthermore, Hunt argues that if there is not one truth, but multiple, then there
is essentially no truth. As Brown (1999) contests, that is obviously a self-defeating logic. If
the truth is that there is no truth then that cannot be true, leading to a logical paradox.
Rorty (1980; 1989; 1991) provides an important clarification, that time spent trying to
discover the truth about the world is time wasted. He distinguishes between the assertion
that the world is external and exists objectively from the assertion that the truth is external
and exists objectively. The world can certainly exist independently of a human
consciousness, but truth cannot. Truth relies on conscious thought and human language
which are ultimately constructs of humanity. Human beings therefore make truth about the
world as opposed to objectively and directly discovering it (Brown, 1999). If the universe
seems to follow a version of truth then one can consider their knowledge to fairly represent
the world, but really it might be better to view knowledge as a succession of increasingly
useful metaphors rather than an increased understanding of how things truly are (Brown,
1999, p.47). In other words, because the world must always pass through our lens of
interpretation, social science research should primarily be discussing its findings with an
appreciation of this. However, this viewpoint begins to stray into the related, but separate,
field of epistemology.
2.1.2. Epistemology
Epistemology describes how knowledge can be known (Hatch, 2006), the relationship
between the researcher and what is being studied. In direct contrast to positivistic
researchers who try to maintain distance from the phenomena, interpretive researchers
actively minimise the distance, or objective separateness (Guba & Lincoln, 1988, p.94;
11

Creswell, 2007). With an interpretivist stance, the researcher should use the words,
themes and definitions raised by the study participants to describe these perspectives
(Moustakas, 1994: Creswell, 2007) as opposed to mitigating context (Guba and Lincoln,
1994). In a similar way, a researcher must accept that their research is merely a
perspective on the data, and that each reader may interpret the data differently (Creswell,
2007). In this project direct quotes are provided so that readers can follow the logic of the
researcher or build their own opinions. Entire transcripts will not be provided, even in
appendices, as the detail would likely infringe on the anonymity of the respondents.
2.1.3. Axiological
The axiological assumption of a researcher is the role of biases and values in research,
with interpretivists actively accepting and clarifying their perspectives (Creswell, 2007).
The process of making these biases known is described as positioning oneself, and is key
as an interpretivist sees all research as value-laden (Creswell, 2007). The findings of any
study are only an interpretation on the part of the researcher (Denzin, 1989), interpretivists
merely make this explicit (Creswell, 2007).
The researcher accepts that an interest in the arts had led to this choice of subject, which
is beneficial in that it gives some basis of understanding the terms and concepts invoked in
the interviews by respondents. On the other hand, it could cause the researcher to jump to
pre-contrived conclusions and thus interpretations should be reassessed to be based
firmly in the data at all times (see section 2.2.1). The general reading of the subject prior to
the dissertation inevitably created certain assumptions, such as the almost non-existence
of government funding. As shall be discussed below (generally in section 3, but in
particular section 3.4), this was not true. However, the grounded theory approach allowed
for such ingrained ideas to be known and re-evaluated in light of the data.
2.1.4. Rhetorical
This concerns how the research is written. In an interpretive study, the researcher writes in
a more informal, literary way (Creswell, 2007). In this study, the process of open coding
lends itself to a narrative format (e.g. Clandinin & Conelly, 2000), and positivistic language
shall be rejected in favour of a more interpretive lexicon. Thus, internal validity,
generalisability and objectivity shall not be used (Creswell, 2007) as the ontological,
12

epistemological and axiological assumptions mean that this language would not reflect the
philosophical stance of the researcher. Instead credibility, transferability and confirmability
(Lincoln & Guba, 1985) are more indicative of the kind of language that shall be used.
However, despite Creswells (2007) suggestion that the personal pronoun I should be
regularly used, this research will remain in a more formal style until the end, where section
6 calls for a more personal style.
2.1.5. Methodological or methods
To avoid confusion with the term methodology, the term methodological referred to by
Creswell (2007) is more accurately described as methods. Having made the assumptions
above, the researcher must then select appropriate methods to explore their area of
inquiry. Although Bryman (1984, p.76) suggests that a particular epistemological base
leads to a preference for a particular method, being an interpretivist does not preclude the
use of methods typically viewed as positivist. Choices have to be made based on the
nature of the study, practical concerns and perhaps the personal abilities and preferences
of the researcher. To collect data, the researcher has selected the interview method, which
is discussed in section 2.2.2.
2.2 Practical concerns
Having established an interpretivist ontology, epistemology and so on, the researcher must
then select a method of data collection and analysis. Before discussing collection and
analysis in turn, the entire process of the research will first be explained. This process,
grounded theory, adopts a different approach by using data collection to inform the theory
rather than verify it, which shall now be discussed.
2.2.1. Grounded theory
Grounded theory was originally formulated in The discovery of Grounded Theory by Glaser
& Strauss (1967) and has since been expanded in a number of writings (e.g. Glaser, 1978;
Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994) and used in a broad
range of subjects including healthcare (e.g. Baszanger, 1992; Fujimura, 1988; Star &
Bowker, 1997), identity building (e.g. Charmaz, 1994; Orona, 1990) sociology (e.g. Clarke,
1990; Lempert, 1995) and management studies (e.g. Konecki, 1997). It is the process of
13

developing theory from data as opposed to logical deduction from a priori

assumptions (Glaser & Strauss, 1967 p.3). In other words the theory is grounded in the
data as opposed to being selected from literature or the researchers personal deduction
(Creswell, 2007).
It should be noted that despite their initial work together (e.g. Glaser and Strauss 1965,
1968), Glaser and Strauss have since disagreed over the exact nature of grounded theory.
Glaser (1992) feels that Strauss adopts a very prescribed and structured form of grounded
theory. Subsequently, new researchers have added their own interpretation on the method
(e.g. Clarke, 2005; Charmaz, 2006). The systematic approach described by Strauss and
Corbin (1990, 1998) reflects many of the steps taken in this research. For example, this
study used a zigzag process (Creswell, 2007, p.64) where the researcher conducted
interviews in the field, analysed them and then returned to the field with new questions and
ideas as opposed to conducting analysis only at the end of the process. However, the
Strauss and Corbin (1990) approach places far more emphasis on finding causal
conditions, propositions and using tools such as the conditional matrix (Creswell, 2007, pp.
64-5). Instead, the researcher adopts an approach between this and the constructivist
approach espoused by Charmaz (2005; 2006) and others (e.g. Crotty, 1998; Schwandt,
2001; and Neuman, 2000). This approach emphasises the researcher as shaping the
theory by making key decisions throughout the research process The interpretations of the
individuals who provide data must be seen as critical to prevent the decisions of the
researcher from shaping the data too significantly (Creswell, 2007, pp. 64-5).
According to Strauss & Corbin (1997, p.vii, emphasis added) grounded theory
methodology and methods (procedures) are now among the most influential and widely
used modes of carrying out qualitative research when generating theory is the
researchers principal aim. As this study seeks to answer a question about how art
galleries can react to the government cuts, but is not seeking to verify a pre-defined
solution or theory, grounded theory is appropriate. There are other advantages to this
approach, such as the fact that because the theory is derived closely from the data it is
seen to have more longevity than one produced by reasoning alone. A second benefit of
grounded theory is that it accepts the natural processes of research. The observer can
never be totally removed from research, and the epiphany moments can come in the
morning or at night (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.251). Grounded theory is open to
discoveries at the beginning or end of the process and incorporates the personal
14

experiences of the researcher, whether these are based theoretically or simply through life
experience, with existing theories also incorporated as long as theyre not at the expense
of truly exploring the data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.253).
Importantly, as discussed above in section 1.3., given that data collection comes before
anything else in a grounded study it is perfectly possible that the initial questions and
research aims can evolve to better reflect the stories that are emerging from the data
(Creswell, 2007). This is known as theoretical sampling, where the emerging theory points
to the next steps (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.47). Put another way, it is perfectly
legitimate to change the questions asked as a consequence of the information
gained (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002, p.83).
Whilst a theory should emerge during research thanks to the researcher being
theoretically sensitive (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.46), these ideas should not skew
subsequent questioning so much as to eliminate divergent discoveries. This can be just as
damaging as having an a priori assumption, or pet theory as Glaser & Strauss describe it
(1967, p.46). Deviating from any tentative ideas is not betraying the research, but merely
being open to unanticipated contingencies (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.49). On the other
hand, before the data can inform the questions a partial framework of local concepts (in
other words some basic understanding), can be necessary to prompt questions in the first
interview (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.45).
2.2.2. Interviews
Given that data collection comes prior to theory generation, the method of collection must
be flexible and robust enough to generate varied and deep insights. Generally, qualitative
methods aim to gain an understanding of interpretations and encouraging respondents to
think about their lifeworlds perhaps in a way they have not previously (Easterby-Smith et
al., 2002). As Van Maanen (1983, p.9) describes, qualitative techniques are about eliciting
the meaning, not the frequency of phenomena. The interview is a method that allows the
researcher to probe deeply to uncover new clues, open up new dimensions of a problem
and to secure vivid, accurate inclusive accounts that are based on personal
experience (Burgess, 1982, p.107). They allow empathy to develop between respondents
and the interviewer and therefore promote fuller responses (Warren, 2002).
15

Interviews attempt to understand phenomena through the constructs that the interviewee
uses as a basis for her opinions and beliefs (Easterby-Smith, 2002, p.87) and thus avoids
a priori constructs. Using instead the perceptions of participants as building blocks of
theory, semi-structured interviews are appropriate to be used alongside a grounded study.
Instead of having set questions, the researcher arrived at each interview with a series of
themes to serve as prompts, but generated questions based on what the participants had
to say (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002, p.88). To avoid information saturation interviews will be
spaced out to provide at least a small reflection period to incubate findings (EasterbySmith et al., 2002). However, it is accepted that the researcher will ultimately have to be
flexible to the demands of the potential participants to secure interviews, and this
preference may have to be compromised.
There are challenges to using interviews, particularly in a qualitative, semi-structured way.
Firstly, ambiguity and confusion can emerge in what respondents say, but also in conflicts
between respondents. However, in a qualitative study contradictions are simply part of the
data, aspects to be explored and further understood as opposed to anomalies to be
accounted for or mitigated (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002). Another critique of interviews is
that participants can either actively or unconsciously manipulate what they say (EasterbySmith et al., 2002), as in the example of Margaret Mead and her studies of Samoan
people (Freeman, 1996). Then again this criticism could be levied against many methods,
including surveys where respondents might answer what they feel is socially acceptable or
what they aspire to, as opposed to what they actually do. This criticism will be kept in mind
throughout the interviews and particularly when the data is being analysed. Von Lehn
(2010, p.105) criticises interviews as neglecting visitors action and interaction on the
museum floor, favouring instead direct observation techniques to eliminate any potential
manipulations or biases from respondents. However, the respondent sample will be based
on managers who it would be impractical to directly observe. Additionally, observation
relies far more heavily on the biases and interpretations of the researcher, whereas
interviews provide terminology and narratives from the respondents that can be used to
build a theory.
2.2.3. Data collection and sample
A grounded study can use social units of any size and therefore does not require a large
sample size (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p.21, original emphasis). The sample was collected
16

by sending out letters to various arts organisations in the North West (see Appendix A).
The focus was to recruit a diversity of respondents to be able to conduct comparative
analysis, where new groups (in this case, individuals) are used to see if theories and
interpretations are shared (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Further letters were sent out as new
respondents were identified even once the interviews had commenced, particularly if
opportunities were identified by the respondents themselves. Four individuals were
interviewed for this study and shall be outlined below to provide context to their comments.
Because of the importance of anonymity, these descriptions will not be precise enough to
identify the individual or the organisation which they were affiliated.
Respondent A was a marketing manager for an art gallery with a range of pieces up to the
contemporary period. Their role was predominantly focused around individual visitors as
opposed to dealing with corporate funders, although required an understanding of many
parts of the business.
Respondent B was a senior manager who had worked for both art galleries and museums.
As such their experience was broad and covered both interactions with visitors,
businesses, trusts and government sources.
Respondent C had extensive experience working with both art galleries and museums,
including art consultancy experience. Their previous work had covered audience
development, exhibition management and advertising, amongst other research and
management roles.
Respondent D had experience of multiple arts companies, including visual art but also
performance arts and commercial avenues such as cinema. This respondent had recent
experience of both managing non-profits arts and for-profit organisations.
2.2.4. Data analysis and theory building
The zigzag process (Creswell, 2007, p.64) described in section 2.2.1 means that the
process of data collection and analysis are not clearly demarcated as might be the case in
a positivist study. As the interviews are collected they will be transcribed and read to
provide theoretical sampling (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) as described in 2.2.1. At the end of
all the interviews the data is more thoroughly analysed through the process of open
17

coding. This involves closely reading the data, building themes and then comparing each
interview to construct an overall narrative (Strauss & Corbin, 1997, pp.61-74).
In practice open coding meant reading each individual interview to create categories, or
themes. The first interview was analysed with any topic that seemed noteworthy to the
researcher being designated as a theme. Any quotes that concerned a theme were added
under the appropriate heading, including those that contrasted or perhaps refuted other
comments. Then the second interview was analysed, with quotes being put under the
same headings from the first interview. Any new themes that emerged were added on to
the bank of categories, and subsequently the third and fourth interview were introduced.
The original source of each quote was retained to allow the researcher to appreciate
contextual factors and later decipher whether there was disagreement between
respondents or contradictions within one respondents interview. One all the categories had
been created, they were analysed to see which went together and which contrasted.
Themes with too few quotes or those that did not contribute to the emerging narrative were
left out of the final analysis. However, they were retained in the open coding process in
case new interpretations made them applicable.
Interpretations are not only be compared against each other within the study, but also later
against external studies in the external literature review (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). This
explains why in this study the literature review comes after the data analysis in Chapter 4.
The literature is not used here to build models and tools to apply against, or be tested by,
the data. Instead literature simply adds to and helps to explore findings and theories built
from the data.
2.2.5 Conclusion
The grounded theory approach and the open and reflexive nature of the interviews meant
that this study was flexible as opposed to a systematic approach. The aim was to discover
interpretations from individuals working in the field about the important problems and
potential solutions. Chapter 3 draws quotes from the data to describe the narrative that
emerged from this process, using sections that were derived from the open coding
process.

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3. Data and Analysis

3.1. Introduction
Open coding revealed several themes in the interview data, many of which merged into
larger concepts and followed a clear narrative. Some interesting points found in the data
have been omitted from this discussion because they did not contribute to the overall
narrative in any significant way. The narrative was not chosen from alternatives, but
emerged from the themes that were repeated throughout interviews.
The following analysis incorporates direct quotes from the interviews so that the reader
can understand the thinking of the researcher. This allows the reader to understand, or
perhaps disagree with, the interpretations that form the basis of the theory. Although the
findings from the interviews are presented here in a fairly linear narrative, many of the
ideas overlap and there are multiple ways in which this account could be explored. What
was important to the researcher was to highlight conflicts and agreements between
themes and interviews. Figure 3.1 below is illustrative of the main themes, arranged to
represent their relations to each other and the difficulty in describing them in any one way.
Therefore, the eventual order chosen by the researcher was primarily for clarity and
understanding than to represent a particular causal relationship.
The structure that the researcher believes best describes the data is as follows. First the
fact that visitors have dynamic motivations that can be changed like hats, followed by the
conflict between financial and non financial goals. The third section explores the situation
regarding funders, and the fourth section explores how this and the dynamic motivations of
visitors affects one key activity, research. The penultimate section then describes how
research is broken into demographics and motivations, while the final section rounds up
these observations to provide a solution to the various problems that have emerged in the
data and the problem outline at the start of the research in section 1.3, How can art
galleries adapt to the changing funding environment?
In the following quotes, R shall represent the researcher, with A, B, C and D
representing the various interviewees as outlined in section 2.2.2.

19

Figure 3.1: Diagram of themes in a nonlinear fashion

20

3.2. Visitors wear hats of motivation!

A: nobody is really in a segment. Its like hats, that you wear... you know
what I mean. When people are wearing their family hat they will do
things they wont do when theyre wearing their... white, 30 to 40, likes
football, reads [newspaper X]... ... thats one hat and another hat is dad.

The clearest discovery to emerge from the data was that simple segmentation methods,
especially using demographics, were not considered particularly useful tools to understand
gallery visitors. Instead, one respondent used the term hats to describe their observation
that a single individual can come with different motivations depending on when they visit
and who is with them. This idea was backed up by another respondent who highlighted the
importance of contextual factors:
C: one day youll go in with a friend and youll skim past lots of it because
youre gossiping. Another day youll go in by yourself, youll engage
really deeply, um youll think thats exactly what I needed.

The respondents seemed to be searching for ways to raise revenue and provide a fulfilling
gallery experience. As part of this, studying demographics was seen as less useful than
exploring motivations:
R: Someone might come by themselves, and come back next week with
a completely different motivation. Would you agree with that?
B: Yeah. So were focusing on their motivation.

!!!

Art galleries and museums have to provide targeted benefits to different motivations but
individuals are not anchored to a particular motivation for their entire life, or even for a
significant amount of time. An individual could be an avid art lover, a parent concerned
about their childs education and someone who likes to take business clients to an
interesting venue. Each trip would be a different motivation, responding to the art and
various parts of the gallery offer in distinct ways. With their child the hypothetical individual
would be focused on the activities available, but when taking a client out for lunch they
may be predominantly interested in the quality of the restaurant, and what it says about
them or their company. The art gallery offers a range of benefits and services for each
hat of the individual:
21

C: Theyre the broad motivations, and what we say is you have to

function as different types of organisations depending on the needs of
your audience. If youve got a lot of people coming for social reasons
then youre an attraction like any other attraction. Theyre interested in
the quality of the coffee, the quality of chocolate cake, the staff, the
ambience, the views out of the window, the architecture. The collection is
of secondary importance to them, they take it in but its the hygiene
factors how comfortable they feel in the building is essential in terms of
you meeting their needs. [With an] Intellectual [motivations] youre more
like a library or an archive, they want to use your resources as much as
possible, glean as much information as possible. Emotional youre more
like a spa, youre coming for therapy, and spiritual youre more like a
church.
Despite these many faces to the organisation, one interviewee underlined the fact that
various aspects of art galleries are still interrelated:

A: If you came here and you didnt think much of the cafe or the shop
and was looking for a wedding venue then it wouldnt occur to you to
choose here. And visa versa. Or again, if you was looking for a
conference venue, and looking to impress your clients.

The fact that the organisation has various offers for different segments, but each of these
are associated, means the organisation (the art gallery or museum) is both fragmented
and integrated like the individuals that visit. Another respondent presented a more extreme
example of this process, in that their cafe was actually run by an external company.
Despite this, the external organisation was seen as just as important as internal
departments:
D: The cafe and the bar are run by [a company] which is a separate
company, and we have have a contract with them, a fairly standard set
up, certain threshold anything they make above that threshold is ours.
The flipside they are, the better the organisation running the cafe, the
more people we get through the door, who then might visit the cinema,
who might visit the gallery...
R: So like feedback loops?
D: Exactly.
The term fragmented organisation is thus more applicable than segmented organisation.
Furthermore, some of these services are in fact the same, but interpreted differently.
Taking the example of an individual coming to the gallery with a friend for a social visit and
skimming through the gallery, then returning for a more considered look at the art, these
22

two services are provided with no actual change to the product, the art, at all. All that has
changed is the interpretation.
One measure of success mentioned by many was the Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (2005)
hierarchy of engagement where the bottom of the hierarchy is the least engaged (see
section 4.3.3). Visitors moving up the hierarchy, to more engaged forms of satisfaction,
can be a measure of success that is more effective than head counts or satisfaction
questionnaires:
C: If you have hordes and hordes of people coming in for social reasons
then it must be a mark of the success of the museum to send them out
having had an intellectual or emotional experience. So if you deliver an
unexpected benefit through the efforts of the museum then you are
helping the person develop. So then theyre in an emotional segment. So
its about growing.

Respondent C also noted that although the word hierarchy can be seen as inappropriate, it
best describes the experiences of visitors:

C: I was having this debate [with a client]. They debate it being called a
hierarchy of motivations because they feel like thats a value judgement
and we have tried to bend and sway with this, by saying it could be flat, it
could be a matrix or whatever, but I do actually think its a hierarchy.
Because you, if youre a new visitor to a gallery, particularly
unaccustomed art visitors, unless your social needs are met, you cant
start to engage intellectually. If you feel uncomfortable, if you feel the
staff are watching you and disapproving, if you cant find your way
around...

Unfortunately, an art gallery cannot continue without finance. However, raising revenue
can jeapordise some of the goals of the art gallery, so there is always a conflict between
the non-profit goals of an arts organisation and the need to raise finance. This idea shall
be discussed in the next section.

23

3.3. The tension between financial and non-financial goals

D: Of course the galleries dont make us any money but we want people
to visit them... thats what were here to do.
Fragmentation does not stop at the visitor or the service, in fact there is a deep schism that
runs throughout any art gallery, the tension between profit and non-profit targets. As nonprofit organisations art galleries do not have financial gain as an end, simply a means.
They seek to meet social profits subject to financial constraints (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2011,
p.28). This non-financial focus permeates into the entire strategy of the organisation from
what goals are prioritised even into the semantics of how visitors are understood and
perceived:
R: You have a goal higher than money.
A: Youve got some, you have targets like a business, but theyre not
necessarily commercial targets. Im not explaining this very well, I think
its more obvious in something like a library service. To call people who
use a library service customers is disingenuous because there is no
other market. There are no other suppliers of free books, they are your
readers, borrowers... if youre talking about social services as
customers, they have no choice (laughs).

To achieve these goals requires revenue, a problem all the respondents appreciated and
accepted as a perpetual challenge. Where clashes did occur, the prioritisation of non-profit
goals could jeapordise the financial success of the gallery, or visa versa. For example, by
encouraging children and families to visit the gallery, and thus succeeding in the goals to
be inclusive and stimulate learning, could discourage donations from richer individuals:

B: if you come here on a saturday and the museum is full of buggies and
screaming kids... our efforts to attract a more diverse audience would
have been very successful. It would be a bit of a zoo, not a place that
high net value [people] would want to be in, [but] theyre the kinds of
people who could stick a big wad of cash in our donations box.

Despite their commitment to maximising social profits the respondents unfortunately

sometimes had to concentrate on financial returns to be able to put on the high-quality
exhibitions that they wished to organise. One respondent explained their organisation had
charged for a recent exhibition despite historically being able to offer most for free. It was a
necessity borne out of the costs of the exhibition, as opposed to an opportunity to raise
extra revenue:
24

R: With [exhibition name], youre charging entry, but previously,

exhibitions have been free, any reason?
A: Weve had a few charging exhibitions, this one and [another
exhibitions]. Its about .... the funding for the temporary exhibition is
limited and always there to be cut... its....
R: An easy target almost
A: Yeah, when youre looking at budgets. And when youre looking at
impacts the temporary exhibitions look like they wont have a lasting
detrimental impact on the institution. I mean, theres for and against
every cut... for instance with the [previous exhibition] because a lot of the
loans we wanted to make it worthwhile had to come from abroad, that
was expensive, the insurance and transport etc. So if we didnt charge
we wouldnt have been able to make the exhibition worthwhile.
R: So its more like a cost issue.
A: Yeah, and um, with [the present exhibition], well I wasnt privy to that
decision but it would have been a kind of like we will only be able to do it
worthwhile if we have this much money and we only have this much
budget so were going to have to offset it with ticket sales. And, its a bit
anomalous the way exhibitions go because [other galleries] all charge for
temporary... always charge. All the nationals charge for the temporary
but not for entry. So our programme is anomalous for being free for
exhibitions of that size and of that quality. Im not saying this in order to
not be anomalous, but its a question that no-one ever asks the nationals.
R: Mmm, which is why I was asking you because I found it very strange
that you dont do it all the time. Is there a moral, political, general reason
why not?
A: I think, it is part of trying to be accessible. Manchester has lots of
areas of deprivation, and if youre bringing art that you think is worth
seeing to the city then you dont want to exclude people that want to see
it and who are tax payers. But sometimes its unavoidable.
The challenge of resolving the normative-financial conflicts is exacerbated by the
existence of visitors who can express and move between a number of motivations.
Alongside this, art galleries suffer capacity constraints in that there is a restricted amount
of space and a restricted amount of art. In fact, art galleries are almost idiosyncratic in that
the physical assets of their services, the art, are often unique. To allow children into the
gallery at one time means an exclusive opening for paying individuals is impossible.
The fragmentation of visitors and the profit versus non profit conflict were not the only
issues facing art galleries. The data also revealed the enduring importance of attracting
25

funding from other organisations such as the government or trusts. In contrast, the
researcher had initially expected the galleries to describe that they were shifting focus
away from these sources of revenue given the recent cuts. This marketplace of potential
revenue was still highly important, and was mentioned several times in the interviews.
!

26

3.4. The importance of funders

R: So you think there will be a shift towards the commercial side, or do
you think that there will be heavily reliant on funding from bodies?
D: I think the balance will remain the same.
Given the plethora of recent news articles and media attention, a surprise in the data was
that all respondents still felt that funding institutions were an integral part of art gallery
revenues. There was a general belief that this kind of funding would remain important,
although all the respondents accepted that the relative importance of other sources of
revenue had increased. Funders included both the government and charitable trusts, but
both put pressure on galleries to achieve certain goals given their funds were strained:
B:The area that is least developed for us is individuals and legacies. Its
an area we are just starting on, prompted and inspired by the
government whose focus is around philanthropic giving. This is
particularly important because the trusts and foundations money has
shrunk, what they earn on interest is where most of the money has come
from. So when interests rates are as they are... everybody is competing
for that money. Government money is only going to go down.

These caveats to funding were appreciated by another respondent. In particular, it was

interesting that this respondent felt that their organisation had to promote their work and
successes to the organisations in order to get funding:
A: Funding often has conditions attached. For example, the [funding for a
particular scheme] stated that, provided that we could prove we used the
money to benefit the goals of the scheme, we could use it for salaries.
Sometimes you cant do that with funding, you have to use it as capital.
R: Do you feel you have to market to the funding bodies, as much as to
the visitors?
A: Absolutely. And the research is a massive part of that.!

The importance of research as proof of success and justification of funding is evident in

this statement, although this will be discussed further in section 3.5. More importantly here,
the data suggest that just like the galleries, each funder has a social goals that they wish
to achieve. But because there were always financial restrictions these targets had to be
carefully measured:
27

B: The way that labour tended to fund things was quite tied to targets...it
was like Heres a million pounds and with the we expect you to achieve
quite a lot of instrumental things. You will change the demographic, you
will attract more working class, disabled, black people... You will improve
what people learn. So its not just heres a million quid. Youve got to
show youre making a difference to peoples lives. You had to write a
business plan each year and have it approved about what you were
going to do. You had to prove you were hitting your targets and doing
what you were doing to do. Number of visitors, diversity of visitors. You
had to set yourself, and achieve, the targets.!
Measurement is essential for art galleries to achieve and maintain funding. As in the quote
above, this often involved proof that certain demographics had attended an exhibition. All
the respondents undertook various forms of research to appease funders that these goals
had been achieved, primarily by comparing changes over time:
R: Its like proof.
A: Yeah. Thats been incredibly useful. We can say we did or we didnt
achieve what you wanted us to. We knew where we were when we
started through our own research and we this research shows where we
are now.

The nature of this research is discussed in section 3.5, although it should be noted here
that research was rarely conducted purely to prove goals were being met. Some research,
particularly around motivations, were driven by a desire to understand visitors. This had
the added benefit of meeting the goals of the institution or the funder because
understanding motivations allowed the gallery to attract certain demographics. Although
segmented, research is also intertwined.
The above quotes also begin to suggest that some respondents believed that galleries
were almost selling themselves to funders. Research was one tool to prove that goals had
been met and to ensure further funding. But was this true? Certainly one respondent could
be suggested to have a strategy in place:

28

B: Yes. I think, when you talk about funders its really important to
separate out who they are and what that strategy is for them. There are
some funders who are completely different. We have government
bodies, so renaissance, arts council, people like that. Their funding really
is important and has a particular set of objectives... we also, you have
trust and foundations. A lot of exhibition related money comes in through
trusts and foundations. So thats charitable trusts. [One of our staff
members]... his job is to write to trusts and foundations. Lots of people
who give money for projects, usually around the aims of that trust. [Trust
X] is all about getting people engaged with science, so your bid to them
has to be all around science. We got a lot of money for [an exhibit] from
them, for example. So government funding has criteria set by
government, trusts and foundations have objectives around whatever
their aims are...

On the other hand despite the obvious need to show funders key goals were being met, a
quote from another respondent contests the interpretation that galleries were marketing
themselves to funders. Although not specifically asked a question on the topic, given that
this narrative had not emerged as the data was being collected, this respondent instead
preferred a different explanation:
C: I wouldnt say they are marketing themselves to funders, they are
reacting to the funders by showing they are meeting certain performance
indicators.
Initially the distinction seemed negligible, perhaps even just trying to cast galleries in a
favourable light. Reacting to the needs and wants of the market is stressed in some
modern marketing concepts, so reacting and marketing could be considered synonyms. By
trying to differentiate between reacting and marketing, this respondent seemed to be
simply conflicting with admissions from other interviewees. However, after re-reading the
data, a selection of new interpretations materialised.
The first considered distinction could be that reacting means actually achieving goals and
changing behaviour in accordance to funders wishes, whereas marketing could have an
association with simply convincing external groups that a goal had been achieved.

29

B: A condition of the money they were receiving was to show they were
becoming more accessible and more relevant to a greater number of
more diverse people in their catchment area than they had been before.
So they definitely had to show they were performing against those
performance indicators but what this meant was that they had to take
part in audience development strategies to meet those goals. They
werent marketing themselves to funders or stakeholders they were
responding to the instruction of funders and stakeholders which was a
condition of this money is that you make yourself more relevant
This possible distinction is debatable for many reasons. First, as mentioned previously,
many modern definitions of marketing involve generating revenue through meeting needs,
not simply using selling tactics. Secondly, the idea that art galleries simply did whatever
funders wanted to secure funding was rejected in the data very clearly:
B: Generally speaking... (long pause)... development of exhibitions in
galleries... in this institution i dont think theres ever been a situation
where something... a program has been developed because its
something someone thought would be fundable. I dont think that could
ever happen in the future. The clash, for me, has always been between
somebody who wants to tell their story, who has a message they want to
get across. Well my battle is to always say is that something the public
are interested in? Can we tell it in a way that the public are going to find
interesting? Sometimes curators have such a fixed idea about what they
want to say, this is the most important story that we want to tell. But
then you have to say well thats not something people want to see... its
going to be difficult to market. Its not going to be interesting enough to
enough people.
Following a grounded theory approach, this second critique is very important as it is
grounded in the data. A cynical interpretation of this quote would suggest that the
respondent was consciously or unconsciously lying, but the researcher believes that even
if this were true to some extent, the first distinction was not a particularly strong idea.
The second suggestion was that the real distinction between marketing and reacting was
that marketing seemed to imply a lack of artistic integrity in the mind of the respondents.
Simply doing what was required to generate revenue. By reacting, there was room for the
intrinsic goals of the gallery itself to be factored into decisions:

30

R: So you dont feel that youre restricted by their demands...? So they

ask for you to do certain things but its about working together to get
what you both want?
D: Yeah, we would never do anything because a funder told us to. That
would not happen, and in my experience that doesnt happen. The arts
council do not influence the exhibitions that we show, what does
influence it is the kind of audiences we want to work with. We have an
exhibition coming up in January which is solely curated by a group of 9
young people, its a joint project with other cultural and youth
organisations. We have spent a year working with them developing their
skills in film, art, performance, dance, you name it theyve tried
everything, and now their curating an exhibition here. I mean, we didnt
have to do that. Ticks a lot of nice boxes for funders, its diversity, its
young people, its education, partnership working, but, and theyre really
pleased that weve done it, but we didnt have to.
R:You did it off your own back.
D: Yeah.
R: So do you feel that some exhibitions are there just to tick a box for a
funder?
D: No.
R: Theres always some kind of intention there?
D: Yeah. Very much so. I cant speak for other venues but here we have
a very clear vision, especially where visual art is concerned. A very clear
set of themes and priorities that are independent of anything else around
us. Its usually a partnership of mutual benefit.

A profit driven organisation would, presumably, do whatever is required to make the most
profit, excluding perhaps some unethical options. Galleries accept that funders can provide
an important source of revenue, but do not wish to give up their intrinsic purpose in the
process of attracting this funding. The previous quote also clarifies another distinction
between reacting and marketing in this context. Reacting in this context could be about
collaboration between the galleries and the funders:

31

D: this is my personal opinion not [the opinion of my organisation], its not

the funder handing out money to a worthy cause scenario, its a
partnership approach. For example with the arts council they are key
funder for us and we want the cash otherwise we wouldnt be able to
have free entry to the gallery, wed have to charge, but they have key
priorities and projects they want to take forward such as ones around
digital participation and digital innovation. They see us as a flagship
organisation in that area, so theyll come to us to help them with projects
in that area. Its a partnership as opposed to a one way transaction. Its
the same with the [funding body], very much a partnership.
Given the importance of funders their goals are often incorporated into key exhibitions. An
example in this section is of a trust that wished to encourage an interest in science by
sponsoring an appropriate exhibition. Although the exhibition wasnt designed for the
funder in particular, a common goal allowed both institutions to work together. Given the
number of potential funders, arts organisations can unfortunately become quagmired in
conflicting pressures known as target soup (Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, 2005). Although
complicated, it was accepted as simply an inevitable part of the situation:
R: There seems to be a lot of organisation ceasing, new ones coming in,
mergers, etc. Is it really difficult for you to keep on top of where the
money is coming from?
D: No, no, its not that its simple, its just that we have to.
Despite the collaborative approach between funders and the respondents, funders still
demanded that galleries use research to measure the success of exhibitions and
initiatives. However, as briefly noted in this section research was not conducted solely for
this reason. Instead the fragmentation of visitors discussed in section 3.2. and the
heterogenous market of funders in this section mean that the research of art galleries are
also fragmented, the topic of the next section.

32

3.5. Fragmented research

R: So, given that you do it [research] quite regularly, what do you do it
for? Is it mainly for the funders? To, change what youre offering.
D: Theres two different sides to it. We need to have key performance
indicators for funders, which is often very different from what we need to
look at from a marketing perspective. For example [a funding body] want
the number of people who attended an event, the number of people
educated by an event... from a marketing perspective we are looking at
an audience development perspective, who are our customers? Where
are they? Where are the people like them are? What are the frequency
rates like? When do people come? How does this compare to the
capacity of the cinema? How long were they here for? How much are
they spending? What do they do? What is the cross over? Is the cinema
audience, the arts audience and the cafe audience entirely separate, or?
Where they are not crossing over, where is the potential for them to
cross over. It leads to strategic decisions, in terms of programming but
also tactical decisions for example a lot of people using the bar for a
social reason are not really using the cinema. So we just introduced
cinema times on the tables... very small scale, doesnt cost us anything
to produce and very tactical. But its just looking for clues in the data
really, yeah, um, but like most organisations we need to tighten up our
use of data. Its expensive, which is part of the problem. We do have to
do it, the tighter the funding climate the more important I think it is going
to be.
Research for the art gallery is a complex, multi-faceted and interrelated phenomena. It is
used to demonstrate success but also to achieve success through understanding visitors.
In other words, understanding visitors means galleries are also more likely to achieve the
success that the other research is trying to measure. Morris Hargreaves McIntyre describe
a direct causal relationship between maximising income generation and happy visitors
whose needs were being met (2005, p.4), and this is reflected in the data:
R: [Art gallery A] and [Art gallery B] gallery say that part of it is to do
research to tick boxes, but also they do do it to satisfy the consumer...
which makes you meet your targets anyway.
D: Yeah, yeah of course. Its a cycle.
And similarly:

33

B: I mean, we collect all the demographics thats really useful for

reporting, but we also collect loads of information about what people are
getting out of their visit and what impact that has on them. Which really...
so when we report that weve achieved this many people from this socioeconomic group... its not an end in itself. Its told us something about
what we do and how we do it.
R: So it isnt purely just to make money from funders.
B: Absolutely not. Its kind of a circular thing. It was telling us how we can
achieve what the funders want us to achieve. We are not just reporting
that this many working class people come to museums, were using
research because we know thats an important aim for us. We know that
we want art galleries to be for everyone, we are receiving government
money we should be for everyone. We are using research to inform what
we do.
This point was later made more succinct:
R: Are funders interested in the kind of, more, attitudinal, motivational
data, or do you just send them the demographics?
B: For the funders, its just the demographics. For the attitudinal stuff,
thats what we use in order to meet the targets that the funders set us.
!
It seemed that funders preferred quantitative metrics such as head counts. The researcher
assumed this is because are more easily comparable and can thus be used to measure
success. Although deeper research might be useful to the gallery to help them reach the
targets of funders, the funders themselves seemed to have little interest in requesting such
information. Unfortunately, head counts and similar metrics were perceived as sometimes
too crude to capture the true benefits that art galleries provided:

34

R: Do you think the numbers and the data dont really show funders the
impact of art galleries, because a lot of it is indirect and its inside people,
they take away things you didnt record.
A: Its unbelievably difficult to convey that kind of thing, the stories, the
individual stories, the impact it has on people. I can quote you individual
cases. We had projects that we did with under 3s, heritage funded... i
think... it was to look at how families and young children might use an art
gallery. We did some work with the st. peters centre, the council creche.
We did loads of work to see what they liked and what they didnt like and
there was one little boy there that had never spoken. They did speech
therapy to see was it this, what it that, was it the other, and they were
working with a video installation that we had at the time that the kids
were watching and they were going back and doing stuff in the studio
because there was a lot about water and rivers and things in it. And he
was on his own, not engaging with the other kids which he was perfectly
happy with. And then they went up to look at the video again and he
narrated the video from start to finish. River, SPLASH, water, heres the
boat! And thats the first time any of the workers there had heard him
speak. Now, how do you capture that? you cant really extrapolate from
that one thing but you sort of know that its really worth doing. Because
some people dont engage with sitting in a classroom being talked at. Art
can unlock thing that other things cant.
R: But you cant translate that into data.
A: Its very difficult. I just told you that story, look how long its taken. How
can... we helped a little child to speak once isnt as powerful in a report,
unfortunately, as saying we used to have this many people who were
asian coming and after this project we have this many.

35

3.6 Demographics and motivations

In section 3.5. the respondents stressed that funders were primarily interested in easily
comparable measurements of success. Galleries themselves were also interested in
asking what motivated visitors to be able to achieve success for funders and for their own
goals. This was increasingly important given the complexity and dynamism of visitor
motivations described in section 3.2. Given that research seemed to be split into
demographic research and motivational research the question of the link between the two
began to emerge. The respondents mentioned this link fleetingly in the interviews, but this
question was certainly important. If demographics had a strong influence on motivations,
then the gallery merely had to appeal to a certain hat to attract the required demographic.
If any demographic could express any motivation, then the art gallery or museum had
essentially no control over the types of visitors that they would receive. Between these two
extremes was the potential for a range of scenarios, where a complex and dynamic
relationship could exist between demographic factors and motivations. Understanding the
existence and nature of this relationship was important because many funders had a
principle aim of increasing attendance from certain groups, or overall inclusion in the case
of the government. Even excluding funders, art galleries themselves were highly motivated
by their own goals to attract a wider range of visitors (e.g. Qureshi, 2012).
One respondent felt that there was a connection between demographics and motivations:
B: We found that [working class] adults who have never been to a
gallery will never go to museums. You have to put in a lot of effort to get
them to go for themselves, for working class adults. But for working class
families, we found their motivations for going to museums were the same
for middle class families. Because even if they had never been, they
would still think that going to museums would be a good thing for their
kids to do.
So we discovered if we want to get in more working class people its no
good targeting working class adults, because they wont respond. But by
working on our offer for families, by focusing there we could diversify our
audience. So that influences everything that weve been doing for the
last five years.

A C2DE visitor may be more likely to adopt a certain motivation but another respondent
was reluctant to label people or infer motivations purely by demographics:

36

A: from the research we had two family segments. One was called kids
first and one was learning families. And the difference really between
the two groups, in the kids first family the kids drive the visit. They
chose where to come, the overriding motivation for the parents was that
it should be easy and the kid shouldnt be bored... everything should be
laid on and they shouldnt facilitate the event. For the learning families
the parents chose the activity, expected to mediate the activity, manage
their boredom and behaviour. And, be involved in the visit. And that, we
didnt offer the first option. You cant come here, its not like alton towers,
or like IKEA where you can leave them in a creche. All we offer is the
facilitate visit. All we offer is the tools, for parents to be able to facilitate
the visit. And, the message is... I think people... there was an
assumption... not by me, but by some people that those two segments
would break down into middle class segments and working class
families. Fortunately the evidence from the segmentation showed that
this wasnt the case at all. These arent segments of people, theyre
segments of visits. So the same family going to Alton Towers will be
making a kids first visit but visiting the gallery will be a learning visit.

It seems that even if certain groups of people are more likely to have a kids first
motivation, it is not predetermined. It could be suggested that the range of motivations can
be expressed by all demographics, with historical context only exerting an influence over
the probability of motivations or creating a slightly different expression of a similar
motivation. For example, all individuals can express a desire to explore their cultural
heritage, however an individual from a certain ethnic group will most likely be drawn to
exhibitions that explore the heritage of that group. Of course, individuals from other groups
may be drawn to the same exhibit due to being motivated to explore other cultures. These
interpretations have been generated from the data but will be explored in more depth in
the literature review, particularly sections 4.2 and 4.3.
Having described the problems faced by art galleries in the previous sections, section 3.7.
will explore the potential solution highlighted by the respondents.

37

3.7 Is segmented pricing the solution?

A key solution that was discussed in various forms is the fact that certain visitors are willing
to pay for an extended or unique offer from the art gallery. By creating propositions for
such individuals and groups, the gallery or museum can generate revenue to help achieve
their non-profit goals. Unlike charging entry fees or simply increasing prices for exhibitions,
this allows the gallery to charge only those willing to pay, allowing them to still provide a
service for free to the majority of visitors.
Crucially, a fixed pricing structure may not be appropriate in this context. In fact, one
respondent seemed to imply that the various challenges that arose needed to be resolved
on a case by case basis:
R: Do you think there is a tension between a consumer focus, looking at
what consumers want, and also maintaining your artistic... uh...
!

B: artistic or curatorial integrity.

R: Yeah. Vision...
B: Yeah its a constant conflict.
R: How do you solve it?
B: Just through negotiation. It always has to be.

The quote above indicates that each opportunity or challenge that arises must be solved
through careful consideration of the multiple effects to various stakeholders and goals, as
well as the impact on the rest of the institutions activities. To reduce the tradeoffs and
conflicts, an effective strategy is to segment the market, particularly between those willing
to pay and those unable or unwilling to. This is not a scientific or arbitrary approach, but
requires values to be considered at all times. One respondent gave the example of
providing an extra service that certain individuals would be willing to pay a premium for:
B: [We have] laid on special evenings for high net worth individuals at a
separate time, in the evening with the place looking beautiful. With a high
quality reception for those guests.
Effectively, these segments who pay a premium can therefore subsidise the free activities
that a gallery undertakes to achieve non-profit goals, such as inclusion. However, this
38

approach has challenges, namely that there is only a limited amount of time, space and art
at the disposal of the gallery. Therefore offering a room, time slot or access to a painting to
one group can exclude its use to another group. Even when a room is open to the public
for free, the hat or motivation that is be willing to pay for exclusivity is denied access at
that time even if the individual is not. By expanding opening hours for the general public
the gallery could jeapordise key revenue streams, a fact unequivocally recognised by one
respondent: !
A: Occasionally we will close one of the galleries early for a wedding.
There are some tensions between the public and being part of corporate
hire. For instance if we were start to stay open later, which is always up
for discussion and one of the things we may do, that would eat into the
availability of the gallery as a private hire space.
By hosting weddings, conferences and special evenings for high net worth individuals
some of the time, the gallery can not only ensure its survival but also expand the activities
it offers for children and the number of free exhibitions that can be subsidised. But
although creating different offers for different markets helps to mitigate the financial and
social profit conflict, art galleries still have to balance these two needs case by case.
Certainly, this strategy seems to be firmly at the heart of some respondents strategies:

B: After it reopens in 2014, were really planning to have lots of evenings.

Its going to have a gorgeous cafe/restaurant thats build on stilts jutting
out into the trees... its going to look beautiful. This will be the sort of
place where wealthy people want to go have a meal or a coffee. So on a
saturday afternoon they want to have the kids in having a riot and then...
you could have two distinct audiences at different times using it in totally
different ways. You could have an evening quartet, and in the afternoon
having a set of drums out.

Price segmentation returns to the demographic versus motivation debate highlighted in

section 3.6. The motivation to have an exclusive restaurant experience may be present
within many individuals, but can only be expressed by those with the income to pay a
premium. However, whilst all individuals with this motivation could express it if they fell into
a higher socioeconomic category, it is not necessarily the case that all people in these
higher socioeconomic categories have the same motivation, as shall be discussed in 4.2
and 4.3. The observations discussed in section 3.2 about hats, or dynamic motivations,
should be kept in mind. According to the data, galleries must appreciate the highly
fragmented and convoluted market, especially considering their passion to encourage the
widest possible range of engaged visitors.
39

Thus pricing is always a contentious issue. As outlined above, it is a constant negotiation

whether or not to charge for exhibitions as it is sometimes necessary:
C: Of course there are cafes, trading, licensing and all of those areas
selling on exhibitions. But the income they make from big temporary
exhibitions is... I dont know what the breakdown is but theyre such a
significant source of income they cant afford for them to fail.
One respondent described a case in point that in such a fragmented environment,
continuous negotiation and reassessment is integral. Balancing financial benefits with
social profit is a key decision, but this quote also shows a practical example of price
segmentation, and segmentation of time and space, in action:
C: And I mean Ive not seen the maths I dont know whether its better for
[the gallery] to instead of attracting 360,000 people attract 180,000
people or whatever, at 3 a time. Its better to get 180,000 times 3 than
it is to get 360,000 for nothing. So, theyre charging again this year.
There is also the tension at the other end which is there are people now
who avoid Tate and British museum exhibitions because theyre so
packed how does the british museum extend the run of the show, go into
24 hour openings, at the same time as creating these special breakfast
viewings or morning viewings for people who otherwise would not go.
And whats the maths, do you introduce a 20 ticket with the guarantee
that therell be half the number of people in on that slot. How do you
make sure youre not alienating [locals] because the whole place is full of
tourists?

40

3.8. Conclusion of the data

The researcher perceives that two main points emerged from the data. The first is that
funders remain an important source of revenue. Given that they distribute funds based on
success against targets that are often related to demographics, the gallery needs to have
a better understanding of the link between demographics and motivations. In this way, they
can appeal to the motivations that will attract the key demographics. The second point is
that understanding motivations in itself will allow galleries to maximise visits and
satisfaction from all visitors, whilst also being able to extract revenue from those willing
and able to pay.
To assess the robustness of this tentative theory the next section will explore the literature,
comparing and contrasting with the interview data above where appropriate to answer
some of the questions left open in the narrative. For example, what is the link between
demographics and motivations, if any? What motivations exist? The literature process also
allows the researcher to assess where the contribution of this work lies, and where there
are potential areas for further discussion. Given the grounded theory approach, the
literature review will informed by the categories derived in the data (Glaser & Strauss,
1967).

41

4. Literature Review

4.1. Introduction
The data discussed several issues, but the key idea that emerged was to raise the
revenue to survive and develop their non-profit goals art galleries needed to address and
manage two sources of revenue, funders and visitors. Funders were primarily interested in
demographic research to measure the success of their goals such as attendance of key
groups to an exhibition. However, success also relies on understanding the motivations of
visitors, meaning galleries were interested in both types of research. Primarily, they were
concerned with understanding motivations further, to achieve the success stipulated by the
funders but also to help understand visitors. This could be because understanding could
lead to increased satisfaction and inclusion, two non-profit goals of galleries, but also
could allow them to create a service that individuals are willing, potentially, to pay for.
The first two sections, 4.2 and 4.3. of the literature review therefore explores these two
concepts. 4.2. discusses demographics. In particular the section explores whether
demographics are related to motivations, as this is important if galleries wish to increase
attendance of certain demographics. However, much of the literature seems to believe that
demographics can be used to directly predict attendance, a debate that shall be explored.
Section 4.3 will focus on the nature of motivations. What motivations exist and how are
they related? This tackles the second overall theme in the data, that of understanding
motivations to increase understanding of visitors.
The nature of visitors was stressed several times in the data to be dynamic, with
individuals described as wearing hats as opposed to having fixed motivations (see 3.2).
Section 4.4. draws on the postmodern concept of the fragmented self to help account for
this observation. To explain the discussion from section 3.4 about the collaborative fundergallery relationship, and galleries reacting as opposed to marketing to funders, another
postmodern concept known as dedifferentiation will be explored.
Subsequently, the researcher builds upon the findings from the literature and the
interviews to suggest that the art gallery can be viewed using a particular theoretical lens,
42

Consumer Culture Theory (CCT). CCT can explain the interpretations of the researcher in
a more lucid fashion, but also interrelates to the fragmented self and the idea of dynamic
and flexible motivations, helping to describe what value proposition the art gallery has to
provide individuals in a way that more closely complements the findings thus far. This
discussion will take place in section 4.5, with section 4.6 focusing upon the potential
solutions that emerged from the data, specifically the issues around price segmentation.

43

4.2 Demographics
As described in section 4.1. there are two issues to bear in mind in this section. Firstly,
what is the relationship between motivations and demographics. Some literature takes this
discussion to the extreme of implying that demographics strongly predict, even cause,
gallery visiting behaviour. The second issue that shall be explored is whether motivations
are important at all. In the interviews demographics were subordinate to motivations in
terms of understanding visitors, but does the literature refute this?
4.2.1. Introduction
Despite the focus on motivations and qualitative outcomes by the galleries in the data,
many journals and research organisations seem to have a pre-occupation with the
demographic factors of visitors. Slater (2007, p. 149) points out that grant-in-aid is tied to
performance indicators. In practice, this means encouraging more visits by new and
returning visitors. Bradshaw et al. (2010, p.7) explain that they [the established
researchers] obsess over the challenge of developing larger audiences. This miss extraordinary aspects of the aesthetic experience (Bradshaw et al., 2010, p.7), the unique
idiosyncrasies of the art business. Furthermore the main way of measuring demographics
at galleries, head counts, can be very unreliable. Sometimes inaccurate by a factor of 3,
the only way to increase accuracy is to charge entry, in which case you have a sure-fire
way of counting their visitors (Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, 2005, p.4). Despite this
inaccuracy, museum marketing research often focuses its efforts on understanding the
socio-demographic structure of the museum audience and on peoples reported museum
experience (Vom Lehn, 2010, p.104).
The data suggest art gallery visitors are a heterogeneous group, and research seems to
accept that different demographics visit at different times (Sheng & Chen, 2011). A typical
finding is that students visit predominantly during the week whereas parents and children
are the dominant group at the weekend (e.g. Falk & Dierking, 1992; Hooper-Greenhill,
2006). However, this observation only accounts for who visits when, not why they visit, and
seems to suggest each group has a corresponding behaviour attached to them. This is
opposed to the concept of a dynamic motivation introduced in section 3.2. The drivers of
these behaviours are not explained, despite such information potentially being of use. For
example, do students come during the week because it is quieter and their motivation is
44

strictly to engage with the art, or is it simply because they have a weekend job which
restricts their attendance? These questions are, unfortunately, currently unresolved. A
statistical correlation between demographics and attendance is often the only required
discovery in the research, as shall become apparent in this section. Explanation seems
less important.
However, some authors have moved away from strictly thinking certain demographics
express certain behaviours and have formulated a typology of visitors. One example is that
developed by Strugis and Jackson (2003). They suggest that there are three types of
visitors; family day trippers, high culture vultures and heritage seekers. A typology can
simply be interpreted as demographics by a different name. For example, instead of
claiming white individuals are more likely to visit the art gallery cafe, a researcher can
claim a family day tripper is more likely to. Although the key difference is that different
demographics can make up this category, the theoretical approach is still to reduce
motivations down to statistical probabilities and to attempt to place all visitors or nonvisitors into categories. The data in section 3.2. clearly refute this, a more complex concept
needs to be formulated. The literature generally seems to follow such a reductionist
approach to demographics, typically focusing on a certain demographic and a potential
link to visits. Each of the major demographics from the literature shall now be discussed in
turn; socio-economic groups, ethnicity, gender and age.

45

4.2.2. Socio-economic groups or class.

Image 4.1. Charles X distributing awards to artists exhibiting at the salon of 1824 at the
Louvre. Franois-Joseph Heim 1827.
As depicted above (Image 4.1), art was traditionally seen as exclusively an upper-class
pursuit. The popular view is that art is now available and used by everyone, but the
literature seems to describe a scenario where the typical visitor is far more likely to be from
a higher socioeconomic background.
MORI (2001) go so far as saying social class is one of the main indicators as to whether
people do or do not visit museums and galleries (p.15). Their data seems to imply this as
ABC1s account for 70% of art gallery visitors, despite being less than half of the general
population. Although average attendance was 37%, the figure was 57% of the AB
population and 20% for the DE group (MORI, 2004, p.4). The reasons for this were
unexplored as was, critically, the implication as to whether the DE group can be
encouraged to go more regularly. The ABC1C2DE model is certainly well understood by
the respondents, being discussed by almost all of them, but the hats concept (see section
3.2) seems to downplay a simple deterministic model. In section 3.6 the respondents
discussed that being working class did not simply make you fall into one behavioural
category because both of their motivational categories (kids first and learning families)
46

had a mixture of individuals from socioeconomic groups. Although class, or

socioeconomic groups, did have an influence according to the other respondent, who
described a situation where working class people were less likely to come for themselves
but were just as likely to come for their children.
It is improbable that MORI or other researchers would suggest that income directly causes
museum or gallery attendance, as if getting a promotion would suddenly make an
individual want to see art. It is more likely that increased income may give access to
mediating factors that alter behaviour. For example, the Museums Libraries and Archives
council (MLA, 2004) claim a correlation between degree ownership and museum
satisfaction. Ownership of a degree is likely to lead to increased income, and thus income
could be inferred as a symptom of an underlying trait, such as education level, that also
drives museum visitation. Like MORI, the MLA (2004) also found a proportionally higher
presence of the AB social group in their samples than found in the general population.
Goulding (2000) is one writer who does try and explain the demographic-motivation link. In
her study, people from lower economic backgrounds wanted to construct a historical role in
experiential museums because of a lack of future prospects. This motivation is known as
existential and explains the correlation between demographics and attendance. This is
because it explains the effect of demographics on enabling and restricting key mediating
factors that lead to a certain motivation being expressed. Still, in this study there isnt
mention that individuals can move between motivations, or that an individual from a higher
economic background could experience a different interpretation of existential motivation.
Therefore whilst this goes some way to explaining that understanding motivations can lead
to increased attendance from a key group, it falls short of describing the dynamic
motivations described in section 3.2, or subtle interactions of section 3.5.1.
Bihagen and Katz-Gerro (2000, p.328) suggest an alternative to the idea that demographic
factors, in particular socioeconomic factors, may be linked to attendance motivation.
Reversing the relationship, they suggest instead that individuals and groups use social
capital to define their identity and maintain dominance. Instead of the membership of a
socioeconomic group increasing likelihood of attendance, the art gallery itself is part of the
construction of class. Class and socioeconomic groups are built through accumulating
capital and this model simply expands this beyond traditional physical capital, alluding to
the works of Bourdieu (1984). Although Bourdieu does not specifically define cultural
47

capital, Trienekens (2002) suggests that those with an appreciation of highbrow art can
be considered to possess it. However, it could be argued that in the contemporary art
scene movements such as pop art have blurred the distinction between highbrow and
lowbrow art forms. This socially constructed view is backed up by theorists that stress
symbolic consumption (Elliot, 1999; Arnould & Thompson, 2005), suggesting that the
benefits that art galleries provide individuals are primarily intangible. The art gallery could
see itself more than simply a repository of artworks, but a marketplace of symbolism
allowing individuals to build their sense of belonging to a class. This concept is discussed
further in section 4.5.
The statistical correlation between socioeconomic groups and gallery visits seems to be
well established. However as an interpretive study the focus here is the reasons behind
this apparent link and why this is important to the respondents. This study does not answer
the first issue explicitly but the idea that an individual can wear many hats goes some way
to suggesting that this connection can be far more complex than a causal link that much
research seeks to find (see section 5.3). The data did clearly explain that demographics
and motivational research both have important uses to art galleries (see 4.1 above).
In summarising the literature, class does not necessarily predetermine art gallery visits,
particularly as class is not an objective measure but a socially constructed idea. In fact the
process could work in reverse with art galleries providing the symbolic resources to
construct a sense of class (discussed further in section 4.5.). The potential problem with
looking at demographics as indicative of behaviour is that the relationship between driving
factors and visiting is not unidirectional. In fact, the gallery has the ability to shape
behaviour, even to some extent creating demographics, as in the example of class.
4.2.3. Ethnicity or race.
Some contention exists about the complexity and nature of demographics when we
discuss socioeconomic status, but what about other factors? Trienekens (2002) explains
that the predictive power of class has diminished because class has become more
complex, and other factors such as ethnicity are becoming a more important factor in
deciding attendance. It is qualified that ethnicity, typically discussed in terms of race and
country of origin, are monolithic classifications that may fail to express the real and
imagined complexity of ethnicity (Trienekens, 2002, p.283). Similarly to class, there
48

seems to be an acceptance of the subjective nature of ethnicity. Despite this constructed

viewpoint, Trienekens (2002) concludes that education and ethnicity are the most
important factors in determining attendance. Similarly, the MLA (2004) found that people
from a minority ethnic background are less likely to be satisfied by art gallery visits. They
also seemed less likely to attend as there were proportionally more people of a white
ethnic origin in their sample than in the general public. On the other hand, MORI (2001)
reported a difficulty in determining relationships between ethnicity and gallery visits
because each specific minority only accounts for a small percentage of the population.
This highlights a potential flaw in trying to discover a relationship between ethnicity and
motivation, in that individuals define with ethnicity in different ways. One individual may
use the category Black, whereas another individual may see huge differences between
someone from the Caribbean and someone from Africa. Similarly, is the category East
Asian too broad to capture the diversity in that region.
Importantly ethnicity, like gender below, seems reasonably underdeveloped in the literature
in comparison to socioeconomic factors or age, which are discussed more academic
literature. Aside from commercial research explaining whether one race or gender attends
more often than another, little has been said about the reasons for any discrepancies.
Then again, the findings of this study seem to imply that looking at such factors in
isolation, or even focusing principally on demographics alone, may be an ineffective
method to understand the complexity of art gallery visitors (discussed further in section
5.3).
4.2.4 Gender
One exception to the lack of research outlined in the previous paragraph is Bihagen and
Katz-Gerro (2000). Having explored the mixed results on gender in the literature, their own
study concluded that a gender difference existed once other factors such as education,
age and income had been taken into account. Women were more likely to prefer highbrow
culture than men. This difference was smaller when women worked in manual work
categories, however, implying again that demographics cannot be seen as discrete but
instead should be interpreted as socially constructed. This social construction means that
given that more than a decade has passed since its publication and the fact that it was a
Swedish study, these findings may be less applicable now and in the UK due to these
interacting contextual and cultural factors. Again, importantly there is no mention whether
49

these results changed by active interventions by the art gallery or whether they are merely
determined by macro factors outside of managerial control.
4.2.5. Age
Age is another factor discussed in the literature. It is the closest to the dynamic interaction
of demographics and motivations discussed in section 3.2. purely because age is
constantly changing, although the research does not discuss age in relation to changeable
motivations. Instead people simply progress from one category to another as they grow
older.
MORI (2001) explain that students are more likely than other groups of the population to
visit art galleries, although in another study the 35-54 age group was also a significant
visitor compared to the general public (MLA, 2004). In academic research, Piscitelli &
Anderson (2002) found that children had been particularly neglected in terms of art gallery
research, despite the fact that they form a disproportionately high proportion of visitors. In
addition, it is well known that there are many immediate benefits in visiting art galleries for
young people (e.g. Anderson et al., 2000; Rennie, 1994; Ayres & Melear, 1998; RameyGassert, Wolins, Jensen & Ulzheimer, 1992). But the gallery can also benefit if young
people have a positive experience because this boosts the likelihood of a life-long interest
in art and museums (Kindler and Darras, 1997). Then again this is an obvious conclusion,
a good experience is bound to increase the likelihood of a life-long interest. There are
many questions left open about the nature of this life-long interest. What in particular
creates it? Is this different for different people? Can it deteriorate over time? Despite these
unanswered questions, this kind of research is a step towards the idea of dynamic
motivations from section 3.2.
Another finding from the literature is that very young people do seem to be attracted to
distinct kinds of exhibits. They generally have a preference for opportunities where selfdiscovery and lingering in interesting spaces is allowed (Andrews & Asia, 1979). Also, they
best recall experiential elements, for examples such as large dinosaurs (Piscitelli &
Anderson, 2002). Although children are often taken to galleries as opposed to choosing to
go there, understanding what motivates them is important to engender the kind of positive
experience which will encourage a life of repeat visits. Discoveries like these are the kinds
50

of research that will benefit art galleries by allowing them to attract and satisfy more young
people for their own goals and those of funders.
4.2.6 Conclusions
The literature seems to imply that there is certainly a link between demographics and
attendance behaviour. Some research does not mention motivations in particular, others
seem to find them almost linked directly to demographics. The clearest conclusions to
emerge from this section are that there are certainly certain demographic groups that
attend galleries more often, although there are numerous unanswered questions as to
precisely why this is. However, there seem to be complex relationships between
demographics and motivations to attend, even acting both ways so that the gallery in fact
has some influence on shaping certain demographics. Finally, although many surveybased studies conceptualise demographics as discrete, some literature describes
demographic factors such as gender and ethnicity as socially constructed.
Free galleries have increased visitor numbers significantly, but reports from organisations
such as Mori seem to indicate that the make up of these groups have remained the
roughly similar (BBC, 2011). The reductionist approach favoured thus far in the literature
has limited potential to allow galleries and museums to truly create a beneficial experience
and profitable services to subsidise their non-profit goals. A dominant determining variable
approach is ineffective (Bihagen and Katz-Gerro, 2000, p.345), meaning that although
societal factors shape the individual they do not define them. Similarly, Falk (1998) attests
that human behaviour is far too complex to be understood by demographic factors alone.
In particular non-visitors cannot be understood in such a way without developing a more
complex concept.
Demographics seem to have some mediating or influencing role given the statistical
correlations that seem to repeat themselves in the literature. However, focusing entirely on
demographics will merely provide us with a cross section of current attendance.
Comparing this against previous studies can show changes over time or location, but still
only explains what is happening, not why. Given this, galleries and researchers could
understand visitor attendance far more effectively by exploring motivations as the primary
driver. Certainly, the practitioners interviewed seemed to believe this as they deemed
51

demographic factors to be important only in measuring the success of targets (see section
3.2.), making motivations an important topic and the focus of section 4.3.

52

4.3. Motivations
4.3.1. Introduction
Looking at motivations without assuming demographics determine them was a theme risen
in the data (especially section 3.2) and although much of the demographic literature seems
to ignore this the main conclusion from section 4.2. is that demographics only have an
influencing factor. The example described in section 3.7. is probably the most pragmatic to
invoke again here as it was developed from the data. The gallery cannot assume all high
income individuals will want to pay for an exclusive experience such as a special evening
viewing or a dining experience with a quartet. However, the motivation for these
experiences can be discussed. Once this motivation has been described, the gallery can
then work out which individuals might express it, and which individuals can express it.
Although many individuals may want the experience, only people with enough disposable
income can afford to pay the premium, and this is a practical example of how
demographics influence motivations but do not define them. Another example from section
3.6. is that although the galleries seemed to find that working class people rarely came for
their own needs, it would be too crude to merely say all people from a working class
background dislike art galleries. Instead, it might seem more likely that there is a complex
interaction between education, social norms, income and other factors that stimulate the
expression of a particular motivation. This section will thus discuss the nature of these
motivations themselves.
The subject of what motivates art gallery visitors has garnered enough interest to create a
specialised field of visitor studies (e.g. Weil, 2000; Sheng & Chen, 2011), which explores
a variety of determining factors, including demographics but also motivations. The data
collected for this study indicated the importance of motivations over demographics. In
section 3.2. for example one respondent said were focusing on their motivation with
another stressing that nobody is really in a segment. Its like hats, that you wear.... From
the data it seems more appropriate to conclude that motivations are key to explore, and
that demographics should be considered secondary in terms of actually understanding
visitors.
Unfortunately, although the importance of psychographic measurements for both
established and potential visitors has been stressed by some researchers (Hood, 1983;
53

Slater, 2007), Jansen-Verbeke and Van Rekom (1996) highlighted the problem that there
is still a lack of empirical knowledge of the actual pull factors (p.364). In the next sections
we will explore this literature which seems to have developed since this assertion in 1996.
However, despite the fact that there are more studies, a consensus on motivations has yet
to be established.
4.3.2. A simple concept of motivation
Commercial research often measure psychographic factors using metrics such as
satisfaction, which helps to compare galleries against targets and over time, but some
have also conducted research that tries to answer what drives people to see art in the first
place. An Ipsos MORI (2004) report tried to discover what prevented individuals from
visiting a gallery. The sample provided a selection of reasons: being too busy, not having a
particular interest, finding museums or galleries generally boring- but ultimately these
approaches are only a snapshot. An MLA report (2004, p.7) took the another approach,
asking a sample why they had visited a gallery. Being generally interested was mentioned
by 35% of visitors, whereas wanting to take their children was mentioned by 21%. In the
data the respondents mentioned the motivation of adults bringing their children to the
gallery (section 3.6) so this kind of motivation seems valid. However, these two surveys
seem content with creating a cross-section of motivation, with motivations seen as discrete
categories, relatively stable and unchanging.
The researcher accepts their methodological biases may generate a overzealous
cautiousness of these quantitative and positivist approaches, and their typical conclusions
such as the reasons given for not visiting museums and galleries have changed little
since the previous survey in February 1999 (MORI, 2001). Then again, the grounded data
itself seems to reject a stable and unchanging concept of motivations (see section 3.2 in
particular), making the researcher more confident in asserting that commercial research
adopts a concept of visitor motivations that conflicts with that of the gallery managers
themselves.

54

4.3.3. Moving to a more complicated model.

One model that incorporates complexity is the hierarchy of motivations by Morris
Hargreaves McIntyre (2005). This describes twenty possible motivations organised into
four major categories: social, intellectual, emotional and spiritual (see figure 4.1). It not
only explains motivations that drive the visit but also incorporates expectations and
outcomes (Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, 2005, p.10). By moving up the hierarchy means
that the individual is increasingly engaged, and by introducing a second model exploring
meaning making the model is expanded to create a typology of visitors (Morris Hargreaves
McIntyre, 2005). Again, individuals are not fixed but are expected to evolve up the
hierarchy (see figure 4.2). In fact that can be seen to be the primary aim of the gallery or
exhibition (Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, 2005).
This model is used by three of the respondents it is unsurprising that it fits the data fairly
well in terms of a dynamic and multiple motivations (see section 3.2). Then again, because
the model is used by the respondents it is unsurprising that it has made its way into the
data and must be considered critically. One criticism is that a hierarchy might include a
value judgement, which was repudiated by one respondent who felt that, in practice, each
state of engagement builds upon the next and therefore must be organised into a
hierarchy (see section 3.2 and 4.3.6.). More specifically to this discussion is whether the
model truly appreciates the complexity of visitors described in section 3.2 or does it seek
to simplify people into categories that are too reductionist? The model is appreciated by
the researcher given the number of times it was mentioned in the interviews by multiple
interviewees, but needs to be contrasted against other research to assess its fit.

55

Figure 4.1. The hierarchy of visitor engagement. (Source: Morris Hargreaves McIntyre
2005)

56

Figure 4.2. The Impact climbing frame. (Source: Morris Hargreaves McIntyre).
This hierarchy can be seen to fit with some other academic research. For example,
Goulding (2000) also describes three categories of motivation. Although not aligned
hierarchically, the nature of each category fits well with that of Morris Hargreaves McIntyre
(2005). Aesthetic corresponds with spiritual/emotional, Existential similar in meaning with
emotional/intellectual and Social fitting with social motivations. The two models do not
alight entirely, for example as existential consumers were described as searching for
meaning and temporary control (Goulding, 2000, p.656) this could be perceived to be
satisfying an intellectual, emotional or spiritual need, depending on how it is defined.
Aesthetic consumers, meanwhile are much more critical and seek mental
stimulation (p.659), making them potentially rooted to an intellectual motivation. Then
again, Goulding (1999) describes them also specifically as based more around an
emotional or spiritual association (p.659). Despite these potential debates over the
specific nature of motivations, academic research seems to agree that there is a typology
of motivations. Shaw & Ivens (2002) describe four constituents of any experience;
physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual. Meanwhile, Falk & Dierking (1992) identified
three main motivations; social recreation, educational reasons, and reverential behaviour.
However, this research approaches motivations as distinct and unrelated. The
respondents seemed to describe a situation where motivations were far more complex and
this is reinforced by the Morris Hargreaves McIntyre model (2005) Although there are

57

distinct categories they are related in that an individual can move between motivation
either in one visit or over the course of time.
Thus models such as Shaw & Ivens (2002) or Falk & Dierking (1992) develop a typology of
motivations, but see then as distinct, with the motivation of an individual relatively stable
over time. Section 4.3.4. will consider the research that questions the idea of distinct
categories before section 4.3.5. explores the research that disputes a stable
conceptualisation of motivation.
4.3.4. Indistinct motivations
A model that questions the clear-cut divisions of the previous research is Jansen-Verbeke
& Van Rekom (1996, pp.367-8), who devised a hierarchical value map and an additive
tree, reproduced below (Figure 4.3 and 4.4.). In essence these described motivations
were not simply isolated binary categories but interrelated in complex ways. In the case of
the additive tree, it seemed to be the case that although one motivation may be prominent
in the mind of the visitor this could be an amalgam of, or influenced by, other motivations.

Figure 4.3. The hierarchical value map (Source: Jansen-Verbeke & Van Rekom (1996)

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Figure 4.4. The additive tree (Source: Jansen-Verbeke & Van Rekom (1996)
In contrast, Falk and Dierking (1992) believe that motivations are shaped by contextual
factors outside the gallery as well as within it, with factors before, during and after likely to
shape satisfaction and experiences. This sees motivations not as standalone categories to
be chosen but as complicated aggregates of various elements, meaning we can account
for the influence of demographics as merely one of many contextual factors.
4.3.5 Dynamic motivations.
The concept of hats can be interpreted as evolving, complicated motivations (see section
3.2). This is less prominently discussed in the data, but could be an important conflict
between the data and the literature to resolve. For example, one report claims that visitors
attended a particular gallery on average of 4.7 times a year (MLA, 2004). Although just an
average, the fact that many people return to a gallery make it important to understand
whether motivations change between or during a visit. This helps a gallery encourage

59

repeat visits but understanding dynamic motivations will also help galleries create a
fulfilling experience.
There are only a few examples in the literature where the idea of change and interacting
factors has begun to be accepted. In the work of Sheng and Chen (2011) it was found that
gallery expectations and experience are dynamic, emerge from several factors and
consisting of multiple elements. This is a finding reinforced by other research (e.g. Chiou
et al., 2008; Larsen, 2007; Shaw & Ivens, 2002).
!
4.3.6 Is there a base motivation?
As discussed above, Jansen-Verbeke & Van Rekom (1996) described a series of
interlinking motivations (see figure X and Y and section 4.3.4). However, they also
described a few motivations that were distinctly more prominent than the others. These
core motivations were learning, enriching life and relaxation (Jansen-Verbeke and Van
Rekom, 1996, p.369).
The data described a series of motivations that can be changed like hats, but are there
core motivations that underlie other sub-motivations? Is there in fact one, or a select few,
driving motivations? Do these lie at the bottom of the needs hierarchy in models such as
that of Morris Hargreaves McIntyre?
Other findings have emphasised a base motivation, namely learning (e.g. McLean, 1994;
Falk and Dierking, 1992). From this perspective, learning is the base need that galleries
satisfy and all other motivations are built upon it. However Slater (2007) found that
although learning was one of three major motivations, it was not the most important.
Instead social/family interaction and escapism were more noteworthy motivations, with the
latter being the most significant. Analysing the Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (2005) model
for an indication of learning as a base motivation, it could be interpreted that the following
motivations are learning-based: contemplation, insight, self-improvement, [stimulating]
children and hobby interest and academic / professional interest. Given that there are
over 20 sub-categories this means learning accounts for less than 30% of the stated
subcategories, which the researcher does not consider significant enough to be
interpreted as a base motivation. Furthermore, if it is interpreted that any of the above
motivations are not based around learning the number would be less significant. The
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reader can use figure 4.1. to assess which of the motivations they believe aligns to a
particular base motivation.
By these studies, we might claim that there are base motivations, perhaps even one
underlying need, although there is some contention over what this is. On the other hand
despite creating a hierarchical concept, Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (2004) make little
claim to a base motivation. It is only stipulated that each category builds upon the next.
For example, social motivations need to be met before intellectual motivations can be
explored. The following quote explains the situation as perceived by one respondent with
clarity. It was not used in the data analysis section as it did not contribute directly to the
overall narrative:
C: Because you, if youre a new visitor to a gallery, particularly
unaccustomed art visitors, unless your social needs are met, you cant
start to engage intellectually. If you feel uncomfortable, if you feel the
staff are watching you and disapproving, if you cant find your way
around... one of the problems with [an art gallery] building at the moment
is that people are terrified going up a flight of stairs and seen...to be
coming back down again! You know, if you are crippled, paralyzed if you
dont know how doors open, if you cant go through them... then you
cant intellectually engage.
But this does not make social motivations the base in the same way that learning is
suggested to be a base motivation (e.g. McLean, 1994; Falk and Dierking, 1992). With the
Morris Hargreaves McIntyre model, an individual can be originally driven to attend by any
motivation. They may arrive driven by what is best described as an emotional motivation,
or may be engaged by the art so much that they develop an emotional reaction despite
originally coming to the gallery purely to socialise.
4.3.7. Conclusion of motivation research
Reviewing these studies, a clear consensus does not emerge for the existence of an
underlying motivation. However, there seems to be some research that suggests that
motivations are dynamic and not distinct despite many researchers adopting a typology to
describe them. The literature of motivations is vast and there seem to be many open
debates on this topic, but many studies seem to support what the data describe.

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Nevertheless, three main issues emerge that need resolving between the data and the
current gaps in the literature. First, the literature outlined above in both section 4.2. and
4.3. do not explore the idea of individuals adopting roles and motivations like hats (as
described in section 3.2.). Secondly, the research chosen thus far does not explore the
collaborative relationships between funders and art galleries where marketing is replaced
by reacting (see section 3.4). Primarily this is because the research in the previous two
sections has focused on the challenges posed by visitors as opposed to funders, but the
literature now turns to a topic that attempts to resolve both these issues. Postmodernist
thought is invoked in section 4.4. as it provides two concepts that potentially help to
explain these two issues. The fragmented self is a theory that describes why individuals
adopt different roles whilst at the gallery, while dedifferentiation helps to explore the
blurred gallery-funder relationship.
The third issue was emphasised in section 4.3.6, where various writers described an
underlying benefit that galleries offers which drive all motivations (e.g. Slater, 2007;
McLean, 1994; Falk and Dierking, 1992). Given the various motivations described by the
data, for example kids first in section 3.6. or a wedding in section 3.7, the researcher feels
that by claiming art galleries can be reduced to one primary benefit some literature clashes
with the data. Thus in section 4.5. consumer culture theory and symbolic consumption are
used as theoretical tools to help develop a more complex view of galleries and visitors.
This discussion will also help explain and incorporate discussions in the literature review
such as the social construction of class by galleries in section 4.2.2.

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4.4. Postmodernism
4.4.1. Introduction
Before exploring postmodernist concepts it will be explained what postmodernism is in
broad terms. Because postmodernism rejects universal laws and absolutes, it can be quite
hard to describe and define it in any meaningful way. Even the process of classifying
postmodernism into neat categories is seen as a modernist train of thought (Goulding,
2003). Despite a variety of attempts to delineate postmodernism (e.g. Andrews, 1993;
Bradshaw; 1993; Burchill, 1994; Hattenstone, 1992; Firat and Venkatesh, 1993), Fielding
(1992, p.21) describes postmodernism as something that gets everywhere but no-one can
quite explain. Firat and Venkatesh (1993) go so far as saying the term should be renamed
postmodernisms.
One perspective is that the postmodern is the ontological and epistemological perspective
that comes after the modern. In this case, the modern is defined as a discrete period of
time with a particular outlook on the world. This is opposed to the typical meaning of
modern, which simply means cutting-edge or the present day, where the word
contemporary could instead be used to avoid confusion. The modern era was driven by
empiricism, reasoning, skeptical thought and the search for, and belief in, universal laws
(Brown, 1999). It can be charted from the Renaissance through to the twentieth century,
where Postmodernism may or may not have superseded it. The Postmodern era, if it has
begun (which is a matter of debate amongst scholars), rejects these modernist values.
Perhaps this is why Brown (2008, p.19) describes it as a critique not a concept as
postmodern marketing theories in particular simply highlight the failings in current theory.
However, not all postmodern theorists are deconstructive or critical theorists (Griffin, 1988;
Rosenau, 1992), and this has given rise to the distinction between positive (affirmativedestination) and negative (sceptical-demise) interpretations (Brown, 1999, p.48, emphasis
in original text). The negative outlook focuses on critiquing modernism, whereas the
positive outlook applies postmodern thought as an addition to current marketing (Brown,
1999). Postmodernism has many guises, including postmodern art and drama,
postmodern literature and so on, with each having a slightly different definition and focus.
To clarify, the Postmodernism referred to here is the social science and marketing
incarnation.
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This kind of postmodern thought tends to fall into one of three categories: dystopian,
where consumers are trying to escape a vacuous reality through consuming symbols of
hyperreality and pastiche (Goulding et al., 2002; Brown, 1999); utopian, where
consumption is a liberating force through which individuals create their own identity
(Goudling et al., 2002; Goulding, 2003); or elements of both. As Goulding (2003, p.154)
points out, One is never (or rarely) totally alienated and manipulated, but at the same
time, liberation comes with its consequences. Art galleries might be seen to represent a
synthesis of both viewpoints. Many motivations on the Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (2005)
hierarchy could be interpreted in a dystopian way, focusing on escaping from reality (see
section 4.3.3). Or in section 3.2. where one respondent hypothesises that an individual
could be trying to impress their clients, thus using the gallery in a utopian way to construct
an identity.
4.4.2. Postmodern concepts
The main purpose for incorporating postmodernism into this study is because two
postmodernist concepts (the fragmented self and dedifferentiation) can interpret the
conflicts between the data and the literature in a way that can resolve those conflicts.
!
Brown (1999, p.32-3) described five characteristics typical of postmodernism in a social
science context; dedifferentiation, fragmentation, hyper-reality, pastiche and antifoundationalism. Later, Brown (2008) reformulated these five themes into hyperreality,
fragmentation, reversed production and consumption, decentred subjects and the
juxtaposition of opposites (p.22), based on the work of Firat and Venkatesh (1995). Other
definitions stress other essential characteristics, such as Thompson (2000) who places
reflexivity as paramount, or Cova (1996) who emphasises the co-creation aspect of
meaning creation. The relative importance of the various concepts will not be discussed in
this study as the researcher does not believe they add to the debate, instead the study
shall now explore the two most appropriate concepts in relation to the data and the
previously discussed literature.

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4.4.3. Fragmented self

Fragmentation is everywhere in postmodern marketing, with fewer and fewer examples of
a homogeneous marketplace in the contemporary marketplace (Brown, 1999). When
describing hats that can be changed frequently, the respondents were discussing an idea
similar to fragmentation, although they did not name the term. Coined earlier by Jameson
(1991, p.372) as postmodern schizo-fragmentation, it has since been described as the
fragmented self (Firat, 1992). Individuals do not have a single, stable identity, but multiple
personas that are expressed at different times and with different people. This is not a
necessarily feigned or conscious process (although it can be), but simply describes identity
as socially constructed and fluid. Goulding (2000, p.649) described such an individual as
fragmented, alienated, deconstructed, confused and torn between multiple roles and
responsibilities, although fragmentation neednt be discussed in such negative terms.
Another less value-laden definition is the breaking up into parts and erasing of the whole,
single reality into multiple realities (Firat and Venkatesh, 1995, p.253).
Numerous examples from the data imply the fidelity between the described phenomena
and the proposed theoretical description. For example, two respondents described the
idea of an individual arriving for a social visit and almost entirely missing the art, then
returning another time alone and really engaging with pieces (see section 3.2). Such an
example can also be described by a similar theory about fragmentation known as channel
switching (Jameson, 1991, pp.372-373), where an individual unconsciously switches
between various selves between different contexts. This can explain why the children in
the Piscitelli & Anderson study (2002) emphasised different content to adults, because
their channel alters their perceptions of the gallery.
Another theoretical aspect of the fragmented self is the notion of compartmentalised
lifestyles, where one identity... is shed and another adopted (Goulding et al., 2002, p.
263). This highlights the spatiotemporal aspect of the fragmented self, when respondents
describe individuals who would never visit an art gallery usually but can be convinced if
they wish to express the hat of a good parent (see section 3.6). Similarly, an individual
may rarely visit an art gallery but may choose to host a business conference there to
impress clients.

65

A fragmented self is not the same as a totally separated self. Strauss (1997) asserts that
an individual can be fragmented and partly integrated. The individual still has some central
sense of self, even if it is predominantly illusory (Gergen, 1991), and a general central
identity can be maintained alongside different specific incarnations of this self. To help
preserve the central identity, an individual uses life experiences and social discourse such
as cultural identity (Strauss, 1997). The concerned parent may regularly bring their child to
the gallery to express this identity, but due to a life without art they may never engage fully
with the works themselves. On the other hand the social group of the parent might not
value art particularly restricts certain motivations. Both are examples of life experiences
(the former) or social discourse (the latter) shaping the central identity.
4.4.4. Fragmented art galleries
Fragmentation is a central theme of the postmodern view of consumption and of
consumers (Firat and Venkatesh, 1995), but also includes fragmentation in the
marketplace. Therefore, in a similar way to Strausss (1997) assertion that an individual
can be fragmented and partly integrated, so too can the the art gallery. It is fragmented
because it provides different benefits to different motivations that individuals may express,
but remains similar over time giving it an overall identity. An art gallery that specialised in
modern art can be considered to have a consistent theme throughout its various services.
Although the art gallery must segment and fulfill specific needs, social, intellectual and so
on, it must also accept that these needs are not distinct or mutually exclusive. An individual
may come in to both be intellectually stimulated and spend time with friends, or may come
in for one need, such as socialising, and ascend the hierarchy of needs to another over
time (Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, 2005). Inevitably the very nature of the product is
fragmented and integrated. There is often only one painting, yet two individuals can
receive completely different benefits or the same individual could receive different benefits
in different spatiotemporal contexts. But the artwork cannot be split to satisfy these
different needs, meaning that art galleries must manage supply and demand problems
carefully.

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4.4.5. Dedifferentiation
Dedifferentiation also helps to explain the collaborative nature of the funder-institution
relationship, especially given the established research on collaborations and joint ventures
(e.g. de Jonquieres, 1993; Lorenz, 1993). Dedifferentiation is where boundaries are being
blurred (Brown, 1999). It helps explain how the art gallery itself operates, in that the
distinct departments of the gallery, and different types of research or revenue streams,
have become blurred and interrelated. The recent sharing of key staff and funding
between two Manchester-based galleries provides an example of this blurring in action
(Qureshi, 2012). The blurring of funders and galleries was highlighted in section 3.4 and
thus dedifferentiation is important to mention. Because funding is still available (e.g. BBC
2012a), but is increasingly difficult to acquire (e.g. BBC 2012b; 2012c), this research will
focus primarily on the visitors to art galleries. This is because understanding and attracting
visitors means that galleries will be more likely to have more success with funders. A
lengthy description of dedifferentiation is unlikely to contribute any practical knowledge to
this field.
Two points of interest do emerge from dedifferentiation. Primarily the data suggest that
galleries and funders work closely together to achieve joint goals, and as a non-profit
organisation art galleries cannot simply pander to the needs and wants of funders without
relinquishing their artistic integrity. Alongside this, galleries need to avoid target soup
identified by Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (2005, p.5) where too many goals and targets by
various funders render the art gallery overwhelmed and less able to achieve anything
(target soup was briefly mentioned previously in section 3.4).
4.4.6 Conclusion of postmodernism
Even for the staunch modernist, the fragmented self and dedifferentiation remain useful
concepts to explain the data above, providing an explanation of the phenomena reported
in the data. The next section incorporates another field of inquiry into the developing
theory to help expand understanding of art galleries and what they provide to these
fragmented individuals. Simply trying to reduce art galleries to providing learning or
escapism, as some researchers in section 4.3.6. suggested (e.g. Slater, 2007; McLean,
1994; Falk and Dierking, 1992), could mean the developing theory overlooks the
complexity of individuals. The next section uses Consumer Culture Theory and other ideas
67

of symbolic consumption to argue that viewing the art gallery as a marketplace of symbolic
resources helps explain not only the benefits galleries provide, but also how galleries can
seemingly be used to construct class (see section 4.2.) and a variety of other uses such as
weddings (see section 3.2).

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4.5 The Art Gallery as a marketplace of symbolic resources

4.5.1 Introduction
The discussion from sections 4.2 and 4.3. seem to suggest that motivations are
contextually driven and socially constructed. Motivations on the Morris Hargreaves
McIntyre hierarchy (2005) such as personal relevance, sense of cultural identity and self
improvement certainly have an element of subjectivity. Art galleries should not be seen
merely as places where individuals view art, but as places where they construct who they
want to be as a person, control how others perceive them, develop their understanding of
the world and so on. For example, an art gallery can provide the resources necessary for
an individual to adopt the role of a parent encouraging education, project an impression of
their company and employees as cultured or learn about their ethnic and cultural history.
It is therefore helpful to explore art galleries in terms of whether they create an individual
cultural and social discourses (e.g. Kates and Shaw-Garlock, 1999) and thus their
interpretation of the world. In other words, do individuals use the symbols provided by
galleries to construct their sense of self or the world?
4.5.2. Symbolic consumption.
In Consumer Culture Theory the marketplace is given a central role of the provider of
mythic and symbolic resources (Arnould and Thompson, 2005, p.871). In general,
consumption is seen as key in the construction of an individuals social world
(Featherstone, 1991), in other words the construction of identity and reality. It is the
symbolic aspects, not the utilitarian function, that a product or service provides that is
consumed (Baudrillard, 1981). Art is an extreme example of this process, as the
consumption is almost entirely symbolic with almost no utilitarian function. This kind of
symbolic construction is both externally-facing, because it constructs the perception of the
world, and internally facing in that it creates the self (Elliot, 1999). There has been much
research discussing this perceptive of symbolic consumption (e.g. Douglas and Isherwood,
1978; Appadurai, 1986; Fiske, 1989; Osterberg, 1988), but none dealing with art in
particular.
Consumption of symbolic resources is grounded in the data, one quote in section 3.2.
describes how an art gallery is an attraction, a library, a spa and a church. As an example
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from the literature, Sheng & Chen (2011, p.53) describe the situation as In modern times,
museums serve the functions of collection, research and exhibition, as well as education
and recreation. Similarly, Goulding (2000) describes each consumer type as using the
past differently with some consumers enjoy experiential museum experiences, others find
it intrusive... preferring interpretation that allowed for solitude and imagination (p.659)
This concept of using history is using it as a symbolic resource and describing the market
in these terms makes more sense of the data.
4.5.3. Why Consumer Culture Theory is appropriate
By including Consumer Culture Theory theories as a lens by which to reassess art
galleries trying to synthesise practical concerns from the data with discoveries from the
literature. This follows in the vein of other journals (e.g. kolb, 2005; colbert, 2007) that
have attempted to develop idiosyncratic theoretical frameworks for this art galleries as
opposed to simply applying established ones (Bradshaw et al, 2010). Vargo and Lusch
(2004) reiterate this need for a new theoretical lens because the economic model of
exchange that underpins marketing focuses around physical goods, embedded value and
transactions. As art is instead based around the intangible, co-creating value and
relationships (Hayes and Roodhouse, 2010). As such, they are essentially providing
resources for people to benefit from in various ways, such as learning. Goulding (2000)
provides an example when describing museums as act as a lens for accessing and
making sense of the past.
Moreover, the identity construction project is a key theme in the Consumer Culture Theory
literature and fits theoretically with both dynamic motivations from the data and the
fragmented self in the literature. Additionally Consumer Culture Theory concepts have
been applied to museum visitors previously, such as the work of Joy and Sherry (2003).
Using postmodernist theories and Consumer Culture Theory allows this research to go
some way to resolving the problem highlighted by Ian Fillis (2010, p.34), With the
broadening of the marketing concept have come attempts at creating art marketing theory,
and yet much of this has failed to recognize the particular needs of the sector and its
powerful underlying philosophical and aesthetic dimensions.
By understanding the benefits that they offer, art galleries can begin to align the
motivations of individuals with the symbolic resources that they have, packaging and
70

repackaging them as appropriate. This can not only be done to generate income, but also
to achieve the normative goals of improving society and individuals lives in a number of
ways. Lovelock and Wirtz (2011, p.28) point out that non-profit organisations seek to meet
social profits subject to financial constraints. This is certainly reflected in the tone of the
respondents throughout the data. Financial goals are important, but only to overcome
restrictions to achieve social profits. An example non-profit goal is to reach a wider
community... improving access to knowledge (MLA, 2004, p.3).
If galleries understand that they can provide benefits to individuals, they can begin to
appreciate that some of these benefits can be charged. Price segmentation was discussed
in section 3.7. and the next section returns to this topic to explore the literature on pricing
and price segmentation.

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4.6. Segmentation and the problem of price

4.6.1. Introduction
It emerged from the data that segmentation seemed to be the solution that art galleries
used to resolve the conflict between non-profit and financial goals. This also meant that
they could make decisions on a case-by-case basis, what was called negotiations in
section 3.7. Those willing and able to pay could do so in order to subsidise other groups in
exchange for some extra benefit. In this way the gallery could repackage its symbolic
resources. Instead of just being a repository of knowledge and art, the gallery could be to
a wedding venue or a unique dining experience.
Museums and art galleries already operate price segmentation strategies, for example
offering concession prices to elderly visitors or students. In fact, museums are an example
of price segmentation offered by Kotler & Armstrong (2006, p.337). But the suggestion
from the data is that this strategy should be adopted more elaborately, as shall be explored
in this section.
4.6.2. Price segmentation
Segmented pricing is defined as selling a product or service at two or more prices, where
the difference in prices is not based on differences in costs (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006,
p.337). In section 3.3 respondent A mentioned that they had charged for a recent
exhibition purely because the costs required to stage the kind of exhibition they had in
mind were higher. Having concessions, such as a discount for students, is adopting a price
segmentation strategy known as customer-segment pricing (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006, p.
337) where the difference in price is determined by the characteristics in the visitor.
However the data analysed in 3.7 seems to point to a far more elaborate strategy
(discussed in section 5.2.1).
Lovelock and Wirtz (2011, p. 171) use the example of airlines which is a frequent analogy
(e.g. Wong, 2003; Kotler & Armstrong, 2006; Fishman, 2003). Here, some people are
willing to pay a lot more for a more exclusive service, with the price falling for those willing
to book in advance, or fly on a specific route as opposed to having flexibility. A low price
would certainly sell an entire plane worth of seats profitably, but by managing demand
carefully a company such as Continental can retain some key seats for customer who
72

need a flight a week in advance, some for a day in advance, even some for an hour in
advance. This not only improves profit margins, but can also improve customer satisfaction
(Fishman, 2003; Kotler & Armstrong, 2006). The customer who desperately needed to fly
that day will probably be grateful to the airline that has a seat available on the flight even if
they payed a premium for the privilege. This is particularly useful to companies to extract
the maximum profit from a customer when there is a general pressure to reduce prices
(Fishman, 2003), but can be applied to non-profits including art galleries.
Wang & Bowie (2009) note that yield management may have originated with airlines
(Donaghy, 1996) but has since expanded to hospitality (e.g. Orkin, 1988; Kimes, 1989a;
Brotherton and Mooney, 1992), healthcare (Kimes, 1989b), theme parts (Goulding and
Leask, 1997) and cruise lines (Hoseason and Johns 1998) amongst others. The next
section explores whether this concept is applicable to museums and art galleries.
4.6.3. Price segmentation in galleries
Price segmentation has many synonyms. Yield management studies (e.g. Greco, 1997)
reflect the supply and demand management aspect of price segmentation. As with planes
in the previous section, increasing or decreasing ticket prices or restricting a limited
amount of seats at a certain price helps to manage demand but also allocates seats for
different motivations (Fishman, 2003; Kotler & Armstrong, 2006).
The supply and demand management aspect of price segmentation is also an important
issue for art galleries. When major UK art galleries ended entrance fees over ten years
ago as part of a government drive to expand inclusion, there was an increase in visitors
from seven million to eighteen million over the following decade (BBC, 2011). Organisers
of a recent Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition in London found that the demand was so great
that people were required to attend in pre-designated slots, with a live broadcast opening
for those who could not attend (BBC, 2011).
Other countries have yet to follow free entry, one Swedish museum raises 1.5m a year
through entry fees alone (Dowd, 2011). Also it doesnt seem to always impact visitor
numbers if a gallery charges, The Metropolitan museum in New York charges entry but still
attracted 5.7m in 2010/11, whilst a $5 increase in prices by the MoMA didnt affect visitor
numbers at all (Dowd, 2011). On the other hand, it should be considered that the number
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of visitors is not the only consideration for art galleries and museums, but also the diversity
of visitors, and statistics in section 4.2. seem to imply that over time the demographic mix
of visitors has remained largely the same.
This difference in strategies between the UK and the rest of the world does allow for
comparisons between the current strategy and the proposed theory of extending
segmentation further. A paper by Gall-Ely et al. (2008) explored the issue of pricing in
French galleries, where galleries generally charge entry. Their study suggested that some
people in their interviews actually would prefer to pay, even if just to raise a social barrier
between themselves and others. By paying, the visitor is integrated in a social group,
which distinguishes him from the members of the public who do not go to museums and
monuments (Gall-Ely et al., 2008 p.66). This echoes the idea of the gallery being a source
of symbolic resources by which to discuss class in section 4.2.2 and 4.5.2. Translating this
across to the UK may be implausible due to a longer cultural expectation of free art, GallEly et al. (2008) even admit that there was some heterogeneity of opinion in their sample,
For some, free admission is seen in a favourable light... while for others, it is seen in an
unfavourable manner (p.67).
Not everyone will want to segregate themselves from others to build a sense of class, so it
could be argued that the concept of symbolic resources and price segmentation is
restricted to a small group of people. There are, however, other benefits the gallery can
offer to entice some individuals to pay a premium. Gall-Ely et al. (2008) also suggest that
the concept of cost extends beyond that of a ticket. There are non-financial costs to
consider such as noise or queues, so cost can be seen as a spectrum from high financial
cost to low financial cost, but as financial costs decrease non-financial costs can increase.
Certainly price is an important issue, it was cited by 21% of people in one survey as a
reason for not visiting galleries (MORI, 2001). Conversely, some research suggest that
free attendance seems to only have a short-term honeymoon effect on attendance, and in
the medium- and long-term attendance did not increase (e.g. OHare, 1975; Dickenson
1993; OHagan, 1995; Bailey et al., 1997b; Bailey and Falconer, 1998). If this is true,
perhaps free attendance only entices people to try galleries once, but does not affect the
majority of visitors as a disproportionate amount of visitors are those who attend frequently
(Hood, 1983). Instead of offering free entry to galleries, French galleries charge in general
74

with a designated day where entry is free (Gall-Ely et al., 2008). This could perhaps be
applied to exhibitions in the UK where cost makes it difficult to offer free entry to all.!
Although the research seems to imply that price segmentation concepts can be applied to
art galleries, there are still challenges that need to be overcome which is the topic of the
next section.
4.6.4. The Challenges of price segmentation
Too much choice or regularly changing prices might have a negative effect on customers.
The research on this area is currently underdeveloped (Wang and Mitchell, 2001; Wirtz et
al., 2003, p.217) so this cannot be explored in great depth here, but a few studies have
suggested a negative effect on customer relationships even to the point of alienation
(Kimes, 1994; McCaskey, 1998; Wirtz et al., 2003). Wirtz et al. (2003) explored the
potential problems of price segmentation and suggested some potential conflict reduction
strategies (see Table 4.1 ).

Table 4.1. Potential conflicts and conflict resolution strategies for price segmentation
(Taken from Wang and Bowie, 2009).
Some of these strategies have already been implemented or could easily be incorporated.
If a customer conflict is that there is a perceived change in the nature of the service the
solution is to spatially segregate customers. This is the strategy in place when a particular
gallery is closed for a wedding, or high net worth individuals are invited to an evening
reception when the gallery is already shut (see section 3.2 and 3.7). These solutions can
create other conflicts elsewhere which need to be balanced and considered, but using the
Wirtz et al. (2003) suggestions can be a starting point.
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4.6.5 Price segmentation Conclusion

Price segmentation involves managing three main areas; inventory management,
availability management and price management (Wang & Bowie, 2009). The inventory of
an art gallery consists of items such as books or cafe food but primarily is the art itself.
Given that there is usually only one version of the painting or object in the world. This
leaves price and availability as the two main levers which art managers can utilise. By
segmenting the week and each day into slots (see section 3.7) a certain price can be
allocated to each that reflects the visitors willingness to pay but also takes the non-profit
goals of the gallery into account.

76

4.7. Conclusion to the literature

The literature has added many layers to the raw data collected in the study. First it helped
to reinforce the assertion made by many respondents that although demographics have
some effect they do not predict behaviour as they are not directly linked to motivations. Art
galleries collect demographic data to measure their success, particularly against funders
targets for inclusions of certain key groups. But to achieve that success, understanding
motivations is essential and cannot come from demographics alone despite some
research approaching the topic in this way.
The second discovery is that postmodernist concepts help elucidate the nature the
phenomena such as hats and collaboration with funders on projects. Using the lens of
Consumer Culture Theory can also aid the researcher by interpreting that art galleries
provide an invisible, intangible service, one that relates to other aspects described in this
study. For example, symbolic resources can help construct a sense of class. This is a new
approach in comparison to research that discusses demographics in objective, static
terms. By understanding the way the institution benefits the individual in multiple ways, the
art gallery can be seen as a fragmented institution, with many roles and many ways to
refashion the art and physical assets to create new and engaging meanings for individuals
to consume. The art gallery can provide various offerings for various motivations, and can
do so in a profitable way which can mitigate the financial versus non-profit goals of the
gallery.

77

5. Discussion and conclusions

5.1. Introduction
This research was conducted to explore what the main issues potentially affecting art
galleries following the cuts, and some solutions to these challenges. As the research
followed a grounded theory approach, the focus was on discovering the interpretations of
the respondents. The sample used included four managers who all had different
experiences in this sector, and the data was gathered through a semi-structured interview
process that allowed the respondents to contribute new insights to the study. The
observations and theories developed in this study have been built from this data using
open coding and the researcher has attempted to remain grounded in the data as much
as possible.
5.2 Conclusions
There are a number of prominent but interrelated observations that emerged from this
study.
Two kinds of research are important to galleries. Demographic data help galleries to
measure their success against funder targets. This is essential because funders remain an
important source of revenue, thus demographic data still need to be collected despite the
interpretation by the respondents that it does not help them achieve their goals.
Demographic data merely serve as a way to demonstrate the favourable outcome of a
project that a funder may have a vested interest in. Despite the importance of
demographic research, the respondents and some academic researchers believe that
motivations and demographics are not directly linked but have a complex, socially
constructed relationship.
Some of this complexity is explained by the concept of hats described by one respondent
and explored in many of the interviews, that individuals do not have a single motivation
that remains stable over a long time period. Instead they can adopt various roles and
personas, an observation that has been explored by the theoretical concept of the

78

fragmented self. Galleries themselves thus become fragmented as they have to offer many
benefits for each individual self.
This broad range of offers that a gallery provides is difficult to reconcile with some
motivational research that claims there is one base driving motivation to gallery visits.
However, by introducing symbolic consumption and the Consumer Culture Theory
approach, the researcher reinterpreted the gallery as a source of symbolic resources
which can provide benefits ranging from building the self, exploring culture, demarcating
an individual from some groups and bringing them into another, or allowing an individual to
play a role.
Because there are many motivations, some of these can be used to generate revenue for
the gallery whilst still allowing the gallery to achieve its non-profit goals such as inclusion
and increasing learning. By segmenting the time and space available to the gallery, each
service can be offered for free or at a premium to certain groups, achieving a careful
balance between financial success and social profit.
5.2.1 Recommendations
The researcher will now outline some recommendations for practitioners in this area based
on the conclusions drawn from the study. This is in no way an exhaustive list, particularly
as the data suggest that art galleries operate through negotiations (in particular, see
section 3.7.). For this study to provide any prescriptive model would go against the nature
of art gallery management as described by the respondents. Art galleries have to adapt to
changing situations often involving ethical, even moral, decisions given the non-profit
missions of the gallery. This section is therefore merely a starting point for galleries given
that the researcher cannot account for the individual negotiations each gallery has to
accommodate for.
Galleries have several options as opposed to charging a flat fee for exhibitions with only
concessions for certain groups. The exhibition could charge throughout the week and have
a free day so that those unable or unwilling to pay are able to see the art (see section
4.6.3). This free day could be at the weekend where potentially more people will be
available, or on a day that is underutilised to even out demand for an exhibition. Similarly,
there could be free time slots throughout the day. Certain quiet periods would have a cap
79

on the number of visitors allowed to buy tickets for that slot, but the ticket would have a
premium price to reflect this benefit (see section 3.7). Of course, these solutions also raise
challenges that have to be resolved, but could provide a way of managing demand and
generating value from those willing to pay to subsidise those unable to.
Another potential solution is to use the times that the gallery is typically closed, such as
evenings, to hold special events where individuals are able to pay for an exclusive service,
such as a dinner or private viewing (See section 3.7). Instead of, or alongside, managing
the gallery temporally the gallery could be segmented spatially. Certain rooms could be
closed to hold special, paid-for events such as weddings, but this will impact on the goal of
inclusion by impacting on public availability. Again, the data suggest these are negotiations
that should be carefully considered on a case by case basis.
There are many creative ways that galleries can create offers for every motivation that
their visitors can express. Given that each individual can express a variety of motivations,
the gallery should focus on having a full portfolio of options. Given that there is some link
between demographics and motivations, this approach can also help galleries target key
groups that may be highlighted by funders. By attracting these groups galleries can ensure
more funding from these organisations. This approach will not only maximise funder
revenue but the revenue that can be gained from certain visitors, allowing the gallery to
raise funds in a difficult financial environment. Critically, the benefits will not only be
financial. Galleries would also provide more benefits to the individual and have a greater
social impact, not only through segmentation but by raising funds to introduce new projects
and initiatives.
5.2.2. Research limitations and future research
There are a number of unresolved questions that this study has highlighted, which shall be
briefly explored in this section. The diversity of topics explored and the various elements of
the data collected means that many limitations will have been overlooked by the
researcher. Those below are a selection that reflect the theoretical gaps that the
researcher found most evident. Primarily, these were areas that the researcher would have
found useful in expanding the discussion above. It is therefore these areas that might be
most useful for future research to explore in order to build upon this project.
80

First, given the observation in 5.1. that demographics do not lead deterministically to a set
motivation, more research on the complex relationship between demographics and
motivations would be helpful. There would be many opportunities in this area, such as
exploring the nature of certain demographics. For example, how do people construct their
sense of gender or ethnicity? Does the meaning of age or race change over time or
between contexts? Similarly, if some motivations are more associated with certain
demographics, is this due to historical factor or because of the way the demographic is
constructed? Importantly, what is the role of the gallery is shaping these groups? In
relation to these questions, the literature also seemed underdeveloped in certain places,
such as demographic understanding of ethnicity on art gallery attendance. This was an
impediment to developing a full understanding of the role of demographics, which was
highlighted in the interviews as an important area of discussion.
A practical concern is the number and complexity of conflicts that could arise if further
price segmentation is introduced. Each solution causes more challenges, so a more
elaborate model, building upon that of Wirtz et al. (2003) in section 4.6.4, could help
galleries traverse these kinds of challenges. Although the researcher would suggest that
there is unlikely to be a single strategy that has no consequences or conflicts,
understanding these conceptually (and, empirically) would help art galleries reason their
decision and choose the most beneficial approach to each situation. This is in line with the
concept of negotiation referenced throughout this study and highlighted initially in section
3.7.
There are also assumptions throughout the literature review for which the researcher could
not find supplementary evidence. For example, in section 4.2.4. studies implied that young
people who have a good experience at a gallery are more likely to develop a lifelong
interest. However a statement such as this raises numerous questions. What creates a
good experience? Is this different for different people? Does a good experience deteriorate
over time? How much benefit does a life-long interest provide a gallery? All these
questions would help art gallery managers understand their visitors and fulfill their needs.
The theory was developed by the literature review, which had some areas for further
exploration. But it was grounded in the data which could also be seen to have its own
limitations. For a positivist researcher, the issues surrounding a small sample size or over
emphasis on interpretations could be tackled through quantitative measures such as large
81

scale surveys or more structured interviews. On the other hand critiques could be
generated using the interpretivist paradigm. One key limitation that could be suggested is
that the researcher was inexperienced in conducting a grounded study. A more
experienced researcher may have made decisions that lead to theories more closely
grounded in the data. This could have been mitigated somewhat if the interviews were not
conducted merely by the researcher, although introducing another individual (even a highly
trained researcher) could have impacted on the rapport between the researcher and the
respondents. Instead, another researcher could have analysed the data independently
allowing two narratives to be compared for similarities. This raises practical issues of
finding a researcher willing to devote this kind of time and effort, but is still a potential
suggestion.
There are also debates over whether the interpretations strayed too far from the data and
therefore whether this study was truly grounded. The researcher has provided many
direct quotes so as to allow the reader to question the conclusions above, although the
researcher does not feel that discussion and critique is necessarily negative.
5.3. Personal Reflection
In this section I would like to discuss and reflect upon the dissertation, especially what I
have learnt from the entire process. As a grounded study I feel the process and the final
results are inextricably linked, perhaps to a greater extent than a typical study. The
iterative and continuous process of reassessment and reconstruction means the study did
not progress in a linear fashion, and this has affected the final result in many ways.
I have developed my own sense of who I am as a researcher whilst conducting an entire
project from start to finish. This is both in terms of working out my philosophical stance on
research through reading but also developing practical skills by going out and conducting
research. Talking in depth to individuals working in the arts gave me vivid data to work with
and I feel I gained a rich understanding of the issues. Interviews meant that I could catch
certain non-verbal cues to help me understand what was being said. In retrospect I
perhaps should have had a procedure to note these down, but in re-reading the interviews
I could often remember the tone of voice or the context which comments were made.
Although these were not necessarily elaborated on in the data, they will subtly have made
82

their way into the study through the kinds of decisions or conclusions I came to. A positivist
approach would have tried to minimise these subtle, but powerful, benefits.
I have also discovered that the process of research is rarely neat, linear or demarcated as
many papers I have read would indicate. Instead, inspiration can come from anywhere. As
part of this, I feel utilising my own personality as a researcher can create better results.
Conducting this research has convinced me that the more a researcher can incorporate
the human element of research, such as their personal habits or preferences, the better
the research will be. For example, I quickly found that many of my best ideas came to me
when I was walking or doing something unrelated to the project, so I made more time to
get away from working on the data.
Likewise, the grounded theory approach also suited my natural tendency to regularly
change what I was focusing on, to move back and forth and to rearrange ideas until the
narrative made sense. This was particularly important as my initial ideas turned out to be
entirely wrong, but the grounded theory approach allowed me to accommodate that and
even benefit from it, coming up with discoveries that were far more interesting than what I
had expected.
In conclusion, this project has been a very illuminating exercise. I feel I have developed
skills and knowledge to a far greater degree than perhaps would be possible through an
exam or essay alone. The dissertation requires a long period of thought and determination,
along with occasional moments of serendipity. It is not only an analytical process, but also
a creative one, and I feel that in conducting this kind of research I have developed into a
more well rounded critical thinker.

83

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Appendix A
Below is an example letter that was sent out to the respondents. Each letter was slightly
edited to each respondent but the format was essentially the same.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am currently undertaking a research project focusing on how art galleries can raise the funds to
maintain their collections and activities given the government cuts, and am writing to ask if you
would be interested in taking part.
During my research I have been reading the reports from your website, and they have been
incredibly useful in filling holes in the academic literature. As such I be keen to speak to a member
of your team in order to discuss your views on the motivations of visitors and the role of marketing
for galleries. I envisage that this would take around 30 minutes of your time. Obviously, if you take
part in the project, I would be happy to share my findings with you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you have any questions about the project, please
do not hesitate to contact me, or my research supervisor Dr Anna Goatman [Email address of
supervisor]. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,

Jack Coffin
Final year dissertation student
Manchester Business School
[Contact details]

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