How Some Art Museums Can Appeal to Teenagers

Abstract

This article describes a case study that explores the question of how some art museums can appeal to teenagers. The significance of teenagers as the most underrepresented age demographic to visit museums is relevant to current museum practice where visitor studies have assumed increasing importance. As teenagers mature into adults, the long-term prospects of museums and their relationship to the communities they serve may well hinge on the level of engagement of this audience. The article describes a case study that examines teenage programs from selected art museums, revealing a hierarchical structure of six thematic factors and their interrelationships that form a theoretical model of how some art museums can appeal to teenagers. The article concludes with four key understandings that were derived from an analysis of the theoretical model that could prove useful when designing museum programs for teenagers.