Engaging Spaces, Engaged Audiences: The Socio-Spatial Context of Cultural Experiences in Art Galleries and Art Museums

Priscilla Adipa

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/N2TT3C

Work

Engaging Spaces, Engaged Audiences: The Socio-Spatial Context of Cultural Experiences in Art Galleries and Art Museums

Public Deposited

Download PDF

Download All Files (.zip)

This dissertation examines the situated and interactional nature of cultural experiences. Drawing on the literature on materiality, place, and space, the study analyzes how the physical and spatial characteristics of art galleries and art museums in Accra, Ghana, and Johannesburg, South Africa, lead people to engage with culture, and derive pleasure and meaning from cultural objects. The study finds that the spatial arrangements of cultural spaces support three forms of interactional contexts that shape cultural experiences: (1) interactions between people; (2) interactions between people and things; (3) and interactions between people and place. As people approach and enter cultural spaces, they engage with the building’s architectural design, spatial layout, and various non-art objects found within the cultural space. People visiting cultural spaces also interact with others – including those who have accompanied them, other visitors, and cultural professionals – either informally or through formal events organized by the cultural organization. These interactions with objects, spatial layouts, and people in cultural spaces influence how people react and orient themselves to cultural objects. Crucially, one’s discovery of and engagement with cultural spaces is contingent on the individual’s interactions with the external geographic setting of cultural spaces – whether this is a cultural district or a neighborhood abuzz with non-cultural activity. Based on these findings, the study argues for cultural experiences to be understood as a situational and interactional accomplishment, shaped by how people interact with the interiority and exteriority of cultural buildings, and how the building itself interacts with its surroundings. In contrast with conventional sociological theories on culture, the study contends that cultural engagement is not only dependent on a person’s socio-demographic characteristics, but also on relational and experiential factors located in and around cultural spaces.

Last modified