Chasing the Muses: Visitor Experiences with Inspiration in Art Museums

Abstract

The word inspiration is regularly referenced in museum mission statements and strategic plans as a component of institutional goals and priorities. So far, some research has been done in museums to define the concept of inspiration or measure visitors’ feelings of inspiration during a museum visit. The purpose of this study was to determine how art museum visitors experience and describe inspiration. Interviews were completed with 105 visitors at three museums nation-wide. It was found that most art museum visitors reported experiencing some level of inspirational feelings during their visit. Visitors were inspired by many different aspects of their visits, most frequently citing specific works of art, visual and technical aspects of the art on view, and the art as a representation of the artists’ own inspiration and action. Visitors also indicated that feeling inspired positively impacted their museum visits. Visitors who did not feel inspired overwhelmingly provided other positive emotional responses to their museum visits. This study provides evidence that art museums are inspiring to their visitors, and could inform the expansion of emotion-based research in art museum spaces.