Adult Immigrants and the American Museum: Forming Relationships and Engagement From Within the Community

Abstract

Foreign immigration to the United States of America has increased over the past few decades. This creates an interesting opportunity for museums that may consider this audience more when developing programming. This research strives to understand adult immigrant (foreign-born) audiences and their relationships and engagement with local museums, by researching current museum programming. Five professionals from four different museums (and a museum-related organization) were interviewed to answer key research questions, involving: the nature of program content area, key activities used in these programs and their intended impacts, how the museums used their own resources, and how programs for immigrant audiences differ from other adult programming. Several themes emerged from the research, suggesting that participants in these programs may gain: Empowerment and confidence, access to ESL classes, skill training and education, have increased interest in museums as well as cultural awareness. Museums that participate in these programs use a variety of resources, including English as a Second Language content as a major programmatic component.