The Future of Art Museums: Reflections on a Young Audience

Abstract

Art museums in Poland have been undergoing a very profound transformation over the last decades and have been transformed from institution based on the concept of the object-centered museum to the institution based on the concepts of the client-centered museum and the community-centered museum. This direction of the transformation seems to be very rational and completely justified, as the functions that museum institutions can fulfil are highly dependent on visitor interest. However, these changes may not be fully successful, because art museums have very little interest from young adults, who are a very important segment of the cultural audience, as the future of museum institutions will depend on them. The aim of this article is to analyse – based on the results of a qualitative study carried out – the way in which young adults perceive the institutions of art museums and to identify those directions of change that could cause them to become more attractive. The conclusions formulated based on the study make it possible to define the directions of the desired transformations, and their implementation may induce young adults to take a greater interest in the cultural offer proposed by museums.