Alone together? Solitary and shared visiting practices of pairs in the art museum

Abstract

As most visitors attend museums accompanied, this paper investigates visiting practices in the art museum by asking: How do visitors, coming as a group of two, explore the exhibition space and reflect upon their visit? The paper draws on an empirical study at the Austrian Gallery Belvedere with data collected through the Visitracker app, combining Tracking and Timing, survey, and Social Meaning Mapping. Our findings show how the entanglement of spatial and social constellations shapes movement patterns and practices such as walking, looking at art, reading labels and talking. The 7:3 ratio of solitary versus shared interactions demonstrates that visitors, on average, act more on their own than together in the art museum. Yet, frequencies differ widely among pairs (from independent to intimate ones) and practices (i.e., being more social on the go and less while focused) pointing toward the benefits of being alone and together in the art museum.