The audience of contemporary art in major Russian cities: Core, periphery and prospective audiences

Abstract

Contemporary art institutions play an important role in the "museum boom" (the number of visits to Russian museums has recently exceeded Russia's population). This article presents the results of the first sociological study of modern visual art consumers in large non-capital cities of Russia, conducted in 2017-2018. The study is based on a mixed design combining different types of interviews, ethnographic description of venues, and analysis of social media accounts. The study focuses on audience segmentation and their comparative analysis. 3 segments were identified based on audience behavior: the core (regular monthly visits) accounted for 25% of the sample; the periphery (occasional visits, several times a year) 54%; and the prospective audience (less than once a year or first visits) 21%. Apart from a clear socio-demographic profile (the audience is young, highly educated, and female), lifestyle is another important feature of the audience, which consists primarily of professionals or near-professionals with a flexible work schedule and an autonomous management style, blurred boundaries between work and leisure, and earnings that make diverse "atmospheric" leisure affordable. Another important correlate is experience: i.e. exposure to arts in early childhood either through education, hobbies or museum and gallery visits. The lifestyles of contemporary art audiences are characterized by fast pace, impressions, activity, growth, and self-development. The motives for visiting contemporary art venues are associated with loyalty to the site, interesting content and the resonance of an event, but, most of all, the spirit of a good party. These motives also include the desire to learn something new and unusual, broaden horizons, satisfy interest and curiosity, get inspired and socialize with interesting people. The article provides deeper descriptions of each segment, including their underlying motivations, but also demonstrates the possibility of using sociological data in the management of contemporary art institutions.