How do visitors like to experience art? What makes for an enriching museum visit? The Dallas Museum of Art undertook a groundbreaking seven-year research initiative to answer these questions, examining how people connect with art and identifying preferences and differing behaviors. 
Ignite the Power of Art publishes these findings and provides a new understanding of museum visitors. It describes how these studies have been used to build attendance, enhance exhibits, and develop new programs such as the Center for Creative Connections, the online Arts Network, and the Late Nights event series, all at the Dallas Museum of Art. Furthermore, the book describes how this research, which goes far beyond traditional demographic data and analyses, has transformed the Museum, unleashing a profound change in institutional thinking and paving the way for sustained innovation. Also included are interviews with community leaders who offer their perspectives and insights on the Dallas Museum of Art’s remarkable revitalization.

Ignite the Power of Art: Advancing Visitor Engagement in Museums

Pitman, Bonnie

Hirzy, Ellen

Arts & Photography

Dallas Museum of Art

A new museum environment is taking shape in America, states author Bonnie Pitman. Art museums are becoming forums for the discussion of new ideas, places where people can interact and learn from one another. This book explains how this transformation is occurring in a nationwide test group of 11 art museums. Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts' Program for Art Museums and Communities, these museums were able to think creatively about enhancing the quality of the visitor experience and expanding service to their communities. Though the routes they took were different, from community-based artist residencies to fundamental changes in board/staff attitudes, all became institutions where learning, flexibility, and innovation are integral parts of the organizational culture.

New Forums: Art Museums and Communities

Hirzy, Ellen Cochran

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

American Alliance of Museums Press

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Books by Pitman, Bonnie