Why don’t you visit me?

A closer look at being largely unknown and some of the most admired museum brands in the world.

Some people love museums, and others don’t. And that’s ok.

One of museum management’s most challenging aspects is accepting the simple fact that some people are just not interested in their museum or they don’t feel they belong. And by doing so, they can create actual change to face those issues.

In the Museums and Branding survey series, including the latest, “Are we there yet?” (download the complete report), with 405 participants, I focused on this issue with a specific question: How would you best describe your museum at this moment? The results show that most museums consistently understand themselves with a “huge potential but largely unknown” (47% in 2008, 41% in 2014, and 31% in 2022).

The underlying idea behind this is the classic concept that we consultants frequently hear from institutions facing a “communication” problem: “people would come if they only knew about us.” Nothing that more resources, advertising investments, or a better social media strategy/personnel could not fix.

Although we can see real progress since 2008, there’s still an understanding that what holds these museums back is outside factors instead of their values and attitudes. “Museums must take ownership of their own lack of initiative in expanding their audiences. And that starts with listening”, says Aaron Price and Lauren Applebaum from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

They just developed the Cultural Institution Belonging Instrument (CIBI) to help museum managers learn more about audiences’ feelings of belonging and how it impacts their decision to visit — or not visit — museums. This free-to-use-by-anyone toolkit is an early step in researching systemic social exclusion in our field, but they hope this survey will help museums learn more about their audiences and how they feel they belong.

So what makes someone love a specific museum?

Is there a museum you have never visited but still profoundly respect and admire? Like the National Museum of African American History and Culture, for instance. Is there a museum you only visited once and kept an emotional attachment to throughout your life? Maybe one where you saw an artwork that changed your life? Are you a regular museum member even if you don’t go there often?

Branding and communications specialists are always curious to understand the mechanisms that create those long and valuable conceptual and financial bonds between individuals and institutions. The adoption of a common cause, inclusive content, and a welcoming physical structure are all elements that contribute to the sense of belonging.

In one of the Museums and Branding survey series sections, I asked what three museums the participants admire the most. But, of course, being a questionnaire among museum professionals, it’s easy to problematize the question, including the ones they “should” be listing as excellence in the field. However, I try to make it clear that the survey is not looking for the “best museums,” “the best buildings,” or the “best collections.” Just simply museums they admire, love, or have this deep connection with.

The 2022 survey showed a list of 422 museums — a very different trend from the previous results. In 2014, the participants were likelier to choose the top museum brands, like MoMA, Tate, or The Met. Now we see a substantially diverse list that, even holding the major brands on the top, also recognizes several local museums doing an exciting job, like MASP (São Paulo), MUAC (CDMX), and Parque Explora (Medellín). From the affection perspective, the list also levels different experiences, such as the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Copenhagen), the Museu da Maré (Rio), and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York) — all with six votes.

Here is the complete list. It took me quite a long time to check every vote and merge the museum’s variations, preferably with their original name (Louvre, The Louvre, Museu do Louvre, became Musée du Louvre, for instance). In some cases, I had to make a lucky guess about what museum people selected. Hope I got it right.

Take a look. Your museum may be listed here.
And if you have some interesting findings, let me know.

Most admired museums | General list

(Top 10)
Musée du Louvre: 53 votes
MoMA: 38 votes
The Met: 31 votes
Tate Modern: 25 votes
The British Museum: 24 votes
Rijksmuseum: 21 votes
V&A: 20 votes
Museo del Prado: 19 votes
Smithsonian (Institution): 16 votes
Pinacoteca de São Paulo: 14 votes

The latest Museum and Branding Survey is available:
> Download the general report in English, Portuguese or Spanish.
> Check the open data in this public Google Drive folder.

Do you want to open this conversation in your community?

If you want to invite Cultivia for a presentation or workshop, please get in touch. We are also available for short/medium-term onsite immersions to help museums and other cultural organizations listen to their audiences, generate institutional transformations, and build public trust.