connecting curators to what really matters
Unfortunately, museum curators are trapped in a dilemma. They never seem to have enough time in their busy schedules to accomplish all of their goals, but even if they did, there would not be enough information about their audience to adequately understand how to improve the visitor experience. In other words, since curators have to relate to their audiences in order to most effectively provide an engaging exhibit, curators not only need more time to communicate and develop a more intimate connection with museum visitors, but they also need to know whether their exhibits (and specific pieces of art) cause confusion or spark inspiration in the people who experience them. heART is designed to help curators both communicate with visitors and understand their experiences.
Controlling for exhibit, we interviewed museum visitors to discover what experiencing, questioning, and encountering looked like to them. In doing so we discovered a deeply diverse range of motivations and experiences. Curators at the Williams College Museum of Art "…worry that people who are confused or frustrated aren’t expressing [these emotions]," and wonder if they were able to “find pieces that invoke intriguing ideas and unexpected discussion points.”
heART is a mobile platform that allows curators to connect with visitors and easily understand the vast amounts of data being collected by partner projects, WCMA staff, and pre-existing systems. In other words:
