Visitors’ Experiences at the Venice Biennale
Client: Madison Square Park Conservancy | Location: New York, NY | Funding: United States Department of State
We explored visitors’ experiences with the exhibition Martin Puryear: Liberty/Libertà at the Venice Biennale and whether this shaped their awareness of Madison Square Park Conservancy’s role as a steward of public art.
OVERVIEW
In 2019, we partnered with the Madison Square Park Conservancy (MSPC) to evaluate visitors’ experiences at the Martin Puryear: Liberty/Libertà exhibition in the U.S. Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
MSPC’s selection to curate an exhibition for the United States Pavilion at the Venice Biennale was an exciting opportunity to showcase their role as stewards of public art. The exhibition was also an opportunity for MSPC to understand more deeply the visitor response to Martin Puryear’s artwork.
APPROACH
We designed an evaluation that accounted for the international location and leveraged MSPC’s internship program abroad:
MSPC’s interns studying abroad were trained by our staff in the U.S. before departing for Venice
Interns collected contact information from English-speaking visitors to the exhibition
Our staff conducted in-depth telephone interviews with international and U.S. visitors
CLIENT TAKEAWAYS
MSPC was excited to learn that visitors’ responses to the works of art were emotional, physical, and intellectual and that these responses pertained to nearly every work of art on display. Visitors’ recall of compelling visual qualities and appreciation for how Puryear presented his art was impressive given that they were asked to discuss details at least a week after their visit.
The evaluation also revealed that some visitors deepened their awareness of MSPC’s art program, an important outcome for MSPC. While many were not aware of MSPC before visiting the exhibition, they increased their awareness through the interview process and acknowledged that the quality of the exhibition made them curious for future encounters with MSPC.
