The strategic role of travelling exhibitions for Museums in Europe ICEE Annual Conference in Finland, September 2014

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1 The strategic role of travelling exhibitions for Museums in Europe ICEE Annual Conference in Finland, September Prof. Guido Guerzoni University Luigi Bocconi - Milan and M9 Museum Manager - Fondazione di Venezia contacts: guido.guerzoni@unibocconi.it; download researches at

2 Incipit In the Summary of the Study n An inventory of national systems of public guarantees in 31 European countries published in June 2004 for the DG Culture EC by the Réunion des musées nationaux, in collaboration with Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preussischer Kulturbesitz, it was stated: The European continent has a large number of museums which form the basis of people s knowledge of art, culture and science. It currently numbers over 30,000 museums. About 300 of them regularly organise temporary exhibitions of international importance. 2

3 10 years later years after the DG Culture document that encouraged the transnational circulation of cultural and artistic works displayed in temporary exhibitions, 5 main circumstances occurred: According to NEMO s (Network of European Museum Organisations) estimates, European museums are about 35,000, not considering exhibition spaces used on an on-going basis. The number of museums in the world raised to over 80,000. 3

4 10 years later New museums and exhibition spaces were inaugurated in continents and countries lacking of previous tradition: according to the Chinese Ministry of Culture between 2001 and ,389 new museums were built, and other 4,773 are planned to be constructed by 2020, resulting in 1 museum every 250,000 inhabitants (Italy and Germany: 1/10,000; USA 1/20,000). Emergence of a global marketplace for temporary exhibitions, while regulatory authorities are encouraging the circulation of collections and works of art. The number of temporary exhibitions increased exponentially, even though nobody can quantify it. 4

5 Travelling exhibitions growth factors 1. Changes in museum policies 2. Increased number of venues and museomania Change in exhibitions role and functions 4. Methodological proposal 5

6 1. Changes in museum policies 6

7 "Museums should rather be encouraged to build collection strategies of the 21st century than repeating the old pattern that is based on the idea of eternal growth. ( ) mobility of collections is a relevant way forward for museums in Europe and worldwide. Collections exist in order to be celebrated and shared. 7

8 2. Increased number of venues Museomania

9 Museomania effects In 1975, Kenneth Hudson & Ann Nicholls global directory surveyed nearly 25,000 museums. In 2012, the 19 th edition of Museums of the World published by De Gruyter counted 55,097 museums in 202 nations. However, according to more recent estimates, the number of museums is not lower than 80,000 and the number of exhibition spaces is unknown. A fortiori, there are no aggregated international sources that quantify, even on a national basis, the number of temporary exhibitions and their hosting spaces. 9

10 New museums distribution Total sample: 652 institutions Americas 187 Europe 315 Africa 5 Asia 129 Oceania 16 10

11 Museum typologies Total sample: 652 institutions 11

12 Museum typologies Total sample: 652 institutions Other General Specialized Expansions New builds Ethnography/Anthropology Regional Natural History/Science 7 26 Science and Technology Archaeology and History Art

13 Museum types by size (Gross sq. meters) Total sample: 516 institutions 13

14 Museum types by size (Gross sq. meters) Total sample: 516 institutions < sq.m 6% 6% 4% 10% sq.m sq.m 4% 18% sq.m 9% sq.m sq.m 10% 19% sq.m sq.m 14% sq.m > sq.m

15 New functions and zoning standards Exhibition space (40%) Permanent collections (20%) Spaces for temporary exhibitions (20%) Visitor services (20%) Ticket office, info, customer care Cloakroom, lost & found Bookshop, café, restaurant Gathering rooms, waiting and relax area Toilets, nursery Multifunctional spaces for events Kids area and educational spaces Spaces for location management Offices and storage (15%) Permanent staff offices Temporary offices for exhibit installation Workshops, archive, study areas Storages for temporary exhibitions Storages for tools Special storages Library and mediatheque Back office (25%) Security Catering Warehouses Technical spaces Garage Areas dedicated to temporary exhibitions are equal or greater than those dedicated to the permanent collection: museums cannot survive without temporary exhibitions. 15

16 3. Change in exhibitions role and functions 16

17 Why we need numbers. There are no databases or studies in Europe that analyse: the number of temporary exhibitions organised in the member countries. the different typologies of hosting venues (i.e. museums, exhibition centres, historical buildings, etc.) the number and tipology of travelling exhibitions However, there are countries that include studies about temporary exhibitions in their cultural statistics. 17

18 Why we need numbers The European Group on Museum Statistics (EGMUS), established in 2002 on the spontaneous initiative of some European countries, functions as technical support to Eurostat for all cultural matters. It resulted from the union of two distinct teams that had previously launched projects aimed at promoting the increase of data comparability at European level. To date, EGMUS gathers 29 European countries, including non EU, that are called to collaborate to achieve the common objective of creating a harmonized and comparable system of museum statistics. EGMUS members completed a Standard Questionnaire, which was elaborated in respect of both the research models used by each monitored country and international recommendations (UNESCO, ICOM). 18

19 Why we need numbers The examination of all available sources showed the existence of a great amount of national statistics that include in their questionnaires questions regarding temporary exhibitions organised/hosted by museums and museum-like institutions. In particular, evidences show that this kind of information is collected and diffused since many years by the majority of East-Central European countries: Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, while Slovenia and Croatia include in their statistical surveys sections expressly dedicated to temporary exhibitions. For the purpose of this research I narrowed down the scope to a few European countries that have updated and significant data. 19

20 European sample INSTITUTIONS COUNTRY YEAR TYPE TOT Finland 2013 Museums Germany 154 (322) MUSEUMS WITH EXHIBITIONS TOT EXHIBITIONS ORGANISED IN THE COUNTRY IN THE MUSEUM VISITORS TRAVELLING MUSEUMS EXHIBITIONS Museums Exhibition spaces Italy 2011 Museums, galleries and monuments Norway 2013 Museums Netherland 2009 Museums Poland 2012 Museums and museum-like Exhibition spaces Spain 2012 Museums Sweden 2013 Public museums

21 Caveat: underestimating the real figures (the German case in 2012) Of the 6,355 museums which were asked for their attendance data, 4,823 were able to report them, including attendance in special exhibitions held in museums or organized by them. 8,940 special exhibitions were reported by 2,750 museums in No complete survey of all visits to special exhibitions is possible since only a few museums are able to count them as distinct from the visits to their permanent exhibitions. Therefore, in order to avoid misinterpretations, no attendance figures are being given for special exhibitions. As already mentioned, the figure of 8,940 exhibitions does not include neither exhibition halls (see below) nor Verkaufsgalerien (sales galleries), and/or exhibitions not intended for a general public. Out of 8,940 special exhibitions of 2,750 museums, a number of 8,472 were held in the respective museum itself, 468 were travelling. 21

22 Productivity INSTITUTIONS COUNTRY YEAR TYPE TOT MUSEUMS WITH EXHIBITIONS EXHIBITIONS ORGANISED IN THE COUNTRY AVERAGE TOT EXHIBITION PER MUSEUM Finland 2013 Museums 154 (322) ,03 Germany Italy 2012 Museums ,34 Exhibition spaces , Museums, galleries and monuments ,38 Norway 2013 Museums ,50 Netherlands 2009 Museums ,88 Poland 2012 Museums and museum-like ,02 Exhibition spaces ,28 Spain 2012 Museums ,56 Sweden 2013 Public museums ,25

23 Themes Themes Italy Germany Poland Spain Art 42,5% 20,1% 12,4% 33,7% Archaeology and History 17,4% 5,6% 1,7% 15,0% Natural Science 5,6% 4,1% 3,1% 2,6% Science and Technology 2,6% 8,4% 5,8% 4,8% Ethnography and Anthropology 11,3% 45,3% 24,2% 11,4% Specialised 6,9% 10,7% 3,6% 8,1% Other 2,1% 3,6% 48,4% 19,6% Monuments and Heritage Sites 11,6% 2,3% 0,9% 4,9%

24 Sharing and co-distribution: the Dutch case MUSEUMS VISITS EXHIBITIONS N of museums NATURE OF THE COLLECTION N of visits IN THE MUSEUM ORGANISED BY MUSEUM YEAR TOT Art History Natural history Ethnology Science & engineering Miscellaneous x 1000 IN OTHER SPACES ABROAD * * The figures on the year 2009 are preliminary, the figures on the preceding years are definite

25 4. Proposal Replicating and sharing the Italian experience. A low cost collaborative research, in order to create a EU database focused on: Museum venues Temporary exhibitions Travelling exhibitions

26 Analysis method: database structure Combination and yearly monitoring of 3 on line databases: - Allemandi - Art tribune - PressRelease di UnDo.Net Identification and selection of exhibitions with these characteristics: - Non commercial (whose purpose is not selling works of art) - Nationally located - Inaugurated or in progress in the period between Jan 1 st - Dec 31 st Structure of a dataset and identification of 24 main fields Context analysis and periodic comparison with previous years figures Realisation of an annual report Public presentation of main results and online publication of the research report

27 Database fields Venue Address, ZIP Code, City, Province, Region City size Exhibition title Type of hosting venue Type of exhibition Period of the year Inauguration date Opening & Closing (and extension) date Duration Curators (gender and nationality) Admission prices Number of visitors Unfortunately in Italy there are no data available about exhibitions organisers/producers (i.e. budget, revenues, etc.)

28 Regional distribution Area 2012 Totale 2012 Solo capoluogo di regione 2012 Escluso capoluogo di regione Nord Valle d'aosta Piemonte Lombardia Veneto Trentino - Alto Adige Friuli - Venezia Giulia Liguria Emilia Romagna Centro Toscana Umbria Lazio Marche Abruzzo Molise Sud e Isole Campania Calabria Basilicata Puglia Sardegna Sicilia Totale Dall'analisi della distribuzione geografica degli eventi emerge la netta prevalenza delle regioni settentrionali. Nel 2012 il totale degli eventi allestiti al Nord (4.138) è stato superiore alla somma di quelli organizzati nel Centro (2.299) e nel Sud e Isole (1.118). Tuttavia questi dati non presentano una correlazione diretta con la consistenza demografica; a titolo di esempio, il raggruppamento del Centro, con meno della metà dei residenti, ha ospitato un numero di eventi superiore al doppio di quelli allestiti nella macro-area Sud e Isole.

29 Hosting venues Spazio espositivo 28,81% 28,42% Spazi di associazioni 11,18% 15,25% Spazi all'aperto 1,34% 1,27% Scuola/Acc./Univ./C.R./Ist.Cult. 5,11% 4,42% Palazzo PA Museo 2,76% 2,25% 28,88% 35,52% Biblioteca/Cineteca/Mediateca/Archivio 3,40% 3,86% Azienda 3,79% 6,30% Auditorium/Teatri 1,67% 1,73% Altro 6,42% 7,61% 0,00% 5,00% 10,00% 15,00% 20,00% 25,00% 30,00% 35,00% 40,00% Per il 2012 abbiamo ottenuto dati relativi a mostre organizzate in differenti centri urbani e sedi espositive, con 2,28 eventi per sede. Con eventi su censiti, gli spazi espositivi e i musei hanno ospitato il 57,3% delle mostre. Un ruolo di rilievo hanno ricoperto anche gli spazi di associazioni, con il 15,3% (nel 2011 erano l'11,2%) e le aziende (+ 2,5% rispetto all'anno precedente). Tuttavia questi incrementi hanno riguardato eventi di breve se non brevissima durata.

30 Public and private museums Statale 13,94% 12,83% Privato 16,79% 17,74% PNS 66,33% 65,90% Ecclesiastico 2,94% 3,53% 0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% 70,00% I musei che hanno ospitato mostre nel 2012 erano per il 78,7% pubblici (pari alla somma di Statale e PNS) e per il 21,3% privati. Un dato in parte divergente rispetto a quello della distribuzione dei musei nazionali, che vede i primi pesare per il 68% e la somma dei secondi (ecclesiastici e privati) per il 30,2%.

31 Public and private exhibition spaces Statale 1,53% 0,70% Privato 33,41% 44,34% 2011 PNS 47,23% 56,10% 2012 Ecclesiastico 8,96% 7,73% 0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% I dati relativi agli spazi espositivi al contrario palesano l'importanza del ruolo detenuto dai soggetti privati nell'articolazione del sistema espositivo italiano, con il 52,1% a fronte del 47,9% di quelli pubblici.

32 Themes La tipologia di eventi espositivi ,71% 1,73% 1,65% 1,62% 0,98% 0,60% 0,18% Arte contemporanea 2,81% 3,09% 3,59% Fotografia Documentaria Illustrazione/Grafica 4,31% Arte moderna Design/Moda Arte antica Architettura Arti decorative/artigianato 10,36% Miscellanea Archeologia 66,36% Scienza Arte etnica

33 Average duration MEDIA 51, , , ,44 0,00 10,00 20,00 30,00 40,00 50,00 60,00

34 Duration Numero eventi La preferenza è accordata agli eventi la cui durata non supera i 30 giorni, corrispondenti al 56% del totale, seguiti dalle mostre di durata compresa tra i 31 e i 60 giorni, con un'incidenza pari al 24%. Gli eventi di durata giorni registrano percentuali ancora rilevanti (8,9%), mentre le mostre che durano più di 90 giorni, contrariamente alle medie europee, non riportano dati significativi.

35 Duration & Type of hosting venue Tipologia ente 1-30 gg gg gg gg gg gg >181 gg Altro Auditorium/Teatri Azienda Bibliot./Cinet./Mediat./Arch Museo Palazzo PA Scuola/Acc./Univ./C.R./Ist.Cult Spazi all'aperto Spazi di associazioni Spazio espositivo Totale Ad eccezione dei musei e di pochi spazi espositivi, tutti gli altri enti ospitanti, con minime variazioni, prediligono gli eventi di durata inferiore a 30 giorni. La tendenza opposta registrata per l'attività delle istituzioni museali è giustificata dalla necessità di garantire l'ammortamento dell'investimento iniziale.

36 Daily distribution L'analisi della distribuzione giornaliera degli eventi espositivi sul territorio nazionale rivela un andamento altalenante con picchi elevati in corrispondenza dei mesi di maggio, ottobre e dicembre. Per quanto concerne i valori minimi, si osserva in particolare l'andamento decrescente registrato nel mese di agosto fino al picco minimo riportato nei primi giorni di settembre. Nel mese di agosto, infatti, la chiusura delle mostre in corso non è accompagnata dall'apertura di nuovi eventi.

37 Pricing 80,0% 75,2% 70,0% 63,1% 60,0% 50,0% 40,0% 30,0% 24,8% ,0% 10,0% 13,7% 12,1% 11,2% 0,0% gratuito - G pagamento - P dato non pervenuto

38 Curators Numero di curatori per esposizioni curate mostra mostre mostre 4 mostre 5 mostre 6 mostre 7 mostre 8 mostre 9 mostre 10 mostre > 10 mostre A fronte di un numero di eventi riportanti informazioni sulla curatela pari a (46% del campione), sono stai censiti curatori nel Tale disparità è giustificata sia dalla presenza di individui che nel corso dell'anno curano più di un evento che dall'incidenza delle curatele multiple. Mentre nel 2009 la media di mostre per ciascun curatore era pari a 1,27, nel 2012 il dato è sceso a 0,96.

39 Curators ,0% Numero di curatori per ciascun evento 60,0% 64,6% 50,0% 40,0% 30,0% 20,0% 10,0% 0,0% 22,2% 7,4% 2,6% 1,1% 0,7% 1,3% 1 curatore 2 curatori 3 curatori 4 curatori 5 curatori 6 curatori 7 o più curatori L'analisi dei dati relativi alle curatele multiple sembra confermare l'ipotesi secondo cui l'attuale congiuntura economica, riducendo ulteriormente le occasioni professionali, abbia spinto i professionisti ad associarsi tra loro. Mentre nel 2009 le mostre con un curatore unico erano il 71,7%, nel 2012 tale dato è sceso a 64,6%.