Analyzing the Museum Experience Through the Lens of Instagram Posts

Rhee, Boa; Pianzola, Federico; Choi, Kang Ta

doi:10.1111/cura.12414

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…The exhibition pieces themselves receive only marginal interest from visitors. Similar observations have been made by Rhee et al [57], where the clustering of photographs revealed that the museum's architectural features are more frequently photographed than the art itself in certain museums.…”

Section: Both the Exterior And The Interior Atrium Of The Depot Are P...supporting

confidence: 84%

“…In related research, photograph clustering has been used to identify the collective image of a destination based on social media content [31,56,57]. Clustering is commonly performed indirectly, through textual image labels given by the Cloud Vision API, which has been shown to produce inconsistent labels when noise is present in the photograph [58].…”

Section: Identifying Points Of Interest Via Photograph Clustering And...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The performance of exceptional public buildings on social media–The case of Depot Boijmans

et al. 2023

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Exceptional public buildings are buildings that are commissioned by public institutions with the deliberate and declared intention that they become icons. The recognisability of such buildings and their exposure to a wide audience can support the interests of their producers, who are keen on developing symbolic landmarks of their institutions. Textual and visual online communication can play an important role in boosting exposure and affecting how a building acquires iconic status. Content produced by social media users not only reflects how such buildings are perceived, it also goes on to affect how they perform, that is, what narratives they become associated with and how such association supports their transformation into icons. However, the role of content produced by different actors is unclear. In particular, what differences, similarities and influences exist between public/supply and private/user generated social media content particularly during the early life cycle of a building. This article presents a research methodology that can address these questions. Findings generated by applying this methodology on the case study of Depot Boijmans in the City of Rotterdam are presented. By scraping, filtering, organising and analysing content produced by Instagram users about the case study it was possible to show that that public/supply and private/user generated content converge independently. Textual analysis of posts uncovers an overwhelmingly neutral and positive sentiment in posts. Newness, iconicity and the novelty/firstness of the publicly- accessible- art- storage-concept emerge as central topics and are discussed in equal quantities on both the public and private actors. Post behaviour is characteristically different amongst actors, where public actors tell longer stories than private actors but both coinciding with events. The clustering of photographs of the building reveals a trend towards more than one point of interest. The results demonstrate that the exceptional building currently receives more attention on Instagram than the valuable masterpieces stored within it. This suggests the intended performance is achieved in the short term but its long-lasting effects and its assimilation to become an icon in the Museum Park or even the City of Rotterdam will be tested with time. It suggests the photograph itself becomes an actor in the creation of its iconic status in visual media platforms and recognises the agency of non-persons, and that Instagram is merely one of many (social) media platforms used to do so. This research offers methods and their applicability toward a catalogue for data analysis for architecture and urban studies related to the online performance of buildings.

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Section: Both the Exterior And The Interior Atrium Of The Depot Are P...supporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Identifying Points Of Interest Via Photograph Clustering And...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The performance of exceptional public buildings on social media–The case of Depot Boijmans

et al. 2023

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“…Previous research studies have explored topics such as museum visitors' Instagram posts and placemaking (Budge, 2020), the interface between Instagram and museum objects (Budge & Burness, 2018), and how visitors communicate and share their museum and gallery visiting experiences on Instagram (Rhee et al., 2021; Suess & Barton, 2022; Villaespesa & Wowkowych, 2020; Weilenmann et al., 2013). These studies mainly focus on visitor‐generated Instagram posts or how museums go on to use or feature those contributions.…”

Section: Instagram's “Platform Vernacular”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing Instagram's “platform vernacular” during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A case study of Philbrook Museum of Art

Hu,

Kidd

2023

Curator The Museum Journal

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Researchers have been documenting how museums used social networks during the COVID‐19 global health emergency, however, to date there has been limited assessment of museums' uses of Instagram at that time. This article begins to address that gap with a case study of Philbrook Museum of Art's approach to that platform during the early months of the pandemic. We use a mixed‐method inquiry featuring social media analysis and a series of interviews with staff at the museum to analyze the museum's use of Instagram to maintain a presence within followers' lives during this intensely challenging period. To frame our analysis we introduce Gibbs et al.'s (Information, Communication & Society, 2015, 18, 255) concept of “platform vernacular” to digital heritage studies, trialing its use to critically analyze the combination of affordances, practices, and communicative conventions that Instagram convenes for the museum. We find this approach to be both theoretically and practically insightful, with the potential to inform more meaningful, authentic, and transparent interactions between institutions and users within social networks.

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“…Barasch, Zauberman, and Diehl (2018) argue that these museums have changed the way that visitors interact with artefacts as they immediately think in terms of photography when looking. This has been reflected in the changing policies of bricks-and-mortar museums, many of whom have relaxed their policies on taking photographs and encourage social media interaction by posting hashtags in the museum, introducing free Wi-Fi and holding photography competitions (Rhee, Pianzola, and Choi 2021). Individual artists have also recognised the potential of Instagram to exhibit their work.…”

Section: The Virtual Museum: Theories Trends and Developments Across ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Instagram as an exhibition space: reflections on digital remediation in the time of COVID-19

O’Hagan

2021

Museum Management and Curatorship

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This paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on a planned physical exhibition -Prize Books and Politics: Rethinking Working-Class Life in Edwardian Britainand the experience of transforming it into a digital exhibition through the platform of Instagram. Using feedback from visitors in the form of likes, comments and surveys, I reflect on the exhibition in terms of its scope, content, visitor experience and overall success. I also outline the various potentials, constraints and opportunities of Instagram as an exhibition space and put forward recommendations on how it can be used to best advantage not as a replacement for physical exhibitions, but rather as a complement that can attract new audiences, capture real-time feedback and, thus, add multiple voices and stories to museum objects.

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Analyzing the Museum Experience Through the Lens of Instagram Posts

Cited by 14 publications

References 29 publications

The performance of exceptional public buildings on social media–The case of Depot Boijmans

The performance of exceptional public buildings on social media–The case of Depot Boijmans

Harnessing Instagram's “platform vernacular” during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A case study of Philbrook Museum of Art

Instagram as an exhibition space: reflections on digital remediation in the time of COVID-19

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