A Toolkit for Qualitative Audience Engagement

Qualitative research in the cultural sector is critically important for understanding visitor experience and audience expectations. GLAM organisations have uneven capacities for long-term qualitative research as it is labour-intensive, however, they often already collecting valuable audience insights. This includes conversations overheard at front desks, anecdotal feedback shared during public programs, observations of where audiences linger, what they photograph or how they interact with staff, and social media comments, direct messages or tagged visitor posts. Such qualitative insights are rich and often overlooked information about how people experience, interpret and connect with cultural spaces.