Museum+Tech 2024: Who is this for? And why should they care?

Audience-centred work is something that is championed in our field, but isn’t every project for an audience? We have projects which can feel like they lack focus if the audience is ‘everyone’, or hyper-localised target audiences which may seem too niche.

How do we know that the intended audience actually cares, and can actually show the value of the work?

In the digital realm we have different ways of identifying audiences. Do those remote audiences who never visit compare to the physically visiting audience? Can we compare and measure their impact?

Do we change to suit changing audiences, or do we stay constant and bring audiences to us?

As Computer based practitioners, we also must be aware of the societal impact on technology. New tools and systems allow us to reach new audiences, but do we exclude others by our choices and requirements?

Our conference theme this year sets out to directly allow us to discuss the idea of who our audiences are, and show how we make them value our museums. We are living in an interesting and difficult time as we must define and display our value, not just against competing audience interests but also internally to funding bodies. We want to hear how you are identifying audiences and connecting with them, and proving that success. Together we can share improve our sector.

View the conference programme on the MCG website https://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/events/museumstech-2024-who-is-this-for-and-why-should-they-care/

Host or Publisher Museums Computer Group