According to a recent report, people aged between 16 and 24 make up about 15 percent of the population but only 10 percent of museum-goers. Similarly, people aged over 35 go half as much as you would expect from their population size. We have reached the point of recognizing the disconnection between art and the audience but haven’t yet determined how to bridge the gap. Two answers to dealing with this challenge lie in telling a greater diversity of art histories and communicating these stories in much easier ways.
In 2022, a radio program called Art Matters was started with the aim of discussing art from a pop-culture viewpoint with topics that would attract younger and more diverse audience. It offers an access to art history with conversations on different topics. Art history is about storytelling; art content shines when there is an effort to bring audience along for the discussion.
More traditional organizations are paying attention. Recently the Getty Museum issued a social-media challenge for people to recreate paintings using items they had at home. To their amazement, users displayed incredible creativity and involvement. This reaction set an example for other museums and galleries, proving that there is a potential desire for the audience to connect with art topics if the type of activity is appealing. Since many people feel intimidated and think that it requires a base level of understanding to join the conversation, the Getty Museum serves as a reminder that there are many pathways to engaging with it.
Social media have offered a platform for people who have not traditionally had a seat at the table. Anyone can recognize a gap in the field and address it. Accounts have gathered tens of thousands of followers, which proves that there is hunger to hear these art histories, and these themes work brilliantly for museum programming.
【小题1】What challenge is the author trying to deal with?| A．People doubt a great diversity of artworks. |
| B．Fewer and fewer young people go to museums. |
| C．Art appears too distant from common audience. |
| D．Adult audience has a different understanding of art. |
| A．They should recognize the disconnection between art and the audience. |
| B．They should make the art history stories accessible in a traditional way. |
| C．They should change meaningfully for activities like the Getty challenge. |
| D．They should limit the number of storytellers both in and out of organizations. |
| A．Tired. | B．Annoyed. | C．Surprised. | D．Worried. |
| A．They feel satisfied with current museums and galleries. |
| B．They lack the channels to understand and talk about art history. |
| C．They refuse to engage with diverse art topics and art history stories. |
| D．They would rather view artworks and hear art stories on social media. |
