Shared Experience, Human Well-Being, and the Future of Museums
I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about the future of museums. In addition to my own writing and talks, I’ve also engaged in conversations with dozens of museum leaders on this topic. Recently, I spent two days in Madrid with several dozen museum leaders from around the world as part of a Future Museum meeting focused on the issue of museums and sustainability. During one of these conversations, an idea occurred to me about how museums might successfully re-position themselves over the next few decades as they attempt to better adapt to the rapidly changing world we now live in.
I briefly shared the germ of this idea with colleagues at that meeting as well as this past week to a group of Korean museum professionals as part of the launch of the recently completed Korean edition of my book The Value of Museums. However, the circumstances of both initial presentations were not conducive to my receiving any real feedback on the merits of the idea. I am writing this blog in the hope that it will afford me the opportunity to both share a slightly more fleshed-out version of this idea with a broader audience as well as create a mechanism for receiving feedback on the idea. In particular, I am hoping that readers of this piece will let me know whether they think this might be an intriguing and reasonable idea or just another crazy idea without merit or practicality.
Museums at a Crossroad
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, museums helped to fill a critical cultural void. Along with libraries and schools, museums were one of the few institutions committed to providing people the opportunity to gain insights and understandings about the human and natural world. Museums were places that allowed people to discover and learn about themselves in relation to the people, plants, animals, minerals, histories, cultures and creations from far-off places and times. Over the past decades, this cultural niche has rapidly been filled by other resources and mechanisms. For most of human history, Information about the world was limited and hard to come by. That is no longer the case. Everyone now has nearly limitless information and images at their fingertips, an ability to learn about virtually any topic or subject they might care to know about. And perhaps most remarkably, the ability to accomplish this feat on demand, whenever they want, and wherever they are. In short, the need for time-consuming, static information dispensaries like museums, or for that matter libraries or even schools, has largely come and gone.
However, despite being awash in information, most people still feel like something is lacking. That is because we now live in a world that is information rich but meaning and wisdom poor. We live in a society where people experience fragmentation, disorientation, loneliness, historical amnesia, and short-term thinking. A society so deprived of meaningful direction and social interactions that clickable social media fads promising a happier and healthier life are eagerly consumed and machines programmed parroting empathetic phrases are perceived as trusted friends. Missing from our world are the people and social structures that once helped ground and support people through the challenges of daily life, individuals with relevant life experiences willing to listen and provide encouragement and guidance. These were roles once played by a community's elders, individuals rich in lived experience, historical knowledge, and most importantly, wisdom. However, as the pace of industrialization, information generation, and societal change accelerated, the perceived societal value of elders steadily diminished. People now increasingly value speed over deliberation, narrow, highly specialized knowledge over broad perspectives, and credential expertise over lived experience. Today, we live in a society that glorifies youth and new ideas, a society that has decided that all problems, no matter how large or small, can only be solved by a new technology. A society that sees the past as just that, the past.
Although unquestionably much has been gained through the technological advances of the past half century, in the process, it appears that something essential has also been lost. In our rush towards immediacy and novelty, what has been lost are many of the societal structures and essential humanity that once engendered feelings of continuity, belonging, and the ability to equitably know how to navigate life's ups and downs. In short, what has been lost are many of the societal roles once played by a community's elders.
Once upon a time, people were able to turn to a group of trusted individuals who could help slow down the decision-making process, who had the ability to engage in not just reflection, but provide support, empathy and reassurance. Individuals who had the wisdom to appreciate that though the surface-level trappings of events and situations might appear unique and novel, fundamentally, many of life's issues and challenges have occurred before and will occur again. That despite the never-ending churn of events within our lives, deep down, the core issues and fundamental human dimensions of most problems remain remarkably unchanged. That despite all the novelty of life today, basic human nature, including the human desire for personal, intellectual, social, and physical well-being, has remained remarkably stable.
The role I have in mind is a social function, not a kind of person — one that communities once relied on and have largely lost, and that museums are unusually well positioned to take up. This is not about turning back the clock or reinstating a literal council of elders. It is about re-envisioning the role of museums in the 21st century, one that repositions museums in response to the needs of a rapidly changing society. I am proposing that we try and imagine what would happen if museums, recognizing the existence of a significant societal void, attempted to proactively fill the societal niche once played by elders in society. I am suggesting that perhaps museums could become the places people go to for reflection and support; places that specialize in enhancing this particular aspect of societal well-being.
This is an idea that asks what would it look like if museums spent less time trying to be societal knowledge dispensers, the physical analogs of encyclopedias, and more time trying to be places of meaning and wisdom? Rather than trying to tell people what we think they should know, what if museums used their understanding of the past and present to nonjudgmentally highlight and clarify for people the similarities and differences between the past and today? What if museums doubled down on being safe places that allowed people to consider uncertainties and ponder options? What if museums were a place for reflection about the present and as well as a platform for thinking about the future, especially the near future?
In many ways, this is a role many museums already play. However, too often, when they do play this role, it is neither entirely intentional nor fully executed. Most museums still see themselves primarily as dispensers of knowledge rather than as forums for wisdom.
Wisdom vs. Knowledge
For thousands of years, the question of "what is wisdom" has occupied philosophers, religious traditions, psychologists, educators, and most recently neuroscientists. One reason wisdom has been so difficult to define, let alone actualize is that it involves an integration of multiple human capacities, including knowledge, judgment, ethics, emotional regulation, self-awareness, practical action, concern for others, and most importantly, humility. Across numerous traditions, wisdom has been widely appreciated to involve the ability to navigate the challenges, uncertainties, limitations and complexities of life. Notably, being wise about being able to use past experiences and events as a guide to the future, not as a blueprint but as a starting place to ponder and understand potential options and pitfalls. Implicit in this approach is restraint and appreciation for the interdependence of all things, as well as both the similarities and differences that exist in every problem and every life. Importantly, wisdom often involves knowing how to live well within relationships, balancing the needs of both the human and nonhuman worlds, sustaining community and communal harmony, and ultimately, being respectful of diverse opinions and lived experiences.
An Asset-Based Approach
Let me be clear, in proposing this new path forward for museums I am not arguing that they should suddenly do things that are impossible or become something they are not already capable of accomplishing. What I am arguing for is that museums emphasize and mindfully build on their current affordances and successes. Specifically, I am arguing for museum leaders to build on what the research is beginning to show about the value of museums.
Over the past several years, building off my ideas about the well-being-related basis of museum value, my colleagues and I have conducted a series of studies designed to measure the well-being-related value of museum experiences. To date, we have collected data from more than 8,000 randomly selected visitors to more than 40 museums of all sizes and kinds. Included in this research have been museums from Europe, Mexico and from across the U.S. The results have been striking: virtually every visitor (99%) reported lasting well-being-related benefits from their museum experience. Alongside the expected feelings of joy, curiosity, and learning, large numbers also reported less obvious outcomes — new perspectives, self-discovery, a sense of awe, and an enhanced sense of belonging. In other words, the foundation for the transformation I am arguing for already exists. There is no need to totally reinvent the museum, only a need to reimagine and repurpose how the museum seeks to engage its users.
Museum as Societal Elder
In this new model, museums increasingly position themselves as the community’s historical conscience. Museum experiences focus on supporting perspective, empathy, imagination, long-term thinking, identity-work, and reflection. In this new type of museum experience, emotion is just as important as intellect. Awe and surprise are just as important as facts and information. Respect for diverse opinions and viewpoints are just as important as the "right" answer. Museums become the place where people go to learn more about themselves, their community, and their shared humanity. Museums are the place where people discover how their own stories echo other's experience, both in the past and in the present.
This is not science fiction. There are numerous examples of museums who are already achieving these ends. Here are just three such examples representing three different types of museums and three different scales of intervention – one a program within an exhibition, one an exhibition, and one an entire museum.
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium has created an experience that is not only novel and surprising but also deeply personal and reflective. The program is called Radio Bart. It started during the pandemic when one of the museum's employees, Bart, became blind and could no longer do his original job, but the museum wanted to keep him employed. One of his assets was that he had a really nice voice, in fact before coming to the museum he had been a radio announcer. So, the museum created what is like a little radio studio where just two people at a time can fit, Bart and one other person. The movable studio is placed in front of a painting, and Bart invites people to sit next to him and to look at an artwork with him. Of course, a lot of people have never talked with a blind person, let alone been asked to explain what they see in a painting to a blind person. It turns out this is transformational gift the museum gives to its visitors, because people need to look at art differently and more deeply. The experience has been wildly popular as visitors find themselves really appreciating art in new ways. Importantly, every experience is personal, one-on-one, and every experience is totally unique.
Seven Siblings from the Future was an exhibition originally developed by Heureka to explore the future of Finland. It was then adapted by the Museum of Discovery in South Australia and in the United States at the Arizona Science Center. The exhibition is based on psychological research on different human tendencies and helps people explore future-thinking by immersing themselves in a future world inhabited by seven siblings; each with a different perspective and life story, each grappling with living in the near future. Through immersive interactives and short films, visitors are encouraged to enter into the lives of these different people, to imagine themselves within that future, and imagine themselves in the position of trying to help these people make choices and solve problems. Each of the three institutions customized the experiences to the realities of life in their own communities, so in this way the scenarios visitors confronted at each museum seemed familiar and made sense to them. Doing this also ensured that not only did visitors have the opportunity to explore a place-based future scenarios in tangible ways, but empowered each person to think about how they might navigate similar issues that might arise in their own futures.
The Museum of Broken Relationships is a museum in Zagreb, Croatia. It grew from a traveling exhibition revolving around the concept of failed relationships and their ruins. The museum features a diverse collection of objects, each representing a personal story of a past relationship, contributing to a broader narrative of human emotional experiences. The museum encourages discussion and reflection not only on the fragility of human relationships but also on the political, social, and cultural circumstances surrounding the stories being told. The museum respects the audience's capacity for understanding wider historical, social issues inherent in different cultures and identities. What sets this museum apart is its ability to resonate universally with its audience. While the name is intriguing and sparks curiosity, the museum has worked hard to thoughtfully curated the environment in ways that truly draws people in and helps them think about and make sense of their own issues and concerns.
What is at the core of each of these examples is a focus on human well-being, not art, science, or history content. Each of these examples eschews the temptation to try and make people more knowledgeable. Instead, each of these experiences is designed to help people explore their humanity, feel better about themselves, and to feel incrementally more prepared to face the turmoil and challenges of their daily lives, now and in the future. As each of these examples illustrate, the changes I am proposing are at once subtle and radical.
One immediate and critical change that will need to happen if museums want to make this shift, will be in how they describe their offerings and benefits to the public. Assuming this new role will require that museums communicate with the public, as well as funders, in new ways. It will mean eschewing the traditional emphasis on content and on what is on display in favor of communicating how the museum experience will support a person’s well-being-related needs and interests. And this is harder than it sounds. Describing what is on display is easy; articulating — and evidencing — how an experience supported someone’s sense of belonging or capacity for reflection requires a different language, and a different kind of proof. Museums serious about this shift will have to build that capacity deliberately.
Another change will be in the perception of the museum’s authority. The changes I am advocating do not require that museums give up their societal authority, but in this new model, the museum’s authority will come from a different position in society. Museums would be trading the authority and respect they currently claim as subject matter experts for the authority and respect that comes from being trusted societal guides and counselors. My vision is that institutions would become better known for their long-term listening and supporting skills than for their information transfer and short-term entertainment value. More than anything, this transition would require museums to accept greater ambiguity, and dare I say humanness. We should let the machines strive for infallibility, while we, the museum community, should become first and foremost, places known for compassion and empathy, reflection and deliberation.
Even though the transition I am proposing builds off what many in the museum community are already doing, it will nonetheless require a significant change in both mindset and practice. For many in the museum community this will be a fundamental shift, perhaps too fundamental a shift. A shift that some may feel will make the museum a less serious, less important institution. However, I would argue the shift will have the opposite effect. I believe this change in focus will allow the museum community to become even more important in even more people’s lives than is the case today. It is a shift in focus that I believe could significantly broaden the perceived relevance of museums as well as significantly elevate the perceived societal value of museums for decades to come.
What Do You Think?
All of this is still very preliminary, and I would sincerely appreciate any and all suggestions. So, I'll end with the two questions I keep returning to: Does this shift in focus really make sense? And if so, what would have to change at your museum — in how you describe your value, in what you choose to measure, in what you ask of a single visit — to make this shift real?
Reply to today’s newsletter to share a comment. I sincerely look forward to your thoughts – good, bad, and otherwise.
— John
References
Dilip, V., Jeste, M.D., & Harris, J. (2010). Wisdom: A neuroscience perspective. Journal of the American Medical Association, 304(14), 1502-1603. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.1458
Falk, J.H. (2022). The Value of Museums: Enhancing Societal Well-Being. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Falk, J.H., Claudio, N. & Meier, D. (2023). Measuring the Public Value of Finnish Museums. Technical Report. Institute for Learning Innovation. http://www.instituteforlearninginnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Measuring-the-Public-Value-of-Museum-Experiences-FINAL-REVISED.pdf
Falk, J.H., Claudio, N., Meier, D. & Koke, J. (2023). Measuring the Public & Economic Value of Art Museum Experiences. Technical Report. Institute for Learning Innovation. http://www.instituteforlearninginnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FINAL-Measuring-the-Public-Value-of-Art-Museums-TECHNICAL-REPORT2.1.pdf
Falk, J.H., Dierking, L.D., Claudio, N. & Corin, E. (2025). Measuring the Societal & Economic Value of History Museum Experiences. Technical Report. Institute for Learning Innovation.
Falk, J.H., Dierking, L.D., Corin, E. & Claudio, N. (2025). The Societal and Economic Value of Banco de México’s Directorate of Financial Education and Cultural Promotion – Museum & Program Experiences. Technical Report. Institute for Learning Innovation.
Future Museum /https://future-museum.com/
Grossmann, I. (2017). Wisdom in context. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(2), 233-257. https://doi:10.1177/1745691616672066