Good intentions: A case study of social inclusion and its evaluation in local public art galleries

The new museology and need for greater accountability for public funding have prompted debate about the purpose of museums and their contributions to the wellbeing of society. Research has convincingly demonstrated that experiences of art can be positive for people, however visitor studies suggest audiences of public art galleries remain predominantly narrow in range and traditional non-users have not become regular visitors. Internationally, the issue of democratic access in public art galleries has become more important, resulting in a growing interest in greater public participation and a need to show social outcomes. When social inclusion goals were embedded in and mandated through British policy, significant progress was made; but what about the New Zealand situation? This dissertation investigates how two public art galleries in New Zealand’s capital city advance and evaluate social inclusion. A case study of Wellington City Council and its public art galleries, City Gallery Wellington and Toi Pōneke Gallery, was used to explore the social inclusion policy and practices in relation to international developments. Interviews were conducted with eight staff of these and related institutions and an inductive method was used to analyse the data, framed by a social justice perspective. This research found that the transformational potential of Wellington City Council’s galleries is limited by unclear policy and professionals’ relatively narrow understandings of social inclusion through museums. Results suggested the galleries rely predominantly on exhibitions about ethnic cultures as a form of audience development and it is likely that museums in other regions of the country would show similar traits. It appears that social inclusion and its measurement is not a priority of New Zealand public art galleries, echoed by the lack of integration across local and central government on this issue. This study argues that evaluation is necessary not only to justify public funds, but also to provide a measurement framework for a greater range of social inclusion practice within our valuable cultural institutions. The research contributes to museum and community studies literature by producing modest, yet original data about museum evaluation and policy, and provides insights for central and local government and the museum sector in terms of measuring the social impact of public art galleries. Overall, this dissertation reiterates the critical view of the disjuncture between museum theory, policy and practice, and ends by discussing some practical steps to bring these into closer alignment.