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Habits of a Lifetime: Museum Visitation Amongst Older Australians

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Abstract

Recent studies have shown that cultural engagement, including museum attendance, is associated with improved health and wellbeing among older people. Understanding the correlates and reasons for attending museums and art galleries in later life is therefore an important area of research. In this paper, we employ an innovative mixed methods approach to understand museum attendance among older Australians (aged 60 and over). The quantitative component of our study found that (1) the prevalence of museum attendance is substantial, with one in three Australians aged over 60 attending a museum in 2014; (2) high income, holding assets and involvement in cultural activities in childhood were all strongly associated with attendance; (3) that demographic groups less likely to attend included those aged over 80, persons born in a non-English speaking country and those reporting poor or fair health, and (4) the most prevalent reason for non-attendance was ‘not interested’ or ‘no need’. The qualitative data from the two pilot studies confirmed the quantitative findings and provided further detail around reasons for attendance, potential strategies to encourage groups less likely to attend and how functional limitations are experienced in museum environments. These findings are important for museums and underscore the long-term and inclusive value of intergenerational programs, museum visitation as a social activity, the importance of physical comfort and ease and the potential of communication around the opportunities and benefits of museum visitation. 

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Notes

  1. https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbytitle/58FF5A2527DDD70ECA2568A90013634F?OpenDocument

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Acknowledgements

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) made data for this study available to the authors. Data for this study are available to registered users of Australian Bureau of Statistics microdata. For information about eligible organisations, see http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Microdata+Entry+Page.

The authors would like to acknowledge the research teams on both pilot studies: Andrew Jamieson, Carolyn Meehan, Heather Gaunt, Alison Herron and Kate Phillips. Also, museum directors and staff from the Ian Potter Museum of Art, the Melbourne Museum and the Shepparton Art Museum. Finally, Dr. Richard Gillespie, Dr. Dianne Mulcahy, Professor Elizabeth Ozanne and Dr. Helen Moyle for their valuable feedback on the draft paper.

Funding

The Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CE1101029).

The Hallmark Ageing Research Initiative provided seed funding for research pilot #1.

Ethics ID: 1647455 Approval granted 26th August 2016.

The McCoy Seed Funding Scheme provided the grant for research pilot #2.

Ethics ID: 1749338 Approval granted 19th June 2017.

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  1. Demography and Ageing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Jeromey Temple & Lena Gan

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  1. Jeromey Temple
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Correspondence to Lena Gan.

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Temple, J., Gan, L. Habits of a Lifetime: Museum Visitation Amongst Older Australians. Population Ageing 16, 741–759 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-020-09304-4

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