Bridging the Gap: Understanding Non-Visitor and Visitor Engagement in Museums Through the Lens of Cultural Capital

(disponible en anglais seulement)

[VERSION EN PRÉPUBLICATION]

Yuha Jung, Rebecca A. Ferrell, Gregory Hawk

Yuha Jung is Professor of Arts Administration at the University of Kentucky. Her research examines museum studies, cultural diversity, historic preservation, and legal issues in arts and culture. She is author and editor of multiple books, recipient of an NEH grant, and a licensed attorney.
Rebecca A. Ferrell is Assistant Professor of Arts Management at the College of Charleston. A dance advocate, artist, and researcher, their work focuses on labor rights, pay equity, and performing arts unions. They have served on advisory and grant panels for the NEA, DC Commission, and United States Artists.
Gregory Hawk is Research Assistant Professor of Statistics at the University of Kentucky. His work spans predictive modeling, regression analysis, and statistical consulting. He co-founded the Predictive Analytics and Data Science (PADS) Hub to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, advance statistical methodology, and support research programs across diverse academic and applied fields.

ABSTRACT
Museums often infer why non-visitors stay away, yet little research directly compares their views with those of visitors. This study addresses that gap by analyzing two pooled cross-sectional survey waves (2015, 2019) from a Midwestern art museum, using parallel samples of visitors recruited through the museum and non-visitors reached through a local newspaper’s opt-in list. Results show that visitors—typically older, wealthier, and more educated—reported higher levels of indicators associated with cultural capital, including higher self-rated art knowledge and stronger dispositions of confidence, familiarity, and belonging. Non-visitors, by contrast, report barriers of unfamiliarity, perceived irrelevance, and lack of cultural representation, with financial cost a secondary concern. These findings are consistent with the argument that non-visitors are not merely “uninterested” but face systemic and perceptual obstacles tied to uneven distributions of cultural capital. The study is best understood as a descriptive diagnostic comparison rather than a definitive test of cultural capital mechanisms. The study underscores the need for community-driven programming, inclusive exhibitions, and first-time engagement strategies that expand cultural capital and support more equitable models of museum participation. This paired design, with visitors recruited from the museum and non-visitors reached through independent newspaper distribution, establishes a replicable baseline for non-visitor inclusion research.

KEYWORDS
Museum non-visitors; visitor studies; cultural capital; accessibility barriers; representation and relevance; and audience development and engagement