I live in a world where everything about your life can be documented right at your fingertips. The friends that follow my social media profiles can know what I had for breakfast, where I spent my summer vacation, the latest concert I attended. I have noticed a growing trend among my generation, the idea of ‘pics or didn’t happen’ meaning if you don’t post it to social media, you didn’t actually do it. My peers post all the “cool” things they do to show off.
Now at this point, you’re probably wondering what does this have to with museums? Well this ever-growing trend reminded me specifically of one museum, The Renwick Gallery. The Renwick Gallery reopened in the fall of 2015 after a major two-year renovation debuting its WONDER exhibition, an original gallery-sized installations by nine major contemporary artists. The exhibit soon gained Instagram fame, with the help of photography encouraged signs and the hashtag #RenwickGallery. It became known as the most instagrammable museum due to the thousands of visitors who came to photograph, and be photographed with, the art.
But what is the point of this? Are these people connecting with the art or just proving to their friends that they are participating in the latest trend? I can’t lie I went to the Renwick Gallery and I posted a photo to Instagram, just like all my friends did. Although, I felt a connection with some of the art. Being a museum person, I am a reader, I read all the signs in the WONDER exhibit and understood the background and thoughts of the artist’s piece. However, some of my friends did not. They claimed that art was cool but didn’t get the big deal about room full of marbles. They didn’t feel a connection with the artist or their message, but still posted to their social media that they went. But who I am to judge, I posted a photo as well.
Erica Daudelin’s Instagram Photo
My only question is does the record attendance numbers sustain the Renwick’s mission if people are just checking a box? If they are just proving they went for the cool picture versus relating to the message of the exhibit, was the exhibit a success?
For the Love of Museums 