Beyond the gallery: The art museum shop and the visitor experience

As art museums become increasingly reliant on museum shops for earned income, the impact of retail on the visitor experience demands consideration. This paper argues that the store is an active and positive site of exchange between the visitor and the museum. I analyze results from a small visitor survey undertaken at two Washington, DC museums, the Phillips Collection and the National Museum of Women for the Arts. I discuss these findings in light of relevant scholarship in museum learning and cultural consumption. I then place these conclusions within current debates about the value of art museum stores. This thesis' hypothesis is that the museum store provides visitors with a means of extending their art experience in ways that reflect its importance to their sense of self. Museum shops enable visitors to bring their aesthetic experience home and integrate it in a meaningful fashion into their daily lives.