Enhancing the Visitor Experience: Research at La Galleria Nazionale

Photography of Mattia Panunzio. Scalinata dei leoni, 2018

Can cultural mediation enhance the quality of visitors' experience, in a Modern and Contemporary Art museum?

In 2021 collaborated with the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, to conduct visitor experience research focusing on the museum's cultural mediation service. The project involved a between-subjects study with 319 participants to evaluate and improve the museum's visitor experience.

Results were clear: young audiences benefit largely from mediation, recurring visitors prefer to explore on their own, and cultural mediation is key to appreciate contemporary art.

Challenge

The museum's cultural mediation service, launched in 2018 in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, serves two purposes: educating art students and enhancing visitor experience. The challenge was to evaluate the impact of this service and provide actionable insights for improvement, focusing specifically on exhibition reception, visitor engagement, and overall satisfaction.

The cultural mediators of 2019.

Solution

I designed and implemented a between-subjects research study to measure the effectiveness of cultural mediation by comparing the experiences of visitors who toured the museum:

• Independently (control group)
• With a cultural mediator (experimental group)

Research Methods

Data collection was conducted through:

• Paper surveys designed in collaboration with the museum
• Anonymous, self-completed questionnaires
• 319 responses collected over 19 days
• Surveys administered Monday to Friday during working hours
• Data gathered in a dedicated area near the museum exit

Key Activities & Findings

Study Design

I created a focused survey that:

• Measured key aspects of the visitor experience
• Collected relevant demographic information
• Maintained brevity to ensure high completion rates

Data Analysis

Key findings revealed:

• Significant increase in emotional engagement and knowledge acquisition with cultural mediation
• Significant improvement in overall satisfaction scores

• Particularly strong impact on young audiences (19-25 years old)
• This demographic showed the lowest initial scores when visiting independently
• Highest improvement when accompanied by mediators (who were of similar age)

To understand visitors' priorities, I analyzed how different aspects of the experience correlated with overall satisfaction:

• Initial comparison between mediated and non-mediated visits showed subtle but significant differences
• These correlations helped identify which aspects of the service had the strongest impact on visitor satisfaction

For first-time visitors with mediators:

• Higher priority placed on information that enhanced appreciation of contemporary art
• Increased importance of both knowledge acquisition and emotional involvement
• Clear preference for mediated experience compared to independent visits

Conclusion

The research demonstrated that cultural mediation is about fostering connections with art through human relationships. The study proved this approach to be both powerful and necessary, while highlighting the importance of continuously refining these practices through research and shared experiences.

The findings were compiled into an internal report to help cultural mediators better support visitors in having a richer museum experience.

Publications

• La mediazione culturale – 2018-2021 by La Galleria Nazionale - Issuu