The cultural sector came together in May for the 2023 Museums + Heritage Show at Olympia, London. Over the course of two days, over 2,500 attendees could hear from leaders in the industry with a packed conference schedule and speak with 150 exhibitors. Plus, the new Ambience Lounge allowed attendees to network with each other throughout the show.
This year’s show was sponsored by The Shipping Monster, Gateway Ticketing Systems, Elmwood Projects, Art Fund, BIC Graphic, Displayways and PLB.
Full conference schedule at the Museums + Heritage Show 2023
With over 70 talks and 90 speakers, attendees at the Museums + Heritage Show 2023 had plenty of different conference sessions. The Conference programme was sponsored by Art Fund, PLB, The Shipping Monster and BIC Graphic this year.
Attendees heard about the research project ‘Inequalities, Class and the Pandemic’. This is being carried out by Dr Serena Lervolino, lecturer in Arts & Cultural Management, King’s College London and Dr Domenico Sergi, senior curator, Museum of London.
This project started during the pandemic, and it looks at how museums can engage more meaningfully with working-class lived experiences. The research is a key example of how museums can engage with their local communities. Sergi cautioned thinking that technology will democratise experiences.
“Generally speaking there is a big issue in assuming that technology is going to solve all issues,” he said. Inequalities may end up being built into the technology used by museums.
Sustainability and exhibitions
Sustainability was a theme of the Museums + Heritage Show 2023, with Dana Andrew from TEG and Alice Lobb from the Barbican Art Gallery discussing how to reduce the environmental impact of exhibitions without compromising. We also heard from Robert Aspinall from The Shipping Monster as he chaired a session with Andrew Stramentov from Rokbox and Lee Cavaliere from VOMA, the Virtual Online Museum of Art about how to achieve carbon neutrality in travelling exhibitions.
Stramentov spoke about how “sustainability depends on technology and innovation”. A large part of the carbon journey for a travelling exhibition comes from the air freight to transport it. However, ensuring reusable packaging is used is still important.
Cavaliere spoke about how VOMA “recreates the experience of visiting a museum but in a digital space”. Therefore, it brings museums to a wider audience. And if you can avoid travelling and the need for a building, then you can cut carbon emissions.
Aspinall spoke about how important it is for them as a shipping company to be involved at the beginning of the design process of a travelling exhibition. That way, it can be designed to be packaged into certain-sized boxes which fit more neatly into trucks and freight. Not only does this reduce the cost of transportation, but it’s better for the environment. He recommends that those designing a travelling exhibition invest in crates and plan their mode of transport at the beginning of the design process.
Aspinall did admit that it can be challenging to encourage people to choose the most sustainable transportation option, as it can sometimes be more expensive. He is still looking for how to break that barrier where budget and vision balance out and an eco-vision comes into play.
See also: The Shipping Monster on trends in touring entertainment
Technology is key
Attendees at the Museums + Heritage Show 2023 also heard from Martin Howe from Dapper Labs as he explored the future of visitor engagement. Since we are now in the fourth industrial revolution, it’s clear that technology is a key part of life, and is therefore important for cultural institutions to use to connect with their attendees.
However, what’s key is how you use that technology. It is no longer enough, Howe argued, to simply use digital screens or sounds. You must integrate your visitors in a personalised, seamless way in real-time. A phone is a great place to start with this engagement. He used the Chaperone platform as an example of how you can create a digital platform within days and update it in minutes to engage in a thoughtful way with your audience.
For example, you can create a platform that allows your visitor to learn more about the story behind an object, take part in age-appropriate quizzes or even show a blank screen to encourage them to focus on the exhibit itself at a particular time.
He finished by saying that “we need to curate experiences that seamlessly transition between the natural, built and digital environments as seamlessly as walking between the grass, concrete and carpet of our physical environments”.
See also: Chaperone, one guest experience platform to rule them all
Attraction websites
During the Museums + Heritage Show 2023, Rubber Cheese revealed the second Visitor Attraction Website Report Survey, sponsored by Convious. This report offers attractions a benchmark for their websites and this year’s survey will explore personalisation.
Andy Povey from Convious and Kelly Molson from Rubber Cheese spoke at the conference about how important it is for the museum sector to track its website conversion rates. Molson explained that “by increasing online conversion rate, museums can increase engagement and build stronger relationships with their audience”.
The 2022 report highlighted that the industry average for conversion on a website is only around 3%. Molson explained that “when customers are waiting, the likeliness of them continuing with their purchase reduces by 50% for every second. The average industry website load time is 2.5 seconds.”
Furthermore, it’s really important to make your website clearer for your visitors. As Povey explained, “Don’t hide the book now button”. You can take part in the 2023 report by filling out the survey here.
Expert Demos at the Museums + Heritage Show 2023
During the Expert Demos, exhibitors were given the chance to demonstrate their knowledge with short on-stand sessions. On the Convious stand, Andy Povey explored the science behind pricing. He explained that for the cultural sector, the theory of supply and demand determining pricing doesn’t work that well. So how should the price of entry be set? Should you look at your competition, use inflation, or decide to use the cost + profit/ number equation?
Povey argued that these were largely arbitrary because they were not based on reason. Instead, use the consumer and the value they assign to your venue to set the price. This is where real-time pricing (RTP) comes into use. This uses AI to take into account the weather, previous sales, traffic to your site and more to change the price of tickets in real-time. Consumer behaviour, therefore, dictates the pricing.
Using a Convious case study, Povey explained that RTP increased this venue’s revenue by 54% without needing to increase ticket prices because it utilises human behaviour.
Another expert demo saw Mather & Co explore how you can make a difference by being different. They also spent time discussing their recent projects with attendees, such as the Inverness Castle Experience.
See also: Mather & Co: a versatile team delivering engaging stories
Exhibitors and awards
Attendees spent the two days of the Museums + Heritage Show 2023 exploring the wide variety of exhibitors. There was even a dinosaur to welcome everyone into the exhibit hall!
Some of the exhibitors included Chaperone, which was offering a free app to someone each day of the conference, Convious, DigiTickets, Elmwood Projects, Gantner Ticketing and Gateway Ticketing.
Magic Memories highlighted their selfie experience and Panasonic Connect, Tessitura, TixTrack and Tyg Tickets were also exhibiting.
On the evening of the first day, the winners of the 2023 Museums + Heritage Awards were announced.
There were 18 winners in total, including The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War which won the Judges’ Special Recognition Award.
The Sustainable Project of the Year award went to the Food Museum and SS Great Britain Trust, who both spoke about the vital importance of sustainability. Nicola Grahamslaw at the SS Great Britain Trust said that “It often feels like we still have so much to do on sustainability, so it’s fantastic to be recognised for what we’ve achieved”. Jenny Cousins, director of the Food Museum highlighted that “It’s important for museums to amplify the issues of our day and biodiversity loss is a critical issue.”
The Scottish Crannog Centre won the Visitor Welcome Award, which was sponsored by Tyg Tickets. Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam with Studio Louter and Kiss the Frog | Film Catcher won the Best Use of Digital – International award, sponsored by Convious. The FLUGT – Refugee Museum of Denmark with Tinker Imagineers won the International Exhibition of the Year award, sponsored by BECK. Meanwhile, Meyvaert won the Innovator of the Year Award for its oxygen-free conservation showcases.
The Museums + Heritage Show will be back in 2024 on the 15-16th May.
