Sharing Perspectives: Inviting Playful Curiosity Into Museum Spaces Through a Performative Score

Area of Science:

• Art and science collaboration
• Performative research
• Museum studies

Background:

• The art/science collaboration "Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting" developed the performative score "Sharing Perspectives" (SP).
• SP is inspired by choreography and Contact Improvisation, focusing on exploration, improvisation, and embodied experience.
• The score aims to investigate how brief interventions can deepen visitor engagement with art exhibitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the impact of the SP score on the visitor experience in art exhibitions.
• To investigate how SP facilitates deeper, more sensorial engagement with artworks and space.
• To understand how SP influences visitors' perceptions of museum spaces as sites for transformation and reflection.

Main Methods:

• The study utilized a performative score, "Sharing Perspectives" (SP), as a brief intervention.
• Data collection involved questionnaires and qualitative interviews with participants.
• The research was conducted during the Olafur Eliasson exhibition "In Real Life" at Tate Modern.

Main Results:

• The SP score modulated a playful mode of being, enhancing the museum experience.
• Participants reported increased curiosity, enabling them to move beyond comfort zones and habitual art engagement.
• The score fostered a breaking of boundaries, leading to a sense of being part of the exhibit.

Conclusions:

• The SP score encourages a slow, curious, and playful approach to art appreciation.
• This performative intervention can transform the visitor's relationship with art, space, and other visitors.
• SP offers a novel method for enhancing sensorial and embodied engagement in exhibition settings.