VISITORS, AUDIENCES, AND THE PUBLIC: NOTES FOR A STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CULTURAL PRACTICES

Abstract

Reviewing the main trends in research on visitor experiences, with an emphasis on art museums, this article seeks to refl ect on the principles that shape the conceptualization of the public, the methodology used to register its experiences, and the problematic assumptions that impede its development. Th is analysis provides support for the claim that audiences should be studied from a processual perspective capable of registering the complex and diverse ways in which individuals and communities interact with cultural products.