NGA Exhibition Touring: Information for focus venues 

Introduction 

In 2023, Patternmakers is working with the National Gallery of Australia and regional galleries around the country to evaluate the impact of NGA tours. 

Each year, the National Gallery of Australia creates and tours a range of exhibitions, from contemporary and historical works by Australian and international artists. The tours range from large-scale exhibitions with complex needs for climate controlled spaces, to virtual reality experiences and Art Cases able to travel to schools, libraries and aged care homes to inspire creativity, inclusivity, and learning. 

Patternmakers will be collaborating with the NGA team and regional galleries to gather data and understand how audiences and communities engage and interact with tours, what they take away, and how all involved can work together to continue growing the impact of Australia’s largest collection in regional places.  

Objectives of the research 

An overarching research question will underpin the project: ‘What impact is the touring program having, and how can NGA work with its partners to extend the reach and impact of tours even further?’ 

The project will be guided by the following overall research objectives:  

  • Exploring the impact that touring has had for regional venues and communities

  • Identifying learnings and insights from experience of recent tours

  • Identifying the opportunities for NGA touring to have a greater impact

Focus venues and tours

5-7 venues will be the focus of the impact study, and their involvement will depend on the availability, timing and capacity of venue staff. A key success factor of this project is working collaboratively with the venue partners and the NGA team and to achieve our intended outcomes. 

Potential focus venues - large 

  • Araluen, NT 

  • Cairns, QLD 

  • Hamilton, VIC 

  • Ipswich, QLD 

  • Shepparton, VIC 

Potential focus venues - small 

  • Murray Bridge, SA  

  • Geraldton, WA 

Focus NGA tours 

The project will focus on 3-6 of the following NGA exhibitions to evaluate the impact of the touring program: 

  • Ceremony 

  • Terminus 

  • Rauschenberg & Johns 

  • Skywhales 

  • David Hockney 

  • Lightmoves 

How you’ll be involved 

Virtual discussion group 

About: The virtual discussion group will be facilitated by Patternmakers on videoconferencing platform, Microsoft Teams. It will be a semi-structured conversation designed to hear from regional galleries directly about the impact of the program.

Date: Tuesday 28 March (TBC)

Instructions: Further instructions and a meeting link will be provided closer to the date.

Discussion topics: 

The discussion will follow a discussion guide, centred on the following evaluation questions: 

  • What impact does the NGA touring program have on venue programming, resources and staffing? 

  • How are the venues approaching audience development of NGA touring exhibitions and how is NGA helping them to achieve their goals? 

  • How are the venues approaching the promotion and marketing of NGA touring exhibitions and how is NGA helping them to achieve their goals? 

  • How are NGA resources being utilised by venues – what is working well and what could be improved? 

  • Are there ways to work together differently in future? What would make a difference to the reach and impact of the program? 

  • Overall, what difference is the program making to the venue's visitors and to the wider local community and is there potential for even greater impact in future?  

Large venues only: Online survey of audiences 

Aim: To hear directly from audiences about what they’ve taken away from experiencing NGA Tours, their views on the impact of the program for themselves and their community. 

Key details: 

  • Target audience: attendees of NGA tours at selected focus venues 

  • Target sample size: 400 responses across 5-7 focus venues 

Instructions

Detailed instructions will be discussed with you closer to the launch date - however a summary of the steps is included below:

  1. Patternmakers will develop and program the survey, and provide a unique survey link and invitation template to each focus venue 

  2. On an agreed date, each focus venue will send an email invitation containing a unique survey link to a sample of your audience. In agreement with you, this will be sent directly from your gallery to your email database of visitors and/or members and eNews subscribers 

  3. Patternmakers will collate and analyse the data 

What you’ll get out of it:

This survey is a great opportunity for you to better understand your audience, and we can provide you with valuable information including:

  • Insights around the impact of the NGA tour for your visitors and what it means for them to attend 

  • A snapshot of who your audience is: their age, location and other demographic insights 

  • Their motivations for attending NGA touring exhibitions and any barriers they may have experienced 

  • Anonymised quotes from audience members which can be used in reporting, marketing and communications, board papers and more

Image credit: Patricia Piccinini, Skywhale, 2013, gift of anonymous donor 2019 through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, Skywhalepapa, 2020, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation 2019, purchased 2020 © Patricia Piccinini