PUBLIC ACCESS: Public Art Conference 2012

The human experience design of the Johannesburg Art Gallery

There are conflicting views of the environment and purpose of the gallery.

Who are our users? And how do we increase attendance?

The audience is more complex than it may seem

What is valuable (or not valuable) about the Gallery is also different to different people

For a family that is not particularly aware of art the value may just be a day out with the kids

For a family that is not particularly aware of art the value may just be a day out with the kidsFor the art world it may be about networking

For a family that is not particularly aware of art the value may just be a day out with the kidsFor the art world it may be about networkingFor some it may be about prestige

For a family that is not particularly aware of art the value may just be a day out with the kidsFor the art world it may be about networkingFor some it may be about prestigeFor academics it may be about access to knowledge

For a family that is not particularly aware of art the value may just be a day out with the kidsFor the art world it may be about networkingFor some it may be about prestigeFor academics it may be about access to knowledgeFor the city it may be about cohesion

However, the audiences of the JAG are also stakeholders. The building and collection were donated to the city and people of Johannesburg.

Much of our thinking about value lies in objects.

Much of our thinking about value lies in objects. The object of exchange.

These things are the ‘what’ of our experiences.

It includes the building, the collection, the archives…

On multiple levels these objects are inaccessible

I can buy a drill bit for R20.This implies that the value of the drill bit is R20.

But people don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill bit. They want a quarter-inch hole.

The value of the object is in ways an illusion. Further, the value of the thing is only revealed when used.

With the drill-bit and screw I am able to hang a painting. The value lies in having a painting hanging in my living room.

In this sense, the actual value is co-produced.

The value of the object is in ways an illusion. Further, the value of the thing is only revealed when used.

With the drill-bit and screw I am able to hang a painting. The value lies in having a painting hanging in my living room.

In this sense, the actual value is co-produced.

This not only tells us that value exists-in-use but also that what we need to look for is the “why”

So why are the building, the collection, the archives valuable?

…as ‘totems’ to link people together…for community engagement and cohesion…for filling a void…for problem solving…for personal transformation…for dignity…social activation…a social economy…memory creation…memorialisation…placemaking…identity making…beautification…democratisation…consciousness, debate and growth at the personal or societal levels

In this sense, the Gallery, it’s staff, operations, exhibits, archive are agents for a value exchange that exists across the JAG’s ecosystem.

It is the way that JAG facilitates the engagement with these objects that is the hidden intellectual capital

The user experience of the inner city remains the ‘what’ but ones relationship to that experience can shift what it means.

Development or decay?

The answer to questions like:

Why visit the JAG?Why donate to the JAG?Why lend art to the JAG?Why tell your friends about the JAG? Why lobby for the JAG?

…lies in an argument and demonstration of the relevance of the co-produced value that the JAG provides as an agent to its stakeholders.

This relevance needs to be explored, understood and unpacked.

Once we can can see this landscape of meaning we can start to design ways to engage stakeholders in the co-production of the value it holds.

And this should form the basis for the design of a new user experience.

Why is this exhibition relevant me?

The process:

1. Understand values

2. Demonstrate or create relevance

3. Build and nurture relationships

The model:

1. Define purpose 2. Establish

encompassing values

3. Link purpose and values to create behaviours

4. Deliver behaviours through tactics

THANK YOU.