Habits of a Lifetime: Museum Visitation Amongst Older Australians
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Habits of a Lifetime: Museum Visitation Amongst Older Australians Jeromey Temple 1
& Lena
Gan 1
Received: 4 July 2019 / Accepted: 1 September 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Recent studies have shown that cultural engagement, including museum attendance, is associated with improved health and wellbeing among older people. Understanding the correlates and reasons for attending museums and art galleries in later life is therefore an important area of research. In this paper, we employ an innovative mixed methods approach to understand museum attendance among older Australians (aged 60 and over). The quantitative component of our study found that (1) the prevalence of museum attendance is substantial, with one in three Australians aged over 60 attending a museum in 2014; (2) high income, holding assets and involvement in cultural activities in childhood were all strongly associated with attendance; (3) that demographic groups less likely to attend included those aged over 80, persons born in a non-English speaking country and those reporting poor or fair health, and (4) the most prevalent reason for non-attendance was ‘not interested’ or ‘no need’. The qualitative data from the two pilot studies confirmed the quantitative findings and provided further detail around reasons for attendance, potential strategies to encourage groups less likely to attend and how functional limitations are experienced in museum environments. These findings are important for museums and underscore the long-term and inclusive value of intergenerational programs, museum visitation as a social activity, the importance of physical comfort and ease and the potential of communication around the opportunities and benefits of museum visitation. Keywords Ageing . Museums . Intergenerational relationships . Communications
* Lena Gan [email protected] Jeromey Temple [email protected]
1
Demography and Ageing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
J. Temple, L. Gan
Introduction As with most countries around the globe, the number of older people in Australia is increasing rapidly. By 2055 Australia’s older population (65+) will double and the number aged 85 and over is projected to double in the next 25 years.1 Australian governments are increasingly supporting ageing in place and active, healthy ageing in an attempt to keep people in good health for as long as possible to mitigate potential costs attributable to population ageing (EY. 2016). In this context, cultural institutions have the potential to support and foster age-friendly environments, social inclusion and age-integrated societies (Dodd et al. 2018). Cultural institutions such as museums, are repositioning themselves for greater relevance in rapidly evolving societies. Historically many cultural institutions were perceived as elitist and exclusive in approach. However, with changing values and increasingly older and diverse populations, the focus of cultural institutions has continued to shif
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