#artoninstagram: Engaging with art in the era of the selfie

Abstract

This study aims to understand how people engage with art in the era of selfies, digital devices, and social media. It examines the audience experience of an art exhibition, where visitors are encouraged to use social media to share their art experience, to understand how such an approach might change the nature of visitor engagement with art. Arguably, selfies taken in the art space enrich the visitor’s experience and engagement with art and function as co-creational, empowering, and authentic marketing tools for museums. Data for this research were collected through non-participant observation (ethnography) and netnography at the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne, Australia. The results show that rather than promoting disengagement from the art piece, selfies in the art space become “networked material-discursive entanglements” empowering art consumers to co-create value and arts organizations to reduce their distance from consumers and reproduce the iconic authenticity of the artwork in the virtual space. The article contributes to selfie theory by overcoming the traditional view of selfies as manifestation of narcissistic self-expression. Instead, it promotes an interpretation of selfies as an empowering and democratizing means used by art consumers to develop narratives and identity projects in a context such as the museum where traditionally the development of the narrative is apanage of an elite. A further contribution provided by this research stems from the identification of clusters of visitors (i.e., reality escapers, art lovers, photoholics, and selfie lovers), placed on a continuum of value co-creation, which arts administrators need to be conscious of as they enter a more dynamic era of art consumption. By outlining managerial implications, this study provides an initial reflection on how arts managers can navigate the emerging era of the selfie in the museum context.

Quality Requirements for Implementing Augmented Reality in Heritage Spaces: Teachers’ Perspective

“…Lastly, we also wanted to know whether they would like that the use of ICTs at a cultural location became an opportunity for a co-creation process of content with other students (B.24) [83]; however, this was not one of the features more highly rated by the teachers.…”

An Examination of Classical Art Impact and Popularity through Social Media Emotion Analysis of Art Memes and Museum Posts

“…Heydeman [43] and Burness [44] asserted that Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt's self-portraits are the earliest selfies. Piancatelli, Massi, and Vocino [22] found in a recent study in this field that museum selfies can enhance visitor interaction with artworks. They claim that the procedure is also influenced by the visitor's emotional response to the art encounter.…”

“…Previous research, such as that conducted by Leaver, Highfield, and Abidin [14], has emphasized the Instagram philosophy, which encompasses commercial, creative, and regular use, as well as economic and cultural acceptance. A quick Instagram scroll offers posts regarding news [17], fashion [18], lifestyle [19], self-image presentation [20], and of course arts [21,22]. Abidin [23] points out that Instagram (a) promotes itself as "networked intimacy" by referring to its users as friends, not as followers; (b) encourages users to navigate the app using their "mobile phones" for instant access from anywhere; (c) collects users' moments as keepsakes; and (d) captures spontaneous "happenings" as they occur in real time.…”

The Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped: Measuring Public Installation Art Engagement and Popularity through Social Media Data Analysis

“…Previous research, such as Leaver, Highfield, and Abdin [26], has emphasized the Instagram philosophy, which includes marketing, creativity, and regular use, as well as finance and cultural reception. A swift scroll on Instagram and Twitter offers posts about the latest news [27] and trends in real-time, such as COVID-19 [28,29], fashion and style [30,31], way of life [32], selfimage presentation [33], and of course arts and culture [34,35]. Instagram and Twitter micro-influencers also exist, having 336 million monthly active users [36].…”