DATA DRIVEN PATRON ENGAGEMENT IN ART INSTITUTIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v6.i2s.2025.6703Keywords:
Data-Driven Engagement, Art Institutions, Visitor Analytics, Machine Learning, Audience Segmentation, Cultural AnalyticsAbstract [English]
The institutions of art find themselves in that situation more and more, trying to maintain the attention of the visitors because of shifting expectations of the audience, the disruptive influence of digital technologies, and the lack of understanding of the heterogeneous behavior of the patrons. Conventional methods of engagement are based on intuit, stationary surveys or post-experience surveys and they have little abilities in forseeing inclinations, customizing experiences, or institutional decision-making. This paper aims to discuss the issue of a lack of evidence-based, methods of cognition and control of the work with patrons in real and virtual art environments. The main goal is to come up with a structured framework utilizing data to model visitor behavior, preferences and pattern of interaction in order to facilitate adaptive engagement approaches in art institutions. The given methodology combines multi-source data, such as ticketing data, time-spent in exhibitions, digital interactions history, social media indicators, and demographic features. Clustering, predictive analytics, and recommendation models are machine learning methods that are used to create segments, predict attendance patterns, curatorial, educational, and marketing interventions. They have explainable analytics to guarantee transparency and institutional interpretability of insights. The results of empirical studies indicate that data-based engagement strategies have a significant positive effect on visitor retention, frequency of participation, and satisfaction rates relative to conventional ones. Customized content delivery and direct outreach boosts the recurrent visitation and predictive models enhance proactive programming in tune with the demand of the audience. The framework also aids in planning strategies as it helps to show what sections are under-engaged and measure the effect of exhibitions and events on a near time basis. Comprehensively, the paper shows that evidence-based patron-facing allows art organizations to move beyond their reactive management and adopt the more adaptive, audience-focused ecosystems to increase the cultural accessibility, institutional sustainability and creation of long-term value to the population.
References
Bhebhe, S., and Ngoepe, M. (2022). Political and Socio-Economic Dynamics on the Access to Oral Sources at National Archives in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Collections, 18, 176–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906211052716 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/15501906211052716
Chaterera, F., and Rodrigues, A. (2019). Use of Public Programming Strategies in Promoting Access to Documentary Heritage at Zimbabwe National Archives. In P. Ngulube (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Advocacy, Promotion, and Public Programming for Memory Institutions (Chapter 7). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7429-3.ch007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7429-3.ch007
Choi, B., and Kim, J. (2021). Changes and Challenges in Museum Management After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7, 148. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7020148 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7020148
Christ, A., Penthin, M., and Kröner, S. (2021). Big Data and Digital Aesthetic, Arts, and Cultural Education: Hot Spots of Current Quantitative Research. Social Science Computer Review, 39, 821–843. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319888455 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319888455
Church, E. M., Zhao, X., and Iyer, L. (2021). Media-Generating Activities and Follower Growth Within Social Networks. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 61, 551–560. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2020.1824597 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2020.1824597
Giannakoulopoulos, A., Pergantis, M., Konstantinou, N., Kouretsis, A., Lamprogeorgos, A., and Varlamis, I. (2022). Estimation on the Importance of Semantic Web Integration for Art and Culture Related Online Media Outlets. Future Internet, 14, 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14020036 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14020036
Giannakoulopoulos, A., Pergantis, M., Lamprogeorgos, A., and Lampoura, S. (2025). A Data-Driven Approach to Estimating the Impact of Audiovisual Art Events Through Web Presence. Information, 16, 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/info16020088 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/info16020088
Harding, C., Liggett, S., and Lochrie, M. (2019). Digital Engagement in a Contemporary Art Gallery: Transforming Audiences. Arts, 8, 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8030090 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8030090
Khashabi, D., Min, S., Khot, T., Sabharwal, A., Tafjord, O., Clark, P., and Hajishirzi, H. (2020). UnifiedQA: Crossing Format Boundaries With a Single QA System (arXiv:2005.00700). arXiv. https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2020.findings-emnlp.171 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2020.findings-emnlp.171
Maluleka, J., Nkwe, M., and Ngulube, P. (2023). Online Presence of Public Archival Institutions of South Africa. Collection and Curation, 42, 88–93. https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-10-2022-0034 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-10-2022-0034
Marini, F. (2019). Exhibitions in Special Collections, Rare Book Libraries and Archives: Questions to Ask Ourselves. Alexandria, 29, 8–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749019876122 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749019876122
Ncube, M. M., and Ngulube, P. (2025). Harnessing Data Analytics for Enhanced Public Programming in Archives and Museums: A Scoping Review. Heritage, 8, 163. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8050163 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8050163
Njobvu, B., Hamooya, C., and Mwila, P. C. (2012). Marketing and Public Programming at the National Archives of Zambia. Mousaion, 30, 219–227.
Pergantis, M., Varlamis, I., Kanellopoulos, N. G., and Giannakoulopoulos, A. (2023). Searching Online for Art and Culture: User Behavior Analysis. Future Internet, 15, 211. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi15060211 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/fi15060211
Saurombe, N. (2020). Taking Archives to the People: An Examination of Public Programs in the National Archives of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives. ESARBICA Journal, 48, 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/01576895.2019.1604242 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01576895.2019.1604242
Saurombe, N. P., and Ngulube, P. (2016). Public Programming Skills of Archivists in Selected National Memory Institutions of East and Southern Africa. Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies, 34, 23–42. https://doi.org/10.25159/0027-2639/379 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/0027-2639/379
Trichopoulos, G., Konstantakis, M., Alexandridis, G., and Caridakis, G. (2023). Large Language Models as Recommendation Systems in Museums. Electronics, 12, 3829. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12183829 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics12183829
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sameer Bakshi, Sudhanshu Dev, Ananta Narayana, Rahul Thakur, Dr. B. Anupama

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.























