The Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru has scored two international marketing triumphs - an article in the Feburary 2007 edition of Museums Journal and mention on the home page of Global Museum webzine (check it out before the page changes).

How have they done it? Dr Fiona Ciaran, Director of the Aigantighe Art Gallery, says the article in Museums Journal happened because the journal heard about the innovations at the art museum.

Chen, the living Ming Dynasty sculpture - a human made up like a sculpture in the art museum’s collection - comes alive to interact with visitors and has connected especially well with children.

Activities, such dressing up in the costumes depicted in paintings, means children are dragging their sometime-reluctant parents to Aigantighe.

A sense of humour embodies this museum’s approach. ‘Museums are temples of curiosity: if you’re not having fun with your public, you’re failing to inspire them’, Fiona says. However, having fun is a serious business - the museum wants to get people through the door by making their museum approachable, their audience comfortable and ultimately engaged with the art.

 Coverage in the local paper is important to the museum’s marketing success. Chen made it into the local paper when he was spotted out and about in Timaru, cuddling another sculpture (a potential wife, by all accounts). With everything electronically linked, an item in the local paper can make a connection across the other side of the world - attracting the attention of Global Museum. It’s a good reminder of the importance of the local rag.

Another marketing vehicle for the museum is Arty the Art Car. Fiona says this art museum on wheels ’surprises the unsuspecting public by going places where an art museum might not be expected to have a profile’. The car is used for day-to-day tasks as well as outreach activities, joining parades and festivals and visiting schools and factories. ‘People see the Aigantighe having fun - it’s a very positive message’.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Marketing, Your stories, Building audiences. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.