Local museums, global publics: how online programming during COVID-19 impacted the way museums defifine their audiences

ABSTRACT

In the peri-pandemic 'new normal,' museums occupy physical and online spaces. One consequence of this change is that previously location-based museum programmes are suddenly more accessible to global publics worldwide populations of cultural heritage stakeholders, defined more by common interest than geographic location. This paper demonstrates how three American museums, each with different relationships to their publics, have engaged new audiences through online programming during COVID-19. As museums continue to adapt to additional, unprecedented challenges, continual re-evaluation of how the field defines publics will help cultural institutions adapt to fulfil their mandates in an ever-more globalised world.