Pleasure, Connection and Purpose: Museums & Emotions Research
Emotions in Museums
How can museums leverage the public’s emotions in order to build sustained support for the museum sector?
When a museum is facing closure or another threat, public support can soar. But how might we sustain this emotionally driven support on a long-term basis, and how does this translate into short-term campaigns?
Our arts, culture and heritage team were commissioned by the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and Art Fund to investigate which emotions drive public support for museums, why certain emotions are more powerful than others, and how museums might use these emotions to channel support amongst their communities as we emerge from the pandemic, but continue to face potentially challenging times.
We found that museums spark a range of emotions in their visitors, communities and the wider general public which we categoried under the ‘feelings’ of pleasure, purpose and connection. This report and the accompanying webinars provide insight and practical ways in which your museum might galvanise these emotions to connect with audiences on a deep emotional level.
The full report and webinars are available below, and the findings have also been presented at AIM’s Annual Conference in 2023 with a follow-up in 2024, as well as at the Knowledge Quarter conference in London, MuseumNext’s Social Impact conference and others.
You can also join AIM/Art Fund’s Community of Practice to work with colleagues from the wider sector and share learnings and experiences.
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Emotions in Museums: Outputs
The Report
We recommend starting with the written report. This contains a section on ‘Wayfinding’ (page 4) to help guide you through the most useful sections depending on what you are trying to do (though it is worth reading cover to cover, of course!).
AIM and Art Fund have setup a Community of Practice for those who wish to share progress and learnings from using the framework, share ideas about how it could be used and seek support from others. The group meets a couple of times a year remotely.
Meriel Royal provides an introduction to emotions and how other brands utilise them, the context for this research, what we did, the strucutre of the report, and how to start thinking about using the findings in your museum in the short and longer term.
The main presentation begins at 3:05.
Webinar 2
Elliot Simmonds briefly re-caps on the challenge and approach, before going on to discuss some practical elements in more detail – how do you understand where you are, how do you use the model in campaigns, and how might you use it in programming.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) commissioned M·E·L Research to support the development of an organisation-wide outcomes framework that could provide a consistent and shared understanding of the impact of RHS activities across the organisation. The framework was intended to create a common language for discussing outcomes, support future evaluation activity, and help align teams around shared objectives and priorities. The project was designed to bring together perspectives from across the organisation to identify, refine and structure the outcomes that RHS activities sought to achieve for…
Historic England is responsible for helping people to care for, enjoy and celebrate England’s historic environment. This environment is increasingly vulnerable to climate-related impacts such as flooding, coastal erosion, and temperature fluctuations, which threaten historic buildings, landscapes and archaeological sites. The organisation identified a gap in understanding public perceptions of climate-related heritage loss—specifically, how aware people are of the issue, how they emotionally respond to it, and what drives or prevents them from taking action to…
The Association of Independent Museums (AiM), with partners including Arts Council England, Welsh Government and the National Museum Directors’ Council, commissioned M·E·L Research to explore how museums and heritage organisations managed their land and outdoor spaces. The commissioners recognised that, although many museums held substantial green and blue space – from small courtyards and gardens to meadows, woodland, farmland and industrial landscapes – there was little sector-wide evidence on how this land was being used, or how it could support organisations’ social, environmental and financial goals.
Our client, the Midlands Industrial Ceramics Group, is a collaboration aimed at positioning the Midlands as a global leader in advanced ceramics innovation. Their members include industrial and academics partners that form part of the manufacturing and research base for advanced ceramics in the Midlands. By leveraging research and industrial expertise, the group focuses on developing advanced ceramic materials that revolutionize industries ranging from aerospace to healthcare.
The Groundlings are an online research community of 250 Royal Shakespeare Company audience members and potential audience members. The community first began in 2023 and will continue until 2026 and potentially beyond.
The group have been systematically sampled from the RSC mailing list to represent a broad spectrum of RSC audience members – from Patrons to those who have not visited but would like to, and including a boost of n=50 teachers who use RSC resources or undertake visits / outreach.
English Heritage (EH) sought to evaluate the interpretation work across nine historic sites within its estate, aiming for a significant shift towards a qualitative measure of success. Recognising the need for a nuanced understanding of visitor experiences, EH commissioned MEL Research Ltd to undertake this comprehensive framework development and evaluation.
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as Ukraine—the winner of the 2022 contest with the song “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra—was unable to host the event due to the Russian invasion of the country. We undertook a large-scale longitudinal study of Liverpool residents, across 6 months, to understand the impact of Eurovision from a wellbeing, tolerance and community perspective.
The Birmingham Weekender ran between 26-27 August 2023 with over 100 free events to enjoy at Bullring & Grand Central, the New Street Station concourse, Birmingham Markets and elsewhere. M·E·L Research consulted on the design of the questionnaire, and were responsible for scripting and hosting the software. We conducted face to face fieldwork during the course of the weekend, interviewing attendees using a systematic sampling approach.
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at Collections Inside & Out, a symposium hosted at National Trust Chirk Castle & Garden, bringing together people working across gardens, horticulture, heritage, collections and interpretation.
I was, perhaps, a slight interloper among so many people with deep horticultural expertise but every presentation was incredibly interesting and I learned a lot – and broadly managed to follow the general flow of what was being said (still not 100% au fait with taxa…
We’re pleased to share that our Commercial Director, Elliot Simmonds, will be speaking at the Collections Inside & Out symposium at National Trust Chirk Castle & Garden on 24 September 2026. Bringing together professionals working across heritage collections, gardens and landscapes, the symposium will explore the relationship between indoor and outdoor heritage and the opportunities created by thinking about them as part of a connected visitor experience.
Elliot’s session, “Integrating Indoor…
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M·E·L Research joined the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) at the House of Lords this week for the launch of a new report exploring the experiences of dyslexic young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Tamsin Maries, Senior Research Manager, and Elliot Simmonds, Commercial Manager, represented M·E·L Research at the event…
My son Jools was 14 years old when he died suddenly in April 2022. There was no note. There was no offline evidence that explained why he died. No one had seen or been aware of any adverse mental health issues, and at his original inquest the coroner could not be sure that Jools was in a suicidal mood. More than four years later, I am still trying to understand what happened to my son. Yet one enormous part of Jools’ life was not properly explored following his death: his digital world. Like almost every teenager, Jools had a life on his phone. Social…
M·E·L Research has been named the winner of the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Social Value & Ethical Research 2026 at the UK Enterprise Awards.
The award recognises the values that shape both the work we choose to undertake and the way we deliver it. From building trauma-informed practices into our research to improving inclusion and reinvesting in the communities around us, social responsibility is part of how we operate every day.
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M·E·L Research is pleased to be supporting the Diocese of Manchester with an independent consultation to help inform its future leadership. The research will provide opportunities for people connected with diocesan life, as well as members of the wider community, to share their perspectives on the local context, priorities for the years ahead and the qualities that will be important in future leadership.
Women’s sport is entering an important new phase, and we have been privileged to work with clients such as Kick It Out, WSL Football, Sport Wales and the Commonwealth Games, and witness and the experiences, impacts and drivers of this growth. Audiences are growing, competitions are evolving and sports organisations are exploring new ways to improve the matchday experience, deepen fan relationships and develop more sustainable commercial models. With that momentum comes significant opportunity, but it also raises important questions. As…
