How a local exhibition reaches a new audience

An artist spends two years preparing an exhibition. The works are powerful. The space is beautiful. The opening night is full — mostly with the same faces: other artists, a few collectors, some diplomats, the artist's family and friends.

Two weeks later, the room is quiet. A guard reads the newspaper. A few tourists pass through. The students who live five minutes away, the market women across the road, the moto drivers parked outside — none of them come in.

Why? Not because they don't like art. Often, they simply don't know about it, don't feel invited, or think "that place isn't for people like me."

How can a local exhibition reach new audiences — people who don't usually visit galleries or museums?

Why new audiences matter

• For artists: more visitors means more recognition, feedback and sales.
• For communities: art helps people see their lives and history in new ways.
• For young people: exhibitions spark creativity and career ideas.
• For culture: art that only reaches a small elite doesn't shape society.

Around the world, cultural institutions struggle with the same challenge: their visitors are often older, wealthier and more educated than the general population. Research on museum audiences in many countries shows that people who visited museums as children are much more likely to visit as adults. That's why reaching young people and new audiences is so important.

Childhood visits are one of the strongest predictors of adult museum and gallery attendance. (Studies summarised by the UK's Taking Part survey and US National Endowment for the Arts research) Bring a child today, gain a visitor for life.

The barriers that keep people away

Understanding why people don't come is the first step:

• "I didn't know." Poor communication.
• "It's not for me." Galleries can feel intimidating, formal or elite.
• "It costs money." Entrance fees, transport, time off work.
• "I won't understand it." Art labels full of jargon.
• "It's far." Location and transport.
• "It's not in my language." Only French or English.
• "It's at the wrong time." Opening hours during work or school.

Joke break: A young man was asked why he'd never visited the gallery next to his house. He said, "I thought it was a bank. It's so quiet and everyone looks serious." To be fair, some galleries do look like banks. The good ones feel like living rooms.

Strategy 1: Go where people already are

Don't wait for audiences to come. Bring the exhibition — or part of it — to them:

• Pop-up displays in markets, schools, universities and bus stations.
• Murals and outdoor installations.
• Printed reproductions in public spaces.
• Mobile exhibitions in a van or container.
• Street performances linked to the exhibition.

When the Fondation Zinsou in Cotonou ran free exhibitions and education programmes, it made contemporary art accessible to many schoolchildren who might never have entered a gallery otherwise. Free entry and school partnerships were central to its audience strategy.

Strategy 2: Partner with schools

Schools are one of the best ways to reach new audiences — children, and then their parents.

• Offer free guided tours for classes.
• Create simple activity sheets (drawing, questions, games).
• Train young guides who speak students' language (literally and culturally).
• Invite students to create their own artworks in response.
• Host a student exhibition alongside the main one.

When children enjoy a visit, they often bring their families back. See Why cultural spaces need young visitors.

Strategy 3: Speak people's languages

• Write labels in simple language — no art-world jargon.
• Offer information in local languages (Fon, Yoruba, etc.) as well as French or English.
• Use audio guides or QR codes linking to voice notes in several languages.
• Train guides who can speak with elders, market women, students and tourists in their own language.

See The value of keeping African stories in local languages.

Strategy 4: Make it social

People go where their friends go. Make the exhibition a social event:

• Music nights, poetry readings and film screenings.
• Family days with games and workshops.
• Talks with artists, open to questions.
• Food and drink (even simple).
• Photo spots for social media.

Exhibitions that feel like a gathering attract more diverse audiences than those that feel like a silent test.

"Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it." — often attributed to Bertolt Brecht (attribution debated)

Strategy 5: Use social media smartly

• Post short videos of artworks with the artist explaining in 30 seconds.
• Share behind-the-scenes preparation.
• Use WhatsApp status and groups to share invitations.
• Collaborate with local influencers, musicians and content creators.
• Encourage visitors to post photos with a hashtag.
• Share visitors' reactions (with permission).

Use formats that work on low data: short clips, compressed images, voice notes. See How to design useful technology for low connectivity.

Strategy 6: Lower the cost barrier

• Free or pay-what-you-can entry.
• Free days for students, families or residents.
• Partner with sponsors to cover costs.
• Organise group transport for schools and associations.
• Extend opening hours to evenings and weekends.

Strategy 7: Connect to people's lives

Exhibitions that connect to visitors' own lives attract more people:

• Themes about the city, neighbourhood, family, work, music, food.
• Community contributions: photos, objects, stories from residents.
• Local history displays.
• Artworks about current issues (waste, water, youth, migration).

The 2022 exhibition in Cotonou that showed returned royal treasures alongside contemporary Beninese art drew large crowds partly because it connected to national pride and identity. Many visitors came to see "our" history, not just "art." Read What a museum can teach beyond its walls.

Strategy 8: Listen and learn

After (and during) an exhibition, ask visitors:

• How did you hear about it?
• What did you enjoy?
• What was confusing?
• What would bring you back?

Also ask people who didn't come: why not? Use a simple form, a comment book or short conversations. See Why customer feedback matters more than a logo — the same logic applies to culture.

An illustrative case study

Imagine a small exhibition of photography about Cotonou's lagoon communities (illustrative). The first week, visitors are mostly artists and expats. The team decides to change strategy:

• They print large photos and hang them in the fishing neighbourhoods where they were taken.
• They invite families from those communities to a special evening with music and food.
• They record short voice-note explanations in Fon and Goun.
• They partner with three schools for free visits.
• They post 20-second videos of fishermen reacting to their portraits.

By the third week, the gallery is full — with fishermen's families, students, parents and curious neighbours. Some families see themselves on a gallery wall for the first time. The artist sells more prints than expected, and a local radio station interviews her.

The art didn't change. The approach did.

Measuring success

Count more than visitors:

• Who came? (Age, neighbourhood, first-time visitors.)
• How long did they stay?
• What did they say?
• Did they come back or bring others?
• Did any school or community group follow up?

Good data helps secure funding for future exhibitions. See How to measure whether an initiative helped.

A low-budget outreach checklist

☐ Free or reduced entry for students and residents ☐ At least three school visits booked ☐ Labels in simple language (and at least one local language) ☐ Two public events (music, talk, family day) ☐ Short videos posted weekly on social media ☐ Posters in markets, schools and transport stations ☐ Local radio interview ☐ Visitor comment book or QR feedback form ☐ Photos of visitors (with permission) shared online

Most items on this list cost little more than time and a few phone calls.

Open the doors wider

An exhibition isn't finished when the art is on the walls. It's finished when people — many kinds of people — have seen it, felt something and talked about it.

Reaching new audiences takes creativity, humility and effort. But it's worth it. Because art that reaches only a few people is a whisper. Art that reaches a whole community is a conversation.

Keep reading: The artists telling stories of today's Benin, How creative teams work across African borders, and our Art & Culture section.

Questions

How can I attract more visitors to an art exhibition?

Go where people are, partner with schools, use simple language and local languages, make events social, use social media, lower costs and connect themes to people's lives.

Why don't many people visit galleries?

Common reasons include not knowing about exhibitions, feeling it's not for them, cost, transport, jargon and language barriers.

How do I measure an exhibition's success?

Track visitor numbers and profiles, first-time visitors, time spent, feedback, repeat visits and follow-up actions by schools or community groups.