EDI AGORA TALK 6: What do Visitors Know?

How can visitor data and active listening radically transform the way we design exhibitions? Fully aligned with the spirit of the EDI Global Forum Agoràs, this session serves as an open platform to explore how data-driven insights can provide the international museum community with actionable tools to co-create inclusive, accessible, and visitor-centered cultural experiences.

The talk features Heidi Holder, Ph.D., Chair of Education at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, who leads the Met’s education vision and oversees all educational content and programs for local and global audiences.

Recognizing that visitor knowledge and understanding of historical, social, and cultural contexts are key factors in shaping meaningful learning experiences, this session examines a case study from the exhibition Sargent and Paris (April-August 2025) at The Met. Heidi Holder will illustrate how Education researchers conducted focus groups on visitors’ understanding of exhibition themes, and how the resulting data was used by the curatorial team and exhibition planners to shape didactics, inform in-gallery interventions to fill knowledge gaps, and promote a deeper connection to the objects on view. A discussion will follow on methods and opportunities for evaluation in museums.

This session directly reflects Holder’s broader research and visionary work at The Met, including her role as concept lead for the award-winning 81st Street Studio, an innovative children’s play space merging art and science. Her work continuously investigates how visitor perceptions shape exhibition content, language access, and interactive spaces, championing museums as dynamic sites where audiences can connect to art in ways that go far beyond talking and looking.

A discussion will follow moderated by Francesca Blandino, Head of Education, Fondazione Morra Greco.

The Agora Talk will take place online via Zoom.
The discussion will be held in English.

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Key Image: Visitors drawing, critiquing and reflecting on the show Sargent in Paris at The Met

Project co-financed through FSC 2021/2027 resources, DGR 616/2024. Strategic Plan for Culture and Tourism 2024/2025 – EDI 2025 Global Forum Contemporary Art Exhibitions Project.