Summary of interviews at Fotografiska

We conducted a number of interviews with children and their parents at Fotografiska Museet. Children tended to say that they did not think it was hard to concentrate on the exhibitions. They did not think they would have liked or needed something to play with and told us that they did not use their phones at all during the visit. A few said that they had been tedious at times and would have liked to have a toy to play with.

Our interviews with parents revealed an other story. As an example, one couple decided after 45 minutes to take a break and have something to eat in the café because the kids started having a hard time concentrating. They argued that they as parents had to be very active and help the children with the experience, by pointing out specific images and talk about them with the children. They also said the kids frequently asked to have their iPhones but were not allowed to use them in the museum. A merely visual experience is hard for children, as well as walking for a prolonged duration. According to the parents it was a safe assumption to make that they visited Fotografiska with their kids even though it was not family friendly, but that they would really appreciate it if the museum could be developed so that it was easier to take the kids there.

The mother in one of our interviews had an interesting reflection that was that we should give the kids some sort of opportunity to play with the concept of photography as a form of art, for example by letting them take pictures and try some simple editing or adding of filters. This would be an interactive activity that is still on the same theme as the museum visit in general.

One parent we interviewed said that children have tablets more often than smartphones. It is difficult to know how statistically accurate this is, but it might be worth looking in to if we decide to develop some kind of app. It seems to be a lot easier for children to appreciate an experience where they may be involved in in different ways. Many children wanted to touch the photographs in the museum, which of course isn’t desirable from the museum's perspective. Our conclusion is therefore that there is absolutely a need for some kind of solution to make it easier for art-loving parents to bring their children to Fotografiska and similar museums.