An Analysis of How Private Art Institutions Evaluate their Digital Presence During COVID-19

Abstract

Digital media has proven its importance during the COVID-19 lockdown by bringing citizens together and providing a virtual space to be creative. Therefore, art institutions have reconsidered their online presence and expanded their digital capabilities focusing on their corporate websites and social media accounts. Diverse research has been conducted addressing museums' digital media usage during the lockdown, mostly in terms of numbers. To offer a different viewpoint, through an explanatory approach supported by a qualitative methodology, this study aims to understand how the digital media and communication teams of art institutions have evaluated this digital shift encountered during the pandemic. Considering the researcher's ease of access, this study has focused on the leading private art institutions in Istanbul. Four in-depth interviews were conducted with employees of Arter, Istanbul Modern, Pera Museum, and SALT in January 2021. Correspondingly, concentrating on their digital activities, the experiences of the team members have been shared.