Abstract

This paper considers some of the findings of a longitudinal research project undertaken to investigate the perceptions of, and attitudes towards museum/art gallery visits and their desired characteristics. The work centred largely upon a major re-launch, design and development project of a combined museum and art gallery on the South Coast of England. Over the course of a number of years the project broadened to allow the investigation of dimensions of the adult tourist's experience of museum and gallery visits. The desired adult experience in cultural presentations and visitation spaces was found to be focused upon internal self-learning through time and space consideration, involving processes of dimensional imagining, personal reflection and heuristic self-discourse whilst becoming “time and space dreamers”. An immersive, enabling and supporting environment and flow of differential space elements, or space-scape mix, for this experience was found to be essential for the desired outcomes. A suitable balance of different types of space was a perceived necessity of cultural visitation events for adults and groups involving adults, including a humanistic form of ‘warm’ space for the central desired adult object-related transformation experience, complimented by ‘cool’ space to allow reflection, consideration and relaxation. Acting in a form of tourist-visitor role, visitors were found to have a desire for space to 'bathe-in' and 'soak-up' a form of experiential learning in proximity to culturally significant objects, information and spaces of implied socio-cultural and local significance. Key words: culture; learning; experience; tourist-visitors; space-design matrix.