Sam Tanson presented the results of the survey on museum practices in Luxembourg

The survey, which is part of the context of the implementation of the Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, including recommendations 10 "Setting up a cultural studies and statistics unit" and 47 "Conducting a survey on cultural practices in the country with a periodicity of 10 years: 1999, 2009, 2019, ..." draws up an inventory of the museum practices of the Luxembourg population during the reference period March 2019 to March 2020. It identified the needs of the public and the difficulties that would prevent part of the population from visiting the country's museum institutions.

In her speech, Sam Tanson recalled the objectives underlying this study: "The goals pursued by this ministry in museum and cultural policy are ambitious: to strengthen the development and transmission of museum collections, to ensure real access to culture for all, to promote cultural mediation, to include people a priori more distant from culture ... These are objectives that presuppose a thorough knowledge of target audiences and their needs. With this study, we are taking an important and indispensable step towards a future adaptation of the development and support mechanisms of the museum sector."

The survey shows that the audience for heritage sites and museums has been steadily increasing since 1999. On the whole, the museum public visits Luxembourg museums as much as foreign museums. More than eight out of ten visitors to Luxembourg museums praise their quality.

There are large differences in participation in most museum practices, and the more privileged social categories make up the majority of the museum public. Socio-demographic factors such as education level, socio-professional category and income remain strong determinants of museum attendance.

The continuing correlation between schooling and museum attendance in adulthood is indicative of the role of childhood habits, both within the family and at school. The possibilities of reduced admission fees to museums in Luxembourg as well as the digitalization and free access to a large number of museums online do not allow to bridge the gap of habits developed during childhood.

The report and its synthesis (in French) can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Culture:

• Le public des musées - Éléments de synthèse de l'enquête sur les pratiques muséales 2020
• Le public des musées en 2020 - Rapport complet

Press release by the Ministry of Culture