Curious Project: Coded Conversations
St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art
Evaluation report
‘Sailing the sea of stories’
‘My sister is a potter.
These make me think of
her and the skill that it
takes to throw a bowl’
‘This project shows the big
difference about what is
Curious instead of peculiar
- that’s gorgeous’
‘I like this necklace
because my father is a
goldsmith. I know how he
worked very well to bring
us up. I miss my father’
‘People's stories made me
look at them in a different
way and think about my
own stories and
experiences.’
‘earliest childhood memory
is pouring tea from a toy
teapot. I now have my
mother’s. It was her most
valued possession - and
now it’s mine.’
‘Did a wee type, felt fab.’
‘This broom reminds me of
the day when my dad
taught me how to sweep
the floor back home in the
Congo.’
‘Buddhism has helped me
deal with sense of loss.’
December 2012
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Table of Contents
1. Overall Summary and Conclusions
2. Introduction
3. Purpose of the Evaluation
4. Methodology and Sample
5. Results:
i.
Exhibition Development: Participant Responses
ii.
Exhibition: Visitor Reponses:
-
Visitor Response Space
-
Exhibition Comments
-
Learning Programme
6. Analysis
Appendices:
Appendix A Comparison of Main Themes for Exhibition Development and Exhibition Visitors
Appendix B Exhibition Development Excel Spreadsheet
Appendix C: Exhibition Responses Excel Spreadsheet
Appendix D Comparison of Exhibition Responses
Appendix E: Transcription of Veil_Coded
Appendix F: Transcription of WarriBoard_Coded
Appendix G: Transcription of Wedding Chest_Roshni Group discussion
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Curious Project: Coded Conversations
SECTION 1: OVERALL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
For both Exhibition Development (ED) participants and the Exhibition Delivery phase the
same three themes were most often discussed or articulated; reflection, object focus and
wider themes (see Appendix A). While the ranking for these themes varied between the two
phases of the project, the findings would seem to suggest that the principle project aim of
‘creating intercultural dialogue and a legacy of increased understanding of each other, our
city and our collections’ was met.
Visitors to the Curious exhibition tended to make more reflective comments (31%) compared
with ED participants (22%). However, within the Exhibition Visitor comments, there was also
variation in this response. Participants of the Learning Programme (34%) and visitors who
made comments in the Visitor Response Space (37%) made more reflective comments than
visitors who wrote in the Exhibition Comments book (17%).
For all ED participant and visitor comments, the most typical reflective comment triggered
through discussion or engagement with an object related to remembering a family member.
Associations with family, events, and places were important means of making connections
with objects and often very personal stories were shared.
ED participants tended to make more statements which tackled wider themes; 36%
compared to 29% of Exhibition Visitors. The most commonly discussed themes among ED
participants were religion, tradition, ritual & ceremony, negative emotional responses,
popular culture and affective statements of like and dislike.
Exhibition Visitors tended to make more positive emotional responses as well as comment
on storytelling, the process of creating memories, religion and tradition, ritual and ceremony.
ED participants exhibited more negative emotional responses (6%) than Exhibition Visitors
(2%).
For all participant and visitor comments, geographical associations most often related to
locations outside of Glasgow; both in Scotland and abroad.
3
For all participant and visitor responses, the most typical object-focus comment made links
to an object not featured within the current display. Both groups also ranked ‘craftsmanship
of the object’ second most common observation and ‘experience of using the object’ third.
There was variation of object-focus responses within the Exhibition Delivery comments.
Learning Participants also discussed alternative uses for the object – something which was
not discussed by other visitors.
The coding for the two facilitated elements of the project (exhibition development and the
learning programme) yielded different outcomes. In particular reflective comments
were the most common response within the Learning Programme discussions (34%)
compared with 22% (ranked third) for Exhibition Development.
The objects which elicited the most interest and comments were the typewriter, the radio, the
broom, the butter churn, the wedding chest, the teaset, the necklace and the veil. There are
potentially a number of reasons for this; an interactive encouraging comments was
positioned beside the object, the object became the focus of a group discussion in the
learning programme or exhibition development which invited a greater number of comments,
there was seating beside or near some of the objects which allowed visitors to pause and
reflect, or the objects themselves were instantly recognisable to both participants and visitors
and therefore readily evoked memories.
SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION
Curious was part of the Scottish Project. The Scottish Project was funded by Legacy Trust
UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by
funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK and by the National Lottery
through Creative Scotland.
A fundamental aim of the Glasgow Museums’ Curious project was to create ‘ intercultural
dialogue and a legacy of increased understanding of each other, our city and our
collections.’ The project aims included:

A year-long community-led exhibition in St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art
in Glasgow

A collections based learning programme focused on Cultural Awareness and
strategies for intercultural dialogue

A schools programme developed in partnership and reflecting the approach of the
Curriculum for Excellence.
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SECTION 3: PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION
Around one hundred people – individuals and community groups – were involved in
selecting and interpreting objects for display. The exhibition, of thirty objects, highlights
participants’ responses to these objects.
The Curious learning programme was developed in parallel with the exhibition, through
extensive action based research and pilot sessions and delivered participatory objectfocused learning sessions. It includes use of handling objects as well participants sharing
their responses to the Curious exhibition
The Curious Coding evaluation analysed exhibition development participants’ responses and
visitor comments (including participants of the Learning Programme) about the objects and
the exhibition and assessed the extent to which project aims have been met.
SECTION 4: METHOD AND SAMPLE
Comments by exhibition development (ED) participants and visitors to Curious were
collected and coded in order to assess responses to individual objects selected for display
(Appendices B and C).
4.1 Sample
As part of the exhibition development, project staff recorded sessions with participants in a
variety of different media. Comments were sourced and coded from:

Mind maps

Filmed and audio interviews

Film and audio transcripts

Draft labels

Creative writing session booklets

Group discussions

Workshops
217 statements were coded individually from the 54 participant responses.
The exhibition was open from August 2011 – December 2012. From September 2011 –
September 2012, 428 visitor response comments were recorded by the Museum. Comments
were sourced and coded from:

Exhibition Comments book

Visitor Response Space

Learning Programme
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Comments relating to the general visitor experience (St Mungos as a whole) or general
comments that were not applicable were removed. Of the remainder (288) 391 individual
statements were coded separately.
4.2 Coding Categories
5 broad themes were identified. A brief description of each is outlined below:
Reflection: where the individual contemplated, considered, compared or remembered
individuals, places or events associated with their past.
For example: ‘This typewriter reminds me of my dad writing his sermons in the 1940's. He
often used to work late into Saturday evening, stopping for Sportscene and getting up again
early on Sunday morning’
Skills / motivation: where the individual highlighted a skill previously learned, undertaken
within the gallery space or identified as a post-visit activity.
For example: ‘The small typewriter attracted my attention immediately and I sat down and
typed a short message to experience the feel of a manual typewriter again. Aged 16 I
attended Langside College to follow a course in Commercial Studies - shorthand, typing and
book-keeping!’
Geographical associations: which referenced either the City of Glasgow or other cities,
countries or continents.
For example: ‘It reminds me of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. They are famous of making
silver jewellery’
Object focused comments: which related directly to the object on display (the making of it,
its use, its aesthetic) or comments about another object not displayed.
For example:
‘I like the veil because it caught my eye and it looked like something else. Darth Vadar’
‘It was amazing! I have just seen the radiograph Rigouda from Russia (honestly it was made
in Latvia, Rigo but then it was a part of USSR). My mum still has the same kind of Rigoude
in storage!!’
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Wider Themes / topics: which referred to broader topics e.g., storytelling, the process of
creating memories, tradition, ritual and ceremony. A full list is given in the table below.
For example:
‘Reminds me some stories from childhood’
‘I was moved by some of the people`s tales; how simple everyday objects can bring back
memories of good times, of those we love and of feelings of happiness and love.’
‘This reminds me of the first ritual I attended in Ecuador when I was doing field work for my
PHD. It was a funeral and attending made me feel a part of the community.’
Within these five themes, 27 individual categories were identified and coded for. These are
detailed on the table below.
342 comments were coded from exhibition development and visitor responses combined; 54
statements within exhibition development and 288 from visitor responses to the exhibition. A
total of 608 separately coded statements were identified from these 342 comments.
Table 1: Curious Coding Categories
Category
Code
Remembering someone
RF1
(family)
Remembering someone
RF2
(friend)
Remembering an event
RF3
(direct connection to the
object)
Remembering an event
RF4
(indirect connection to the
object)
Self-reflective
RF5
Theme
Reflection
Definition
Reference to a family member
Reflection
Reference to a friend
Reflection
Reference to an event where the
object being discussed was used,
or engaged with in some way
Reference to an event triggered by
an object on display but not directly
connected to the object
Consideration of own personality or
identity
Comparisons made with
contemporary life, reflecting on
change
Reflection
Reflection
Reflections on contemporary
life
RF6
Reflection
Learning a skill (past)
LS1
Learning a skill (in gallery)
LS2
Skills /
Motivation
Skills /
Motivation
Reference to a skill learned in the
past
Reference to a skill learned in
gallery or desire to learn post-visit
Geographical association
(outside Glasgow)
Geographical association
GA1
Geographical
associations
Geographical
Reference to a country, city or
location outside of Glasgow
Direct reference to Glasgow
GA2
7
(Glasgow)
associations
Connections with another
object (not displayed)
Experience of using the
object
Craftsmanship / Appreciation
of object
OF1
Object-Focus
OF2
Object - Focus
OF3
Object – Focus
Alternative uses for the
object
Simple description of the
object
Reproductive fact
OF4
Object – Focus
OF5
Object - Focus
OF6
Object - Focus
Storytelling
Religion
WT1
WT2
Wider Themes
Wider Themes
Creating memories (general)
WT3
Wider Themes
Tradition, ritual, ceremony
WT4
Wider Themes
Immigration / alienation
WT5
Wider Themes
Immigration / positive
WT6
Wider Themes
Emotional response (general
/ positive)
Emotional response (general
/ negative)
Occupations
Affective
Popular culture
WT7
Wider Themes
WT8
Wider Themes
WT9
Wider Themes
WT10 Wider Themes
WT11
Reference to another object not on
display
Reference to using similar object
Reference to the making of the
object, and appreciation of skills
involved in its making
Reference to alternative uses for
the object
Simple description of its visual
qualities
Simple factual statement about the
object e.g., it was made in 1900.
Reference to stories, or storytelling
Direct reference to religion or
religious practices
Reference to the process of
creating memories
References to tradition, ritual,
ceremony or cultural practices
Negative references to immigration
and experiences of being an
immigrant
Positive references to immigration
and experience of being an
immigrant
Positive emotional response (to
wider topic)
Negative emotional response (to
wider topic)
Reference to jobs past and present
Like or dislike of object
Popular cultural references
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SECTION 5: RESULTS
5.1 Exhibition Development: Participant Comments
Reflection
22%
Wider Themes
36%
Skills
2%
Geographical
association
16%
Object-focus
24%
Figure 1: Breakdown of main themes for Exhibition Development participants
218 statements were coded individually from the 54 participant responses (Appendix B).
Discussion of wider themes (see below) accounted for 36% of the statements with reflective
and object-focused comments accounting for 22% and 24% respectively.
Within the category ‘wider themes’ the following topics were most frequently discussed:
- Religion (9%)
-
Tradition, ritual and ceremony (7%)
-
Emotional response (negative) 6%
-
Popular Culture (5%)
-
Affective (5%)
In particular, the 5 most frequent types of comments related to:
-
Geographical association (outside Glasgow) [34 comments]
-
Remembering someone (family) [27 comments]
-
Religion [20 comments]
-
Tradition, ritual and ceremony [15 comments]
-
Emotional response (positive / general) & Connections with another object (not
displayed) [both 13 comments]
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Section 5.2: Exhibition Delivery Responses
5.2.1 Exhibition Delivery Comments (Overview)
428 visitor response comments were recorded by the Museum:

162 Exhibition Book Comments

17 Visitor Response Space Comments

249 Learning Programme Comments
Comments relating to the general visitor experience (St Mungos as a whole) or general
comments that were not applicable were coded (see Appendix C) but were removed from
the analysis. Of the remainder (288) 391 individual statements were coded separately.
The exhibition comments and visitor response space comments were unprompted
comments. The Learning programme comments were part of facilitated group sessions led
by Curious Project Learning Assistants..
Wider Themes
29%
Object-focus
23%
Reflection
31%
Geographical
association
13%
Skills
4%
Figure 2: Breakdown of main themes by Exhibition Visitor (Combined) comments
The three predominant themes were comments relating to:
-
Reflection (31%)
-
Object focus (23%)
-
Wider Themes (29%)
10
Within the category ‘wider themes’ the following topics were most frequently discussed:
-
Emotional response (general / positive) (15%)
-
Storytelling (10%)
-
Religion (10%)
-
Creating memories (general) (10%)
-
Tradition, ritual and ceremony (10%)
5.2.2 Exhibition Book Comments
Reflection
17%
Skills
7%
Wider Themes
44%
Geographical
association
3%
Object-focus
29%
Figure 3: Breakdown of main themes by Exhibition Book Comments
70 separate statements were coded from the exhibition book comments. Discussion of wider
issues (see below) accounted for 44% of the comments with 29% of comments indicating an
object focus and 17% of a reflective nature.
Within the category ‘wider themes’ the following topics were most frequently discussed:
-
Storytelling (25%)
-
Affective responses (25%)
-
Religion (16%)
-
Creating memories (general) (10%)
-
Emotional responses (positive / general) (10%)
In particular, the 5 most frequent types of comments related to:
-
Craftsmanship / appreciation of the object (14%)
11
-
Experience of using the object (11%)
-
Storytelling (11%)
-
Affective comments (11%)
-
Remembering someone (family) (10%)
5.2.3 Visitor Response Space Comments
Wider Themes
37%
Object-focus
15%
Reflection
37%
Skills
7%
Geographical
association
4%
Figure 4: Breakdown of main themes by Visitor Response Space comments
27 separate statements were coded from the Visitor Response comments. Reflective
comments and statements relating to wider themes (see below) both accounted for 37% of
comments. 15% of comments were object-focused.
Within the category ‘wider themes’ the following topics were most frequently discussed:
-
Affective response
-
Popular culture references
-
Religion
-
Creating memories
-
Tradition, ritual and ceremony
-
Emotional responses (negative)
In particular, the two most frequent types of comments related to:
-
Remembering someone (family)
-
Affective responses
12
There was an equal distribution of comments relating to:
-
Self-reflection (of own identity / personality)
-
Learning a skill (past)
-
Popular culture references
-
Craftsmanship / appreciation of object
-
Connections with another object (not displayed)
5.2.4 Learning Programme Comments
Wider Themes
25%
Reflection
34%
Object-focus
22%
Geographical
association
17%
Skills
2%
Figure 5: Breakdown of main themes by Learning Programme responses
294 separate statements were coded from the comments recording from Learning
Programme events. Reflective comments accounted for 34% of the discussion content
coded with comments relating to wider themes at 25% (see below) and object-focus
comments at 22%.
‘
Within the category ‘wider themes’ the following topics were most frequently discussed:
-
Affective responses (32%)
-
Emotional responses (general / positive) (16%)
-
Tradition, ritual, ceremony (12%)
-
Creating memories (general) (8%)
-
Religion (7%)
13
In particular, the 5 most frequent types of comments related to:
-
Remembering someone (family) (18%)
-
Geographical association (outside Glasgow) (14%)
-
Remembering an event (directly related to the object) (9%)
-
Affective response (8%)
-
Connections with another object (not displayed) (7%)
SECTION 6: ANALYSIS
For both ED participants and Exhibition Delivery the same three themes were most often
discussed or articulated; reflection, object focus and wider themes. While the ranking for
these themes varied between the two phases of the project, the findings would seem to
suggest that the principle project aim of ‘creating intercultural dialogue and a legacy of
increased understanding of each other, our city and our collections’ was met.
In addition, while there is a degree of contrast between the development stage of the
exhibition and the visitor response to Curious, overall visitors responded to the display in
similar ways to the ED participants. Associations with family, events and places were
important means of making connections with objects and often very personal stories were
shared. Topics such as storytelling, traditions, religion, experience of using the object, as
well as the opportunity to express negative and positive emotional reactions to objects and
subject-matter were a regular feature of conversations.
Exhibition Delivery Comments:
There was some variation within the type of Exhibition Delivery comments (Appendix D):

The Learning Programme and the Visitor Response Space elicited more significantly
more reflective comments than the Exhibition Comments.
o
Within the Learning Programme reflective comments accounted for 34% of
statements and ranked first out of the themes.
o
Within the Visitor Response Space reflective comments accounted for 37% of
statements and ranked first equal (with wider themes) out of the themes.
o
Within the Exhibition Comments reflective comments accounted for only 17% of
comments and ranked third, after wider themes (44%) and object focus (29%).
o
Geographical associations ranked slightly higher in the Learning Programme (4th place,
17%) compared to the Visitor Response Space and the Exhibition Comments which both
coded the least number of references (4% and 3% respectively).
14
Reflective comments:
For Exhibition Delivery the most common type of comment was reflective (31%). This
contrasts with ED participants where the most common type of comment related to wider
themes (36%) and for who reflective comments ranked third (22%).
For both ED participants and the Exhibition Delivery phase reflective comments regularly
related to remembering family members, or an event directly connected to the object:
o
For ED participants 12% of statements referenced a family member and 6% referenced
an event connected to the object.
o
For Exhibition Visitors 16% of statements referenced a family member and 7%
referenced an event connected to the object.
Wider Themes:
For ED participants the most common type of statement was coded as relating to ‘wider
themes’ (36%) and within this theme the most common topics were:
o
Storytelling (9%)
o
Tradition, ritual and ceremony (7%)
o
General emotional response (positive) (6%)
o
References to popular culture (5%)
For Exhibition Delivery the most common type of statement coded relating to ‘wider themes’
(29% of overall comments) were:
o
Emotional response (general / positive) (15%)
o
Storytelling (10%)
o
Religion (10%)
o
Creating memories (general) (10%)
o
Tradition, ritual and ceremony (10%)
Within Exhibition Delivery there were minor variations in the ranking of these sub-themes
between the Exhibition Book Comments, Visitor Response Space and the Learning
Programme.
ED participants exhibited more negative emotional responses (6%) than Exhibition Visitors
(2%).
Object-focus comments:
15
These ranked higher for ED participants (second highest theme, 24%) than it did for
exhibition delivery comments (third highest theme, 23%).
o
For both groups the most common statements related to connections made to another
object not on display.
o
The second most popular statement coded for craftsmanship of the object for both
groups.
o
Exhibition visitors (delivery phase) made more references to using the object (ranked
third within this theme) than ED participants (ranked 4th within the theme).
Geographical Associations:
For both ED participants and Exhibition Delivery comments the geographical associations
and connections tended to be references to locations outside of Glasgow. For ED
participants this was 16% of overall comments and 97% of geographical association
comments. For Exhibition Visitors this equated to 12% of overall comments and 87% of
geographical association comments.
For further info, please contact
Kirsty Devine
e: [email protected]
m: 07540 990 542
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