ABSTRACT
The concept of the museum as a medium of communication is not new. It has long been recognized that one of its major roles is to facilitate an encounter between object and observer. This experience, for the majority of visitors, occurs through the exhibitions and, for many, the reason why museums and art galleries exist at all is to enable objects to be seen. Whilst there is an awareness of the museum’s other functions the extent of its commitment to them is probably not realized. Nevertheless, effective communication by the museum with its public goes beyond the exhibition galleries to include the entire ‘public interface’, i.e. every point at which contact is made with the public. This is important in the context of an overall image and communications policy of which the exhibitions are only a part – albeit one of the most important.
