ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the fundamental questions by providing an introductory overview of the field of museum and gallery studies, and establishing some of the key debates and parameters of this fascinating and interdisciplinary field of study. Elsewhere in the world, as in China and the Persian Gulf, there is a 'museum boom' going on, where museums and galleries are being built in great numbers and with great expense. 'Gallery studies', though, are less common and more often untaken inside university departments for art history, fine art, museum studies, visual culture, or cultural studies, rather than existing separately. Museums and galleries have high fixed costs while having relatively few opportunities to raise the funds to cover them; this means they are always reliant on financial support from donors, patrons or the state.
