Should cultural institutions be in the business of "romance" or "precision"?

In the old days — say, mid 20th century — the rap on museums and the performing arts was that they were set up for people who already knew something about the content. You had to bring your own knowledge in order to make sense of the Latin-filled labels in a natural history museum. Times have changed, of course. The sector has made big strides toward democratic accessibility. But if arts and culture institutions are no longer catering narrowly to the cognoscenti, there’s still a sense in which they’re catering to the converted. You may not have to bring your own knowledge, but you do usually have to bring your own interest in the subject. What about the newcomers? What about people in the categories we culture professionals dub “experience seekers” or “cultural tourists”. Shouldn’t the experience be designed for them, too? Isn’t that the only way to broaden the audience over time?

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