Big Data at the service of art

Digital technologies and data analysis has long been recognized as one of the most effective development tools in many areas of life.

The pandemic and the ensuing isolation became a real catalyst for the development of these technologies in the art environment, helping institutions to continue working in conditions of isolation from the viewer and the surrounding world.

This article focuses on the main areas in which data analytics can help art institutions not only survive but also grow.

1. First, of course, this is an increase in the number of visits to the organization’s website and an increase in conversion (the percentage of the number of website visitors to the number of those who eventually made purchases on it). Using analytics tools such as Google Analytics, organizations can understand what brings people to a site, what they are interested in there, and why they leave the page and use that information to improve the public experience. It is known, for example, that it was thanks to the use of such data that the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was able to double the traffic on its website.
2. The second but no less important task of Big Data analytics is the issue of attracting new visitors and expanding a loyal audience, which is especially relevant in a quarantine environment. Thanks to new digital technologies, museums and exhibition halls can create new and more immersive formats for users’ virtual presence in digital copies of their spaces, providing them with an increasingly complete experience of interacting with art from home.
3. The third big task for digital technologies, the competent solution of which practically guarantees the success of any institution, is the creation of new services, the forecast, and assessment of the effectiveness of commercial and social initiatives. The tools for collecting and analyzing data sets, perhaps for the first time in history, allow such a close study of the personality and habits of visitors, users, and clients of various art structures. With the help of analytical tools, it is possible to determine and analyze their gender, age, country of origin, as well as obtain data on movements, and on their basis, build tactics and strategy for product promotion, including sponsorship and advertising contracts.