Hybrid Model Deployment at a leading American Art Museum to Advance Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI)
Value Summary
Through the implementation of the practices described in this article the Museum* has realized the following benefits:
- Improvement in visitor satisfaction scores, equity, and the creation of a more inclusive environment.
- Improved collection security including a dramatic improvement in response time to security-related proximity alarms and emergencies.
- Cost savings by security forces having complete visibility to all galleries, covering more galleries effectively, and satisfying certain line-of-site lending requirements without adding more personnel.
- Creating a new personnel category “Visitor Engagement Representatives” with more duties and responsibilities. These job duties improve employee morale and increase retention rates.
*Due to the sensitive nature of this museum’s security operations and the subject of this article, the actual museum name is not used.
Protecting irreplaceable art and artifacts within a cultural property is a particularly challenging task. Finding a balance between proper protection including security officers, active patrols and technology initiatives must be carefully considered. The key is implementing these necessary measures in a way that both provides the proper security presence while also still ensuring that guests feel welcomed, comfortable, and valued during their visit.
“The goal of providing an inclusive and equitable environment for visitors is paramount” says the Director of Security at a leading American Art Museum. Nationwide, museums are attempting to achieve environments that protect the visitor’s experience. Unfortunately, all too often we hear complaints about security officers' bias or perceived bias from visitors causing them to feel uncomfortable or worse yet, threatened. The feeling of being targeted or profiled can quickly turn into a public relations nightmare.
In 2021 this Museum embarked on a groundbreaking hybrid security model project. They combined personnel and leveraged technology to create a new paradigm for asset protection while also enhancing the visitor’s experience. With tablets in hand security officers now have complete visibility of all gallery cameras assigned to them. The security officers have been renamed visitor engagement representatives (VER). The VER’s can now engage visitors in thoughtful conversations while also being available to both enforce gallery policies and help answer visitor questions. Extremely positive feedback from visitors came from this change. People enjoy both the exhibitions and speaking with the museum’s representatives. By combining technology and properly trained personnel, this museum seems to have found a synergy by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment and improving the visitor experience, all while actively protecting the collection and improving response times to alarms and emergencies.
Innovative thinking and strategy were key components if the museum was going to move towards its goal to ensure the most inclusive and equitable environment for all visitors without sacrificing the protection of the collection. By augmenting the long-standing museum security model and complimenting the highly-trained security officers, the Art Sentry object protection system was deployed to provide an immediate notification to the security staff if someone was to get too close to an object on display. The Art Sentry system uses advanced protective software barriers to invisibly surround each object via surveillance cameras. When these barriers are breached the security forces are instantly notified to intervene if necessary. Audible alerts in the galleries were selectively deployed as a first step in notifying a visitor that they are getting a bit too close to the artwork.
In our system, “private corrections” alert visitors who get too close to artwork. The unbiased, bodiless voice protects the exhibition while preventing visitors from feeling targeted or profiled. Through Art Sentry’s analytics, protection zones, and audible messaging, visitors have an unencumbered experience with the art; they are now able to engage safely without unnecessary security officer interactions.
As part of this evolution, we now allow security personnel to wear clothing that allows for individual expression. By removing the formality of blazers and khakis, security officers are more approachable, creating a space that maximizes visitor comfort and reduces intimidation. We are proud to broaden accessibility to the museum’s remarkable collection through these innovative approaches.
- Museum Security Director
Hybrid Security Model Development
The Director of Security and the Museum’s team developed a multifaceted strategy to address the challenge of providing an inclusive and equitable environment for visitors while protecting the collection.
- The immediate deployment of the Art Sentry system and speakers in all galleries to provide an audible private correction when a visitor violated a museum proximity policy. These audibles do not discriminate or single out any individual or group for reprimand.
- The Museum worked closely with Art Sentry on a comprehensive iPad application allowing each VER carrying these devices to view all cameras and immediately respond to threats within the galleries on their assigned posts. With this additional visibility, security officers could decide not to enter a gallery unless a threat was perceived, further lessening the possibility of guests feeling uncomfortable during their visit.
- Formal officer uniforms were replaced allowing the officers to wear clothes to display individual expressions.
- The iPad hardware has been leveraged further to store information on the permanent collection and special exhibitions the VERs use to answer questions while engaging the visitors. Additional applications have also been developed enabling the VERs to assist with retail transactions if the gift shop line becomes too long during busy times.
The result was a dramatic improvement in visitor experience equity while further improving the protection of the collection. The measured results have shown that the private audible corrections make guests more comfortable than being approached by an officer. Also, due to the Art Sentry iPad application, there has been a dramatic improvement in response time to actual security-related incidents. The security officers can effectively guard more galleries utilizing this technology and have complete visibility of all areas of responsibility.
Personnel cost savings have been achieved because the Museum was able to satisfy certain line-of-site lending requirements without the addition of more security personnel. In addition, the former security officers, now renamed visitor engagement representatives, can be paid a higher wage as they perform additional duties. This provides a better work experience for this position and assists with employee retention.
In Summary, this project saw dramatic improvements in four key areas:
- Improvement in visitor satisfaction scores, equity, and the creation of a more inclusive environment.
- Improved collection security including a dramatic improvement in response time to security-related proximity alarms and emergencies.
- Cost savings by security forces having complete visibility to all galleries, covering more galleries effectively, and satisfying certain line-of-site lending requirements without adding more personnel.
- Creating a new personnel category for visitor engagement representatives with more duties and responsibilities. These job duties improve employee morale and increase retention rates.
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Art Sentry specializes in leveraging technology to help customers enhance the protection of their collection in a cost-effective manner. We work collaboratively with museums and cultural properties to help solve their unique challenges. Contact us today!