Art and its public. Museum studies at the Millenium

Art and its Publics explores the interface between the art object, its site of display and the viewing public. The volume focuses on museums, their publics and strategies of display. Engines of democracy at their inception during the French Revolution, public museums have since fostered the democratization of art. As museum going has increased dramatically in recent years, the question of "whose museum?" and how museums construct and engage their publics has taken on added urgency.The essays in "Art and its Publics" present a cross-section of current issues with contributions from both sides of the Atlantic and from museum professionals as well as academics. Essayists tackle issues confronting the museum community and seek to futher the debate between theory and practice around the most pressing of contemporary concerns.