TAKING HOME VIENNA – Researching (with) Museum Shops

“TAKING HOME VIENNA” looks at museum shops as a space where narratives continue, shift, and can be questioned. What might appear as an afterthought to an exhibition reveals itself as a compendium of various fields of research and meaning often overlooked by visitors and academia. The installation at the museum shop counter at the former Postsparkasse (Georg-Coch-Platz) / Counter 14 comprises results of several research projects developed in the seminar "Mit Museumsshops forschen" (Doing Research with Museum Shops) by Johanna Schindler. Multiple methods, ranging from ethnographic observation and sketching to quantitative surveys and questionnaires, enabled each research group to develop its own approach to the specific shop(s) under investigation. The research conducted explores a range of problem areas and discourses surrounding contemporary museum shops. The exhibited findings highlight the multifaceted character of museum shops.