First Friday and First Saturday Programs at Art Museums: Successful Tools for Building Membership and Encouraging Repeat Visitors?

Today, the emphasis museums are placing on audience development and visitor services has become significant. This study explores the roles of First Friday and First Saturday programs at four visual art museums in New York City. Audiences interested in visiting museums are expanding, possibly thanks, in part, to the outreach efforts of the First Friday or First Saturday programs. These programs appeal to a wider audience, and to people who wouldn't have necessarily visited the museum otherwise. The author of this study surveyed a total of 320 attendees of the First programs and conducted interviews with six museum professionals involved with the First programs, in order to assess why people are attending the First programs and if, after attending, they are more likely to return to the museum or join as members.