How Top Cultural Institutions Use Translation to Drive Repeat Visitors

For some, a museum is a place to come for that special, once-a-year day trip. For others, it’s a destination to seek out when exploring a new city. Then, there are repeat visitors–the museum advocates. The people who check out each new exhibit, take in performances, and bring their kids to workshops. Many museums see the value in their engaged visitors and actively seek to cultivate these individuals.

One way institutions drive repeat visitors is by creating enticing exhibits, programs, and events that are geared to the needs of their communities. To make these programs accessible to local residents, it often means translating event-related materials into the languages spoken by members of local communities. As a translation provider, we hear from many museums who just aren’t sure where to start.

• Which programs or exhibits would benefit from translation?
• What materials should we translate?
• What languages will both support our audience and complement the subject matter?

In this white paper, we share some of the solutions museums have found to engage their diverse communities. And we present the results of a study that examines the way visitors respond to translated materials.