Remember the 70%: sustaining 'core' museum audiences

This paper uses the U.K. as a case study to explore the urgent need to develop strategies for the retention of the audiences who are core to almost all types of museums - the well-educated professionals and their families and friends, with no specialist interest in museum collections, who represent around 70% of museum attendees. It is a 'provocation' in four parts: the failure of museums to attract enough of this audience; an out-of-date display model and mindset; promoting museums as social and leisure destinations; and a call for museum practice to respond to their changed audiences.