Learning from Australia 1 : New kind of jobs in the cultural sector – CXO – Chief Experience Officer
Back from my trip throughout Asia and Australia, I will regularly publish over the next few months the impressions and things I learned from the outstanding people who welcomed me and were kind enough to answer my questions. No scientific articles at this stage, but rather questions that arise by identifying differences or similarities. These insights will then lead to articles and feed into my classes.
Meeting with Seb Chan, Chief Experience Officer at ACMI – Melbourne Previously Cooper Hewitt (NYC) & Powerhouse Museum (Sydney).
Shadow Monsters (2005) Philip Worthington – Part of the old exhibition in ACMI, January 2019.
It’s all about having an overall and holistic position which can link the different départements and especially create an holistic experience for the client / user / visitor. It is a way of moving us away from our old way of thinking in terms of « silos », departments or services related to certain jobs rather than thinking of cultural institutions in terms of the visitor’s experience. Quite rightly, are we always sufficiently attentive to the way we think about the « visitor’s journey », from the moment the institution appears on its radar to the moment he or she leaves a show or exhibition, via ticketing, public relations, mediation, events, etc. ? The same thought obviously applies to internal processes. How could the organisational chart be organised so that so that the processes run smoothly?
Then I took a look at the skills needed for this new transversal profession : The CXO is primarily a catalyst and a kind of driving force for dynamism, interaction and sometimes change in the company. He actively participates in the « design » of new products. More concretely, experience in marketing, analytical skills and creativity are needed.
It will be interesting to see to what extent this profession will also be deployed in Europe-Switzerland in the field of art.