While special exhibitions are real crowd pullers for museums, permanent exhibitions face an existential threat to their significance. But what makes special exhibitions so attractive? And what distinguishes the audiences of special exhibitions from those of permanent exhibitions? Nora Wegner answers these questions by means of a comprehensive comparative study of various museums. She develops a typology of exhibition-goers, investigates success factors for special exhibitions, and in addition, derives practical advice for museum work targeted at specific groups, which will do justice to the tensions between the exhibitions, and also win audiences for permanent exhibitions.

Nora Wegner (Dr.), geb. 1981, ist Geschäftsführerin eines Büros für Besucherforschung und Kulturevaluation in Karlsruhe. Die Kulturwissenschaftlerin und -managerin promovierte am Institut für Kulturmanagement der Pädagogischen Hochschule Ludwigsburg. Sie ist Referentin und Dozentin für Besucher- und Evaluationsstudien an verschiedenen Hochschulen.