PREMIUM Project 2026-2027: Marres, House for Contemporary Culture

The Project:

Marres, House for Contemporary Culture in Maastricht, is not your typical art institute. Through exhibitions, performances, workshops, a garden and food, we create experiences that engage all the senses.

Marres’ audiences are predominantly female, while young men appear to be less engaged with our exhibitions and programmes. This raises a broader question: how can a contemporary art institution meaningfully engage young men who currently feel little connection to museums? At a time when young men increasingly encounter ideas about masculinity, identity, and belonging through online communities and digital networks, we want to explore what role a cultural institution could play. What prevents young men from engaging with contemporary art? What are they looking for elsewhere? And how could Marres adapt its programming, communication or visitor experience to become more relevant to them?

For this PREMIUM project, we therefore invite a multidisciplinary team to investigate a question that is relevant both culturally and socially: why do so few young men visit contemporary art institutions, and what could organisations like Marres do differently? 

Your challenge is to explore the motivations, barriers, and expectations that shape young men's relationships with contemporary art. You might investigate communication, visitor experience, social dynamics, perceptions of museums, masculinity, online communities, or entirely unexpected factors. 

Understanding why young men are less likely to engage with contemporary art is important for Marres’ long-term relevance and accessibility. While cultural participation is often discussed in terms of broad audience diversity, there is relatively little attention to the experiences, interests, and barriers that shape young men's relationships with cultural institutions. The project can generate insights that are valuable not only for Marres, but also for other museums and cultural organisations facing similar challenges. At a societal level, it may contribute to discussions about masculinity, belonging, community and the role cultural spaces can play in the lives of young men.

Marres will provide access to its spaces, audiences, staff, and existing knowledge, as well as opportunities to test ideas in practice. 

The goal is not a conventional marketing plan but innovative, research-based insights and interventions that help us build meaningful connections with audiences currently underrepresented in our visitor base. We are particularly interested in recommendations that can be tested with young men during the project itself, allowing us to learn from actual responses rather than assumptions. The outcomes will be shared across our education, public programmes and communication teams and will inform our longer-term audience development strategy. We are open to unexpected insights and do not want to prescribe the final format in advance.

The Client:

Marres, House for Contemporary Culture in Maastricht, is an internationally renowned art institute offering intimate art spaces, a lush garden, and a restaurant. Marres embraces a broad range of artistic practices, with a particular focus on the senses and embodied knowledge. It presents multidisciplinary exhibitions, performances, workshops, and programmes spanning art, science, and society. Marres also develops innovative education formats and audience programmes that invite visitors to experience contemporary art actively and from different perspectives.