During its conferences, Ars et Fides values giving its members further formation to equip them to become even better guides, board members of arts associations and hosts in their home cities. The workshop on ‘short visits’ addressed a topic that has become increasingly important for guides around Europe: amidst their busy schedules and – sometimes – limited attention spans, tourists are no longer interested in monologues that last hours and prefer to hop into a church to get the quick update, a bullet point version of what is most special about the church and a brief story that will also captivate the attention of their children.
Our group consisted of a wide variety of backgrounds: several young ARC board members who operate the youth branch of ARS et Fides in several countries in Europe, guides from Tours, Bordeaux, Lyon and the Ars et Fides secretary. Together we concluded that there are many reasons nowadays why tourists prefer a short visit over a long one.
To find out where the needs lie of visitors, it is good to start by asking questions: how much time do you have? What are you most interested in? If children are present, at any case it is always important to address them first. The general rule for any visit (not just short visits) is that simplicity takes priority: it is always better to focus on the children and assume a basic level of knowledge than to dive deep into details and complex narratives if the public has not even indicated that they are prepared for this.
Short visits are all about presenting the most exciting and beautiful aspects of the church. It can greatly help to include sensory or visual elements. When I was a tour guide in the Basilica di San Marco in Venice, I used to show visitors actual pieces of mosaic to feel the structure. When presenting a far away painting, it can be useful to present some zoomed-in photographs of some details that may be more difficult for the tourists to see.
Additionally, with short visits it is fully up to the visitor to guide the direction of the story. Just a quick walk around the centuries of the church? A specific lover of architecture? A focus on Mary statues? The visitor’s wish is the guide’s command!
At any case, however, the guide must be careful that the key message of the church is still preserved, even if he or she is only giving a short explanation of a couple of minutes! We have found that it is helpful to always mention a few key concepts: faith, Christ, Gospel etcetera.
A possible pitfall of short visits could be that the guide forgets to take a walk around the building and only focuses on finishing a story in as short as possible. This is a shame because visitors love to stretch their legs around the church even if they came for a very small explanation! This way, visitors will still get the experience of a real tour.
A second pitfall that must be avoided is the possibility that the guide will sense the time pressure and only talk about the images superficially. However, it is very important to always include the context of the artist or time period as well, even if it is only addressed in a few sentences!
Last, just because visitors have indictated they would like a very short visit does not mean that they are not open to interaction. Especially with these kind of visitors mutual participation is key and can greatly enhance the general experience of the visit! Guides should always be flexible to allow interruptions and remarks of visitors and indeed be flexible to allow the visit to expand into a longer conversation if the opportunity presents itself!
All in all, it is very important that guides are aware of the need and importance of short visits these days. For this, preparation is key. With a few handy tricks in mind, a tourist can walk away greatly enriched and inspired from even a 10 minute visit! Good luck!
Joske Schoemaker
President ARC Netherlands-Flanders
Réflexions du groupe notées par Claude Bernard
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Raisons, circonstances
Le visiteur n’a pas le temps? S’inquiéter de savoir si c’est exact (il peut y avoir un horodateur à régler) ou si la personne n’a pas envie ou si elle n’ose pas…
Si dans le groupe, la famille, il y a des enfants, leur donner la priorité et, privilégier par une séance plus ludique et capable de les intéresser, un vitrail ou un tableau facilement lisible sur la Nativité par exemple.
Pour les personnes à mobilité réduite (en fauteuil roulant ou avec une canne ou un déambulateur) ne pouvant donc accéder à une crypte, une tour etc, leur proposer un autre parcours digne d’intérêt.
En ce qui concerne les mal ou non-voyants, penser à réaliser des maquettes en relief leur permettant d’imaginer le lieu.
Si une partie de l’édifice est inaccessible pour travaux ( pour cause de consolidation ou de restauration) ou pour des raisons d’insécurité, penser à se procurer des documents, en couleurs si possible, pour leur montrer la partie qu’ils ne peuvent voir afin qu’ils ne se sentent pas frustés.
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Comment s’y préparer?
Essayer de s’adapter à toutes les situations en réfléchissant aux possibilités de contourner le problème rencontré.
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Que dire?
Il ne faut pas que les visiteurs sortent « indemnes » de notre cathédrale, de notre basilique, de notre église.
Expliquer, par exemple, le pourquoi d’une construction, ce qu’a cherché l’architecte comme dans le cas de la forteresse de Fourvière.
Soyons témoins et, n’hésitons pas à prononcer le nom de « Jésus » et de « Dieu » dans notre échange. Ils sont la raison de cet édifice et de notre foi.
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Comment faire quand le visiteur fait sa sélection?
Quand le visiteur fait sa sélection, y répondre sans toutefois lui permettre d’inverser les rôles et de s’installer dans celui de guide.
Ne pas hésiter à avoir une relation inter-active: « Que voyez-vous? Que pensez-vous de cette situation? Quelles sont vos réactions? »
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Conclusion
Le mot d’ordre: s’adapter avec beaucoup de souplesse à la (les) personne(s) que l’on accueille pour transmettre, sans prosélytisme, ce qui nous abrite.
Claude Bernard – Tours, Présence de la Cathédrale
Participants: Joske Schoemaker (ARC NL/VL), Maria Cardenal (Nartex), Anna Beketov (ARC UK), Claude Bernard (Tours), Stefano Picceni (Torino), Laurence Dambo (Fourvière), Mieke De Jonghe (Ars et Fides).
