Authenticity in contemporary museum practices: relationships between people, place and time

The thesis explores the concept of authenticity in museums, focusing on the perspectives of both visitors and curators. It highlights the lack of emphasis on visitors' collective undersatnding and experience of museums' authenticity and museum professionals' perspectives. The research aims to bridge this gap by including both the views of visitors and curators on authenticity in 'non-purpose-built' museums with multi-leyerd histories. The study adopts a qualitative approach to investigating how the notion of authenticity is understood by visitors and curators providing a people-perspective of this complex idea. The findings suggest that the experience of authenticity in 'non-purpose-built' museums is shaped by intangible aspects of heritage, linking visitors to a sense of place through temporal relationships and relatable stories. The thesis argues that curatorial strategies can create or emphasise authenticity and visitors connection to the site, and museum teams play a crucial role in this process. It provides an empirical foundation for further investigation into authenticity in curatorial practices and visitor experience design, indicating how museums can leverage authenticity in their interpretative practices.