Participant Observation and More

I have gotten into the groove of my participant observation, with a set template and plan of attack in regards to navigating the space of the RPM. As my knowledge has grown, I have integrated myself into the community found at the Rochester Public Market. A vendor who sells honey is also interested in what progress and observations I have made in my research, and I am always happy to fill him in when I go to buy honey from him. I’ve also become friends with the musicians, who are always eager to play something, say something-- to be heard in different mediums. Many vendors have come to expect my presence at the market, and I have come to expect going.

(Above: RPM's vending Shed A in February)

My visitor observations have led me to discover connections between John H. Falk’s Museum Visitor Identity types and the types of market visitors. I’m happy to observe overlap between the way museum visitors and the RPM’s patrons engage within the space, and I have found that some other aspects of visitor participation have come into focus for me. I also attended a seminar given by Evan Lowenstein, the communication/project coordinator for the market, to understand the RPM from the urban planner’s perspective. I’ve also discovered that the Rochester Museum and Science Center has toured travelling exhibits at the RPM in years past, which I was very excited to hear about.

 

(Above Left: Vendor selling chickens. Above Right: Vegetables and fish that I bought from the market and started to prepare at home).

Going forward, I will continue to homogenize the data I have collected over the last few months, and conduct my last one or two interviews with representatives from the Memorial Art Gallery and other local cultural institutions.

(Above: A meal containing food grown/produced in Rochester, NY by people who live in Rochester, NY. Yes, even the cider).