Are we expected to be quiet in an art gallery?

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Negative Space

Last year, The Guardian asked readers, as a part of its long-running series “Readers reply,” why one is expected to be quiet in an art gallery.

Some of the responses were humorous, such as: “So that you do not disturb the still lifes.” I agreed with most of the serious responses, especially the one stating, “Being quiet is different from being silent.”

One person thought the emphasis on quiet was elitist, but most understood that behavior in an art gallery that is different from behavior at a rock concert or sports event is important. As one stated, “In any public space, you are bound to a social contract with others, one that demands that you respect their space and their peace: this is what the quietness of an art space implies.”

Our late noise colleague Arline Bronzaft often wrote that not making noise that disturbs others is part of respecting one’s neighbors. If we all keep our voices down and minimize other sounds that we make — such as vehicle horn and exhaust noise, landcare and power tool noise or amplified music at a backyard barbecue or party —the cumulative effect would be a quieter world. 

A quieter world would be a better and healthier world for all.