Audio tour concepts and inspiration

This article provides prompts, suggestions, and inspiration that you can build on to create engaging audio content that stays relevant over time.

The ideas are grouped roughly by organization type, but they can be adapted to a wide range of sites and institutional goals. All concepts prioritize brief, digestible audio segments (60-90 seconds in length) that inspire visitor engagement and encourage close looking and listening.

When you're ready to bring one of these ideas to life, record your audio content, upload audio files to the CMS, and use the tour or exhibition template to build out your ideal visitor experience.

Collecting institutions 

Collecting institutions may want to develop audio content that helps a visitor know where to start and what to focus on. Think about answering questions like: What are the highlights of this collection? How do I make sense of so much material? What makes this institution unique? Where should I focus my attention?

Concepts

1. Collection highlights

   Angle: A curated path through 6–10 essential works or objects across different collections. Each stop could offer either curatorial commentary or commentary from a staff member and could be scripted or unscripted. Each stop should give a brief idea of why this object is unique in the collections and invite visitors to reflect.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

2. Featured collection

   Angle: A focused deep dive into one distinct collection within the institution, exploring its story and 5–8 representative objects. Each stop could offer either curatorial commentary or commentary from a staff member and could be scripted or unscripted.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

3. Thematic tour

   Angle: A narrative journey organized around a single theme such as the environment, historical ruptures, abstraction, technology, etc. The stops may span time periods and geographies, foregrounding how different artworks relate to the theme, with scripted or unscripted commentary from curators and/or educators.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

4. Staff favorites

   Angle: Short, unscripted reflections from curators, educators, conservators, security staff, or visitor services team members. Each person speaks about a work that resonates with them personally, offering a relatable entry point into the collection.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

5. Local voices

   Angle: Community members offer unscripted reflections on specific objects in the collection, connecting them to lived experience and/or contemporary concerns.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

6. Art behind the scenes

   Angle: A tour centered on the people and processes that conserve and move the collection—conservators, art packers, and others. Each stop features a different artwork alongside commentary from staff members about a “behind the scenes” aspect of the work; e.g. the story of restoring a certain color, what it took to pack and transport, etc.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

7. Artist voices

   Angle: Living artists reflect on works in the collection—either their own or historical works that influence them. Alternatively, archival audio from artists (when available) can be re-edited and featured alongside selected objects.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

Non-collecting institutions

Non-collecting institutions may want to help visitors contextualize their experience by answering questions like: What happened here, and what is currently happening here? How should I understand what I’m seeing?

Concepts

1. Voices of the site

   Angle: Each stop features an unscripted reflection from a staff member or community participant. The narrator anchors their reflection in a specific place on site, speaking to what it means to them today and how their relationship to it has evolved over time.

   Visuals: Photographs focusing on the specific location selected by the narrator.

2. Community histories

   Angle: The tour highlights the history of a particular community, group, or era connected to the site (e.g., Black Histories of Tampa, Trailblazing Women of TK). Each stop focuses on a different figure, movement, or episode. Content may be scripted or unscripted.

   Visuals: Photographs of historical figures (via institutional archives or Creative Commons) and/or contemporary photographs of relevant locations.

   Example: Charleston Justice Journey Tour | Preservation Society of Charleston

3. Ecology of the site

   Angle: Focus on the site as a living environment. Each stop highlights a different species or landscape feature, paired with discussion of environmental stewardship and changes over time.

   Visuals: Photographs of specific plants, animals, or landscape features on site.

   Example: Audio Guide: West Pond Loop Trail | Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy

4. Architecture tour

   Angle: An audio experience centered on the built environment. Each stop highlights a distinct architectural or design feature, with interpretation from architects, curators, conservators, or historians.

   Visuals: Photographs emphasizing architectural details discussed in the audio.

Exhibiting institutions

Exhibition audio is often time-bound. However, audio material for exhibitions can be framed in ways that remain relevant beyond the lifespan of the show.

Concepts

1. Artistic pathways 

   Angle: This tour format would be best for an exhibition with multiple living artists. Feature unscripted reflections from artists discussing formative moments or turning points in their artistic practice. 

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

2. Artistic inspirations

   Angle: This tour format would be best for an exhibition with multiple living artists. Focus on creative process and influences, exploring what informs artists’ practice and what helps them create. 

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

3. Process and making

   Angle: This tour could work for an exhibition with living artists or without. Feature curatorial commentary on how artworks are made: What we know about the artist’s process, the materials they used, etc. If the exhibition features living artists, the tour could feature their reflections.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

4. Archival audio

   Angle: This tour could work for an exhibition featuring artists for whom there is archival audio and/or video available; this audio could be edited into soundbites and featured alongside featured artworks in the exhibition.

   Visuals: Images of featured artworks.

Performing arts 

Performing arts organizations may want to provide background material to help add to or complement a visitor's experience. Think about answering questions like: Who made this production, who is performing, and what are their stories? What should I listen or look for?

Concepts

1. Behind the curtain: Voices of production staff

   Angle: Short, unscripted reflections from production staff describing how a performance is made—from lighting and sound design to costuming, props, stage management, and direction.

   Visuals: Photographs from specific productions referenced by the narrator.

2. Voices of performers: Paths to the stage

   Angle: Unscripted reflections from performers about their artistic journeys and moments that shaped their careers.

   Visuals: Photographs of the performer on stage.

3. Voices of performers: Advice for emerging artists

   Angle: Short, focused reflections offering guidance to artists early in their careers.

   Visuals: Photographs of the performer on stage.

4. From the archives: Notable moments

   Angle: Scripted or unscripted reflections on archival photographs or ephemera, voiced by staff, curators, historians, or institutional leadership. Tours may focus on a specific era (e.g., From the Archives: The 1980s at ABT) or discuss a range of periods.

   Visuals: Archival images related to the productions or moments discussed.

   Example: 85 Years of ABT: Photo and Audio Archives | American Ballet Theatre

Botanic gardens and living collections

Organizations with botanic gardens and other living specimens may want to help visitors see beyond what's right in front of them, by answering questions like: What am I looking at? Why is this plant here? How can I do this at home?

Concepts

1. Seasonal listening paths

   Angle: Modular audio stops that change seasonally, encouraging repeat visits and reflecting the garden’s shifting rhythms and conditions.

   Visuals: Photographs of species featured in the audio.

2. Elements tour

   Angle: Focus on the environmental elements that shape plant life—such as water, soil, sunlight, nutrients, or fire (where relevant)—with insights from garden caretakers and other plant experts.

   Visuals: Photographs illustrating different elements within the garden.

3. Tour of a specific garden/trail

   Angle: A deep dive into a single garden area, covering its design, layout, plant selection, and ongoing care. Each stop focuses on one species or feature within that space.

   Visuals: Photographs of the garden and species discussed.

   Examples: Audio Guide: Water-Smart Garden (English and Español) | Denver Botanic Gardens

4. For the home gardener

   Angle: A practical tour highlighting species and techniques visitors can adapt for home growing.

   Visuals: Photographs of featured plants.

5. Slow looking/Slow listening soundscapes

   Angle: A sound-design–forward experience developed with a sound artist or designer, inviting visitors to pause, orient themselves, and attend to ambient sound alongside narration.

   Visuals: Photographs emphasizing landscape or individual species.

6. Native plant tour

   Angle: A tour highlighting native plant species in the garden, with attention to and explanation of the complex discussions about the definition of “native” plants in the world of environmental science. Featuring the voices of garden caretakers and plant experts.

   Visuals: Photographs emphasizing landscape or individual species.

7. Staff picks

   Angle: Staff members share unscripted reflections on their favorite places or moments in the garden, revealing personal connections and institutional knowledge.

   Visuals: Photographs of the locations discussed.

Festivals

Festivals and other seasonal or limited engagements might benefit from guiding visitors towards making the most of their time. Think about answering questions like: What is this festival about, and what’s happening right now? Who are some specific artists I should pay attention to?

Concepts

1. Artist introductions

   Angle: Brief audio from participating artists introducing their work and articulating what they hope audiences will experience or take away.

   Visuals: Photographs of the artists’ work (visual art, book covers, performances).

2. Craft stories

   Angle: Participating artists, writers, or performers discuss an element of their creative process, offering insight without requiring prior familiarity with the work.

   Visuals: Photographs of the artists’ work.

3. Moments from…

   Angle: Curated excerpts from past festival programming—such as talks, readings, or performances—organized thematically or by year to create continuity across festival editions.

   Visuals: Photographs from past events and programs.