Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 23, 2014

They give high-energy, interactive tours of the Metropolitan Museum and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). They were “preaching the museum gospel” in NYC via alternative tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I imagine that there are a lot more presumed barriers to break down at an art museum than a science museum.

Museum 55

Museum Interview New York Interaction 55

Museum 2.0

APRIL 25, 2011

I've seen this line of questioning almost completely disappear in the past two years due to many research studies and reports on the value and rise of participation, but in 2006-7, social media and participatory culture was still seen as nascent (and possibly a passing fad). In 2008, the conversation started shifting to "how" and "what."

Question 49

Question Participatory Museum Evaluation 49

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 16, 2013

Then again, Saturday was hardly normal at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. This past weekend, in conjunction with our exhibition about Ze Frank's current participatory project, A Show , we hosted " Ze Frank Weekend "--a quickie summer camp of workshops, activities, presentations, and lots of hugging.

Reflection 43

Reflection Community Museum Participatory 43

Museum 2.0

MARCH 27, 2009

This week, the Denver Art Museum (DAM) opened a new temporary exhibition called The Psychedelic Experience , featuring rock posters from San Francisco in the heyday of Bill Graham and electric kool-aid. It’s a thrilling challenge to the traditional form of art museum exhibit design, and better yet, visitors like it.

Denver 21

Denver Museum Arts Remix 21

Museum 2.0

APRIL 29, 2015

These are the slides and notes for the talk I gave at the American Alliance of Museums conference on Monday, April 27 about the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. When I became the director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History four years ago, I took this work with me. Showing that their voice matters.

Build 20

Build Community Museum Artist 20

Museum 2.0

JULY 20, 2016

One hundred years ago, John Cotton Dana, founder of the Newark Museum and godfather of modern museums, famously said: “A great department store, easily reached, open at all hours, is more like a good museum of art than any of the museums we have yet established." That work showed in the human voices and stories throughout the museum.

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Museum Audience Music Arts 20

Museum 2.0

JUNE 12, 2012

It made me think in ways that I haven't before about the relation of art--as expressive culture--to democracy. It is multi-disciplinary, incorporates diverse voices from our community, and provides interactive and participatory opportunities for visitor involvement.

Participatory 51

Participatory Museum Blackboard Game 51

Museum 2.0

JULY 7, 2010

Most of my work contracts involve a conversation that goes something like this: "We want to find ways to make our institution more participatory and lively." It requires trading a certain history for an uncertain future--a nerve-wracking prospect no matter the situation. Fabulous!" "But This is incredibly scary.

Audience 40

Audience Museum Oakland Participatory 40

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 3, 2019

I love alternative history novels. I was thinking I’d do a few alternative histories of museums for the first post of the last month of the decade. As I imagined a world without Nina Simon ’s Participatory Museum , I felt sad about all the visitors whose voices (and post-it note comments) weren’t honored.

Museum 21

Museum Work Social Media History 21

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 20, 2009

While the majority of experience-based museums like children's and science museums have unrestricted noncommercial photography policies, many collections-based art and history museums continue to maintain highly restrictive photo policies. There are thriving groups of Flickr users who share photos of themselves imitating art.

Museum 54

Museum Photo Policy Open 54

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 2, 2008

at the Brooklyn Museum , Tech Virtual at The Tech , and MN150 at the Minnesota History Center. (By Institutions tying their online and onsite activities, as the Ontario Science Centre did when it hosted a YouTube meetup , or the Smithsonian American Art Museum did when they developed an alternate reality game. There is funding.

Museum 20

Museum Voice Minnesota Participatory 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Our museum in Santa Cruz has been slammed by those who believe participatory experiences have gone too far. We always knew that the inclusion of participatory and community-centered practices in arts institutions was controversial. To me, the backlash against participatory and community-centered experiences is not surprising.

Participatory 53

Participatory Museum Arts History 53

Museum 2.0

MAY 5, 2009

Visitor Co-Created Museum Experiences This session was a dream for me, one that brought together instigators of three participatory exhibit projects: MN150 (Kate Roberts), Click! So far, most participatory museum design projects are heavily guided by the institution. MN150 will have formal summative evaulation, which is wonderful.

Slides 20

Slides Participatory Museum Children 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

I''m glad to see coverage about art museums involving visitors in exhibitions. There are many curator and museum director voices in the article, but not a single quote from a visitor who engaged in one of these community projects. The metaphor for traditional art museums is the temple. Projects participatory museum'

Journal 54

Journal Participatory Museum Community 54

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

Rabinowitz commented that "as a 40-year veteran of history museum interpretation, I can say that I never learned so much from and about visitors." By simplifying and personalizing the design technique used for the institutional voice, visitors felt like they were part of a natural conversation with the institution.

Design 31

Design Goal Difference Platform 31

Museum 2.0

JULY 18, 2017

This month, we opened a new exhibition at the MAH, Lost Childhoods: Voices of Santa Cruz County Foster Youth and Foster Youth Museum (brief video clip from opening night here ). it uses art, history, artifacts, and storytelling to illuminate a big human story and an urgent social issue.

Action 44

Action Childhood Artist Info 44

Everyaction

OCTOBER 5, 2016

The Digital Media and Learning Conference is meant to be an inclusive, international and annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in the field, focused on fostering interdisciplinary and participatory dialogue and linking theory, empirical study, policy, and practice. It is our turn to make history. General / #NI16 / @netimpact.

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Conference Calendar DC Washington 111

Museum 2.0

MAY 15, 2008

We have a show coming up right now about synthetic biology, where engineers are building life forms that are new to existence, new to the history of life. After listening to this clip a few times, I wondered: what if museums dropped the authoritative voice, the cultural voice, the friendly teacher voice, and adopted a novice voice?

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Conversation Arts Museum Voice 20

Museum 2.0

JUNE 2, 2010

Kathleen McLean (Independent Exhibitions), Dan Spock (Minnesota History Center), and Kris Morrissey (University of Washington) all shared thought-provoking and useful insights on visitor participation in museums, but Mark Allen and Emily Lacy brought down the house with their bluegrass rendering of the Machine Project and its engaging, quirky work.

Slides 22

Slides Museum Los Angeles San Jose 22

Connection Cafe

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Showing voice. And fast forward to the story now, this is the largest crowd funding campaign in the history of the world. So, talk about Giving Tuesday as an example of new power. I mean, it’s amazing and some of the things that are happening are not about money. They’re about people just showing who they are.

Social 22

Social Game Model Fun 22

Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 8, 2008

In these conversations, people often say, "don't expert voices matter?" It lets you be the only expert with a voice. Single voices represented on single labels is not scalable. Ideas participatory museum usercontent. If the museum isn't in control, how can it thrive? We have to change the framing of this conversation.

Authoring 42

Authoring Platform Museum YouTube 42

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 25, 2008

I didn't grow up staring open-mouthed at natural history dioramas or wandering through art galleries. There are many parallels between free-choice learning and participatory design. BUT we won't acknowledge their voices and their meaning. They are active and awesome. My story is about radical educational philosophy.

Museum 29

Museum Alternative Education University 29

Museum 2.0

MARCH 6, 2019

This week, I've had multiple conversations with colleagues in the arts, symphonies, and urban planning about the fear professionals have about "losing control" when opening up new opportunities for people to participate. While I originally wrote this post to advocate for more participatory practice (i.e. Content expertise matters.

Authoring 44

Authoring Share Museum YouTube 44