Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Last month, the Irvine Foundation put out a new report, Getting In On the Act , about participatory arts practice and new frameworks for audience engagement. I've often been asked about examples of participatory practice in theater, dance, and classical music, and this report is a great starting point.

Participatory 50

Participatory Arts Report Case Study 50

Museum 2.0

MARCH 4, 2015

This week marks five years since the book The Participatory Museum was first released. I thought the pinnacle of participatory practice was an exhibit that could inspire collective visitor action without facilitation. Since 2010 I have seen, again and again and again, how valuable human facilitation is to the participatory process.

Participatory 20

Participatory Museum Empowerment Facilitation 20

Museum 2.0

JUNE 24, 2010

It incorporates work by local artists, old and new construction, and is completely gorgeous. She did several things over the course of the tour to make it participatory, and she did so in a natural, delightful way. Think about how this impacts staff recruiting and training. But participatory facilitation can be taught.

Museum 51

Museum Participatory Model Seattle 51

Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 15, 2009

Over the past year, I've noticed a strange trend in the calls I receive about upcoming participatory museum projects: the majority of them are being planned for teen audiences. Why are teens over-represented in participatory projects? The first of these reasons is practical.

Teen 24

Teen Participatory Experiment Museum 24

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

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."

Museum 45

Museum Question Participatory Evaluation 45

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

OCTOBER 30, 2013

So consider this just the first of many posts related to issues of cultural inclusion, evaluation, and impact. We have some strategies for tackling this: convening diverse content advisors, incorporating anti-bias educational approaches in our design, developing participatory opportunities for visitors to connect past to present.

Measure 47

Measure Arts People Museum 47