Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

JULY 1, 2009

When I talk about designing participatory experiences, I often show the above graphic from Forrester Research. Museums see open-ended self-expression as the be-all of participatory experiences. You are handed a pre-mixed color and a brush and a set of instructions. This is a problem for two reasons.

Participatory 50

Participatory Experiment Museum Teen 50

Museum 2.0

JUNE 10, 2015

And so, one of the most successful, accidental, and fraught participatory projects of the past decade comes to an end. The "love locks" are not a project with an institutional or artistic director. So many participatory projects do the opposite, requiring you to take a dozen tricky steps to no meaningful end.

Participatory 20

Participatory Project Artist Instruction 20

Museum 2.0

MARCH 16, 2009

When I talk about designing participatory experiences, I often show the above graphic from Forrester Research. Museums see open-ended self-expression as the be-all of participatory experiences. You are handed a pre-mixed color and a brush and a set of instructions. This is a problem for two reasons.

Participatory 44

Participatory Experiment Museum Teen 44

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

The Art of Participation provides a retrospective on participatory art as well as presenting opportunities for visitors to engage in contemporary (“now”) works. As the museum's website puts it, "this exhibition examines how artists have engaged members of the public as essential collaborators in the art-making process."

Participatory 20

Participatory Arts Design Museum 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

In a straightforward way, Marilyn explains how her team developed a participatory project to improve engagement in a gallery with an awkward entry. Smartphone images didn't read well given the limitations of screen size and the legibility of the artists' writings and drawings. Would it work without full-time staff support?

Museum 45

Museum Arts Problem Design 45

Museum 2.0

JULY 24, 2012

When we talk about making museums or performing arts organizations more participatory and dynamic, those changes are often seen as threatening to the traditional arts experience. What if historic arts experiences were actually a lot more participatory? But what if the "traditional" arts experiences is a myth?

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Greece Arts Industry Participatory 51

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

The World Beach Project is managed by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London with artist-in-residence Sue Lawty. It features three parts: very clear instructions on how to participate, a map of all of the contributions to date , and photos of the contributions. The World Beach Project does not exist in the V&A Museum.

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Project Museum Artist Map 38