A Look Back at 2015. Happy New Year from ExhibiTricks!

As the New Year approaches, the urge to simultaneously look back at the year past, and forward to the year ahead is strong.

So who am I to resist?  I thought I'd share thoughts about the three most popular ExhibiTricks posts from 2015, as well as three upcoming topics for 2016, because I think the half-dozen subjects neatly encapsulate important ideas in the museum/exhibit/design world.

Looking Back.

The hands-down most popular ExhibiTricks post of 2015 was Hayao Miyazaki's Museum Manifesto.
I think one reason this post resonated with so many people is that the qualities of a great museum, and great museum experience, that Miyazaki outlines are hard to put together, but when these qualities come together, something truly sublime and memorable has been achieved.  A great inspirational read.

Up next was an interview to get at the story behind Beverly Serrell's second edition of her classic book, Exhibit Labels.  One thing I took away from Beverly's experiences was that even "classics" and great museums need to find the ways to keep current while still maintaining their core values.  The ultimate looking forward and looking back balancing act in our business.

The third most popular ExhibiTricks post in 2015 was a thoughtful piece by Axel Huttinger (borne out a frustrating exhibits meeting!) entitled What is Innovative Exhibition Design?  I was happy to publish Axel's thoughts because they really helped me re-consider my own exhibit design and development ideas.

I think one common thread between Axel's piece and the Serrell and Miyazaki posts is the importance of articulating and keeping track of core values.  What's really important to you and your work?  How can you best share it with visitors and include them in the creative conversation?   It's too easy to become distracted by technological gimmicks or the latest trendy buzzwords (can we please stop "hacking" everything in 2016?) in our business.



Looking Forward.

One of my museum/exhibit/design "resolutions" for 2016 is to be conscious of the "core" --- the fundamental values that can (and should!) be guiding our work.  With that in mind, there are three connected topics I'll be thinking a lot about in 2016 here on ExhibiTricks:

Inclusivity ---  I hope to give Margaret Middleton and others the opportunity to share their work in making museums and other cultural institutions more welcoming to more people.  It's no coincidence that both #museumsrespondtoferguson and #MuseumWorkersSpeak were important hubs of conversation in 2015.

The Opposite of "Neutrality"  ---  the work of groups like The Natural History Museum to push museums to consider that board members and funders (and the perception of where funding comes from) belie the notion of being "neutral" presenters of information.

Physical Participation and Creation --- lastly, folks like Rachel Hellenga have been making great strides in creating situations for visitors to physically (not just digitally) participate and create inside cultural institutions.

The core values and aspirations of museums are solid, but putting them into action in an inclusive and welcoming way takes hard work, not just rosy mission statements.   I look forward in the year ahead to being part of helping museums live their aspirations through actions, and not just words.


HAPPY NEW YEAR! 



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Exhibitionist's Universal Design Issue --- And a Contest!

I just wanted to highlight the most recent issue of Exhibitionist, which is a theme issue related to inclusive experiences, and universal design in exhibitions.  All of the articles, and even the exhibition and book reviews, all relate to the aforementioned topics.

If you are not already a subscriber to Exhibitionist, just keep reading to find out how you can win one of four FREE print copies of the latest issue entitled, "Creating an Inclusive Experience: Exhibitions and Universal Design."

As you may already know, Exhibitionist is a "journal of reflective practice" published by the National Association for Museum Exhibition (NAME) in the Spring and Fall of each year. Exhibitionist is also one of the best, if not the best, museum-related journals available.  

Exhibitionist always features thought-provoking articles on exhibition theory and practice, exhibition critiques and commentary, book reviews, technical articles, and other essays of interest to the profession.  

I was especially taken by the range of articles about accessibility and universal design in this current issue, ranging from case studies in historical museums and aquariums to "nuts and bolts" articles about getting your staff on board to implement more inclusive practices into your institution.



AND NOW THE CONTEST!

If you are not yet a subscriber to Exhibitionist, here's your chance to win one of four free print copies of the current issue!  Simply leave a comment at the ExhibiTricks blog page OR become a subscriber to the ExhibiTricks blog (click on the info at the upper right side of the main ExhibiTricks blog page.)

I will randomly pick two commenters and two new subscribers on January 5th, 2016 and contact them to send them their copy of Exhibitionist.  It's as simple as that!

However, if you don't want to take a chance on winning a free issue in the contest, just click on over to the Exhibitionist subscription page right now!




Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)

Creative Design Toolbox: Old Book Illustrations

Old Book Illustrations is a website that offers one thing: public domain, royalty-free images scanned from old books.

Searchable galleries include animals, plants, techniques, artists names, books titles, among other topics.

So click on over to the Old Book Illustrations website and get your graphic design groove on!

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)

Design Inspiration: Morphs 2.0

Ruairi Glynn is an installation artist who also directs the Interactive Architecture Lab at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.  He and collaborators William Bondin and Francois Mangion have been creating adaptive structures called MORPHs, short for Mobile Reconfigurable Polyhedra. 

Imagine playgrounds where the structures are able to move or rearrange themselves!  These robotic MORPH structures can move from one place to another autonomously or they can be guided towards a specific location through tactile input from users. They can also be controlled wirelessly and onboard GPS modules can be used to define a boundary for the MORPHS to operate in. 

As you can see in the video below, individual MORPH robotic units are currently made of twelve actuated struts, which when extended will shift the center of gravity of the entire structure, leading it to roll over in a specific direction. 



This movement happens relatively slowly, providing enough reaction time for the people around it to stay clear from its path. Each MORPH also has embedded pressure sensors within the rubber joints which provide it with information about its orientation, whether it is about to encounter an obstacle, or if there is someone swinging from it or trying to push it.  

Museum and playground designers could easily take advantage of this sort of emerging technology to create spaces where the physical design elements are changable and adaptable instead of fixed in place.  I love the idea of physical environments that can respond in interesting and unexpected ways to users!

Click on these links to find out more about the MORPH project and Ruairi Glynn.

 
Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)