Unpacking (Ideas) from Syracuse

The Museum Association of New York (MANY) just concluded its Annual Conference in Syracuse.

And while I was excited to be both a participant and a sponsor at this year's gathering, I'm still unpacking -- both mentally and physically.  I encourage you to click on the links below to learn more!

Here are a few things that stood out for me in Syracuse:

1) Rematriation

Michelle Schenandoah, a member of the On^yota':aka (Oneida) Nation Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, spoke eloquently about carrying her ancestor's passion to rematriate traditional lands and tell of the world's oldest democracy.

You can find out more about Michelle and her work here.

2) Where Is The Love?

Omar Eaton-Martinez, currently the Senior Vice President for Historic Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, challenged us all to think like Museum J.E.D.I.s -- with that acronym standing for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.  (The Museum J.E.D.I. is also the name of Omar's podcast, where conversations meet at the intersections of museums and social justice.)

Omar's talk touched on many honest (and tough!) things for museum workers to act on, but the title of his talk was drawn from the following quote by Dr. Cornel West,

"Justice is what love looks like in public." 

3) Decolonizing the Collection and Spiritual Carte of Artworks

Marie-Anne Redhead, Curator of Indigenous and Contemporary Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery - Qaumajuq traveled from Canada to share the continuing work of decolonization at her institution.

A part of Marie-Anne's talk that I found especially interesting was the work of "renaming" existing artwork in the WAG's collection.  To find out more about "Interrupting the Institution" click this link to go to the WAG website.

4) Building Sensory-FriendlyMuseums

One of the last sessions I attended in Syracuse was presented by Charlotte Martin and Ava Locks, and focused on creating more sensory-friendly experiences. 

We created "Sound Maps" (like the one I made shown below) during the session to help us become more aware of our sonic surroundings.  

Charlotte also shared this link to the Intrepid website filled with great accessibility resources, including the accessible digital publication,  "Making History Accessible: Toolkit for Multisensory Interpretation", which offers a range of digital and physical/tactile solutions to help make interpretive content at historic sites and other educational facilities more accessible.

Of course, I also had time to see some exhibitions in Syracuse, including the excellent "Hoop Dreams" at the Everson Museum of Art (with a basketball court interactive section where you could shoot baskets!)

Thanks to the MANY Staff and Board for putting on a great conference in Syracuse!

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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Floored (Twice!) at the National Postal Museum

I got "floored" (twice!) during a recent visit to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

Over the next few months, I'll be doing some workshops with the staff at NPM and during some recent time on the museum floor I got into a conversation with one of the Security Staff named Murph.

Murph was super friendly and told me things about NPM's exhibitions and visitors that she's been observing over the past five years that she has worked at the museum.  (Someone has even posted about Murph on YouTube!)

One of Murph's favorite things to bring to visitors' attention is the floor in the main atrium of the Postal Museum. Many people literally walk right past the design of the tiles that represent letters with different-colored "stamps" in the floor's center section. (See the image at the top of this post.)

Murph also pointed out the border tiles (one shown below) that represented the back of an envelope -- perfect for a Postal Museum housed in a historic Post Office building!

To be honest, even though I had visited NPM before, I don't think I ever really paid attention to the floor tiles. But thanks to Murph, I did!

However, the other thing that "floored" me that day was being smacked in the face with my own bias about security staff in museums.  I guess I always imagine that museum security staff are surly and just staring out into space -- just "holding up the walls" for their entire shift.

However, it was clear from speaking with Murph that not only was she enthusiastic about her work at the National Postal Museum, but that she had also read every label and looked carefully at every artifact inside all of NPM's exhibitions.  

So the next time you visit a museum, keep an eye out for those special, small details, and lend an ear to the security staff while asking them about their favorite things to see and do inside.

Who knows? You might get "floored" in a positive way, too!

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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FUN and можело

I've just finished up a fantastic week of workshops with museum folks and independent cultural professionals from Bulgaria.  This first iteration of the "MUSA Academy" was sponsored by the America for Bulgaria Foundation (ABF) and I was joined by my brilliant teaching partners, Jamie Lawyer, and Christina Ferwerda.

Although I'm still processing all the wonderful things that happened and all the cool ideas that popped up this week, two things stand out right now -- the very American idea of FUN and the Bulgarian concept of можело (pronounced mozh-eh-low.)

можело is built on the notion of "we can do this" or "this is possible" but I also think about the word as a way of focusing on "starting somewhere" rather than just completely giving up due to challenges involving money and time, or institutional support.

An interesting example of an "old school" museum that has incorporated both fun and можело is the National Museum of Natural History located in the capital city of Sofia, Bulgaria -- specifically the exhibition gallery containing insect specimen cases.

As you can see from the photo below, the left side of the gallery is dominated by row after row of glass-fronted cabinets containing thousands of mounted insect specimens arranged in taxonomic groups. It feels both overwhelming and daunting.

However, if you turn to the right, a different vista beckons you through a set of insect-themed graphical curtains.

Inside this space is a fun gallery that puts insects found around Bulgaria in context by using large, colorful graphics representing different insect habitats. 

Throughout the space, you can also take closeup looks at representative insect specimens displayed in acrylic tubes.

Anchoring each section is a fanciful portrait of another representative insect species (including its scientific name!) like the dragonfly painting at the top of this post or the honeybee below.

While I wish the entire insect gallery was more like this one area, I realize that shifting a 130-year-old museum is a massive task. However, I give the staff, designers, artists, and fabricators kudos for finding a way to insert a bit of FUN and можело into the National Museum of Natural History.

P.S. to find out even more about FUN in museums, check out this wonderful YouTube interview with Christina Ferwerda and her colleague Helen Divjak!

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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Opposites Attract ... Visitors

Opposites attract in exhibit design.  All sorts of juxtapositions, like big/small and old/new create interest for museum visitors.

I was reminded of this in every unusual way during a trip to the city of Plovdiv, in Bulgaria.

My friends wanted to take me inside a local H&M clothing store to show me a "secret."

Inside was a glass-enclosed remnant of a Roman-era stadium (including some stone seats!) where spectators had watched the chariots race by thousands of years ago!

Other examples of "opposites" can be found in the Hall of North American Forests at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The giant Sequoia cross-section pictured at the top of this post, or the amazing "Life on the Forest Floor" diorama, with its cross-section of forest soil (enlarged to 24 times its actual size) are examples of a big/small contrast.

When you start looking for these design "opposites" they start to show up everywhere.  How can you add an "attractive opposite" to your next project?

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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Please, WAIT.

If I only could say one thing to someone finishing an installation and about to open a new exhibition or an entire museum building, it would be: 

"Please, resist the urge to make changes and WAIT."

In the emotion-charged weeks leading up to opening day, it is amazing how often well-meaning board members, staff members, or funders will offer all sorts of suggestions for last-minute changes to carefully planned exhibits, graphics, and environments that have often gone through months (or years!) of planning, design, and testing. Most of the time this hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing happens before a new museum or exhibition has even been formally opened for business.

It's human nature, I suppose, to view everything through the hyped-up lens of "perfection," but take a minute, take a breath, and just get ready to observe what actual visitors will do when your project actually opens.

There are two specific instances before opening when you should NOT wait to make changes:

1) When there are clear Safety Factors at play -- exposed electrical elements or sharp corners at little kids' face height, for instance.  If there is an aspect of a new installation or building that raises safety concerns, those things need to be addressed right away.

2) When Functionality is in question. When an exhibit or building element is clearly not working properly -- an exterior door doesn't close, a video monitor doesn't properly display content -- those are also the types of things that clearly can't wait.

But there are many other things that fall outside of Safety and Functionality concerns -- in those "gray area" cases, please do yourself (and your project!) a favor and WAIT until after you see how things really play out once you are open for business.

As a former executive director once told me, "Once the museum's open, it's open forever!"  

You will need time after opening to continue to thoughtfully consider how to change, improve, and evolve what has been set into motion. But that process should be informed by careful observation and consideration, not knee-jerk reactions fueled by pre-opening jitters. 

Please, WAIT.

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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A Better Box?

You always hear museum folks say, "Think outside the box!"

But what if we just need better boxes?  This came to mind recently as I encountered the "better box" that my mother-in-law's new blue iMac computer came in.

Once you opened the exterior brown cardboard shipping box, the white box inside containing the actual computer started us down a delightful little design path.  

First off, as you spun the box around, each section was printed with a photographic view of the iMac inside -- as if you were seeing "through" the box to view the front, back, and sides (see images at the top of this post and below.)  the box practically begged you to open it!

When you flipped open the iMac's box, the very first thing you were greeted with was the word "hello" printed on the removable paper screen cover.  A friendly welcome to the set-up process and a clever throwback to the opening screen message on the very first Macintosh computer.  

Those two arrows on either side orient you and show you what to do next -- to reveal the computer inside like opening the curtains on either side of a stage.

Once you lift the computer out of its cardboard cradle, you see some clear graphic indicators of where your peripherals, like the mouse and keyboard and cables, are located.

But did Apple just throw all the loose peripherals into a cardboard void?  Of course not!  Each component is carefully placed into sections arranged like a Bento box.

Initial delight followed by an orientating welcome capped off by clear, clean graphics showing thoughtful directions and details?  

I think that's just the sort of  "better box" that can frame all sorts of visitor interactions inside museums -- from the lobby entrance sequence to the labels and graphics inside a highly-interactive exhibition space.

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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