When reading Nina Simon’s introduction to “The Participatory Museum” and the included TED Talk, I was stuck intiially by the dichotomy of merely “attending” vs “participating” in the museum, as aligned with the comment on audiences getting older and whiter. In many ways what we traditionally think of museums are institutions of elitism, preserving and shining up artifacts and curated expositions with “please don’t touch” signs. Sure, often it’s for the good of the collection pieces, but do the glass cases between us and the exhibit prevent engagement? Simon says sometimes, yes. In this way the museums aren’t alive as much as an archive.

I think of my senior year of high school, where I was a part of a space ambassador program and took part in more galas than the averge high school kid. I was absolutely thrilled to be in museums after hours, surrounded by artifacts from aviation and spacelfight history as I got to speak with the astronauts themseleves. But looking around, a majority of the paying attendees largely older white people with time on their hands and money to buy a ticket, largely ignoring the venue but to be there as a point of prestige and status.

It’s noticeable how voices are shut out in this bastion of elitism. Things like art criticism and the fine art world are deliberate gatekeeping, framing art as something specified rather than something they experience in their lives. It’s in things like challenging graffiti as art - why is Banksy framed but your average street tagger a nuisance? Simon cites in her TED Talk testimony from a teenage visitor saying that they’ve seen masterpieces around the world, but this designed interactive museum was the first time they wanted to do art from a museum.

At the some time, there are experiences that are nothing but participatory, like the Museum of Ice Cream. This “exhibit” has been well-criticized for being essentially a photo op where the visitor gives value to the space than the reverse. in Simon’s TED Talk, towards the end the idea she gives value to framing and giving people design tools to transform what they do in the context. People want to leave their mark, but it’s to a point of self-absorption. Engaging with a less curated or directed piece is sometimes stepping outside of yourself, not something the vast majority of people are comfortable or interested in. Approaching a museum as a business has the dangers of sliding into the most common denominator. But what if that’s the point? To design for vulnerability, the role to curate rather than just to preserve.