Users, Not Visitors

Today I attended a webinar at the Museum of Monterey called "The Future of Museums Conference."  This public viewing in Monterey was sponsored by the Arts Council of Monterey and the Monterey History and Art Association.  My goals were to a) get an intellectual fix and b) meet new creatives for potential collaboration or simply to form connections for the pleasure of it.  Both would enhance my creative life.

The hashtag for the event was #museums14


The lecture I heard from beginning to end (except when I was playing 15 Coins (holy *!#$% that game is addictive) was about how museums have evolved from places you'd go to learn things in a passive way (looking at things behind glass), to places where you'd often participate in creating content (write about your experience and your story would be put on a board for all to see), to the new model, where you're not a visitor to, but a user of museums. You're provided a semi-private place to learn by trying and making mistakes, but not in front of everyone else, for example, or provided a space with interesting-looking things where you can just hang out and enjoy the environment.  An interesting point that the fabulous speaker, Lath Carlson, mentioned but didn't dwell on, was that since museums are non-commercial places, the role of the gift store is a topic of discussion.  Hmmm. 

Here's one Twitter person's observation, which I love:

RT @itweetmuseums: ...examples of how I "use" a museum visit: as therapy, as a creative outlet (via photography/writing), etc. #museums14
— Susan Ferentinos (@HistorySue) July 24, 2014

I got a bit distracted by the chairs on the podium in the space where we were watching the webinar, especially the shadows, plus I was thinking I wanted to stock up on postal stamps:

Finally, I did indeed meet some interesting people.  A painter, an animation teacher, a guy who makes . . . uhm, too complicated for me to explain.  In short: both missions (meet creatives, get intellectual fix) accomplished.  Yes!