Museum Environments

01/14/2020

Alain de Botton on Art as Therapy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFnNgTSkHPM

LECTURE @THE SCHOOL OF LIFE: The founder of The School of Life, Alain de Botton examines the purpose of art. We often hear that art is meant to be very impor...

01/01/2020

39 Things We Overheard at the New MoMA

From a few weeks ago. It reminds us to focus on the visitors.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/02/arts/overheard-at-moma.html

Listening in at the newly expanded Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.

12/19/2019

Visit museums or art galleries and you may live longer, new research suggests

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/art-longevity-wellness/index.html

A trip to the theater, museum or art gallery could help you live longer. And the more often you get that culture fix the better, a new study suggests.

11/07/2019

It’s Time to Take Down the Mona Lisa

I agree with this article. It would serve the museum better if it were placed in different building.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/arts/design/mona-lisa-louvre-overcrowding.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Leonardo’s painting is a security hazard, an educational obstacle and not even a satisfying bucket-list item. It’s time the Louvre moved it out of the way.

09/25/2019

The Construction wall graphic announcing the new Molina Family Latino Gallery. ME is responsible for its exhibit design.

09/19/2019

Looking for Museum Professional versed in BlockChain for an AAM session proposal
I'm putting together a session for the Time Portals sessions, organized by the Elizabeth Merrit from Center for the Future of Museums. I wish to present the future of museums through the concept of the BlockChain Museum. I believe BlockChain or similar technologies will change the nature of institutions. In the near future, interest groups will organize via BlockChain contracts and produce exhibits and programs in the manner of museums minus the institution, because it will be radically re-organized in the BlockChain.

This will allow for under-represented communities to network and de-colonize wealth in favor of their communities. I could imagine a scene in 2040 where a network of Latinx cultural stakeholders (or other minority groups) have learned to channel resources to empower themselves without the need of institutional brand because the BlockChain's smart contracts secure trust through the transparency guaranteed by smart-contracts that specifiy transactional requirements, benchmarks and goals.

I’m looking for additional partners, please email to [email protected]. Naturally, If you have any experience with BlockChain it would be especially useful.
Regards Mariano Desmaras

09/19/2019

Looking for Museum Professional versed in BlockChain for an AAM Session proposal: I'm putting together a session for the Time Portals sessions, organized by the Elizabeth Merrit from Center for the Future of Museums. I wish to present the future of museums through the concept of the BlockChain Museum. I believe BlockChain or similar technologies will change the nature of institutions. In the near future, interest groups will organize via BlockChain contracts and produce exhibits and programs in the manner of museums minus the institution, because it will be radically re-organized in the BlockChain.

This will allow for under-represented communities to network and de-colonize wealth in favor of their communities. I could imagine a scene in 2040 where a network of Latinx cultural stakeholders (or other minority groups) have learned to channel resources to empower themselves without the need of institutional brand because the BlockChain's smart contracts secure trust through the transparency guaranteed by smart-contracts that specifiy transactional requirements, benchmarks and goals.

I’m looking for additional partners, please email to [email protected]. Naturally, If you have any experience with BlockChain it would be especially useful.
Regards Mariano Desmaras

07/08/2019

12 sites in NYC that honor the immigrant experience

Worked for two of these institution.
https://ny.curbed.com/maps/nyc-museums-ellis-island-immigrant-sites

These museums and monuments honor the legacy and contributions of immigrants in New York City.

06/30/2019

Gay Pride in Battery Park

05/28/2019

Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Smithsonian Secretary

This is not Latino museum news but it is an important development.
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-regents-name-lonnie-bunch-14th-smithsonian-secretary

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents announced today it elected Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, effective June 16. Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum...

05/28/2019

Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Smithsonian Secretary

A big deal and awesome news
https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-regents-name-lonnie-bunch-14th-smithsonian-secretary

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents announced today it elected Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, effective June 16. Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum...

05/01/2019

All-White Neighborhoods Are Dwindling as America Grows More Diverse

America's neighborhoods are more diverse and consequently museums will need to adapt to their communities.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/upshot/all-white-neighborhoods-are-dwindling-as-america-grows-more-diverse.html

Segregated nonwhite neighborhoods persist, with consequential exceptions.

04/30/2019

Climate Activists Staged a Die-In at London’s Natural History Museum

https://hyperallergic.com/496942/climate-activists-staged-a-die-in-at-londons-natural-history-museum/?fbclid=IwAR3LaDRK2VznfKNkxZ8K8pTDGuyfxqoEvAkVQbOsvrLNEVCB839EY5mG_ho

Beginning on April 15, activist group Extinction Rebellion has staged protests and acts of civil disobedience in central London locations, leading to over 1,000 arrests.

04/18/2019

Second New York venue refuses to host homophobe Bolsonaro

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/04/17/cipriani-hall-refuse-host-homophobic-president-jair-bolsonaro/?fbclid=IwAR3SGQRpGP1ChwjEDCHBUIKAQuNheB_9FuizqC3wce2pGGq4AQjTCyVSBQ4

"He's a dangerous man."

04/16/2019

The ME booth at the Museum Association of New York conference in Cooperstown - connecting with the upstate museums.

04/10/2019

Roberto Clements cap at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

03/20/2019

The Lewis and Clark of the Digital Building Frontier

Happy to see two of my graduate school mates doing great stuff.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/arts/design/3d-printing-building-design.html?fbclid=IwAR0hKZlDA_3YYlwXmge5p6IQo8oGy_mpGO-wZIf3P4yws_5NwjAzZVs0dg4

These married architects are democratizing the 3-D printing process, using materials destined for the trash heap — like curry powder and coffee grounds — in place of drywall and foam.

03/04/2019

Papyrus - SNL

Graphic design humor, completely identify with this character. From the font I could tell the movie Avatar would only deliver canned emotions and story lines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

Years after Avatar's release, there's one thing Steven (Ryan Gosling) just can't get over. #SNL #SNLPremiere #SNL43 Subscribe to SNL: https://goo.gl/tUsXwM G...

12/12/2018

Smithsonian to Open Its First-Ever Gallery Devoted to Latinx Experiences, Receives $10M Donation

More press about one of our exhibit design projects. The Latinx community has naturally responded positively to this new gallery - all the more reason to feel proud to support this.
https://hyperallergic.com/475062/smithsonian-opens-its-first-ever-gallery-devoted-to-latinx-experiences/?utm_source=Breakfast+with+ARTnews&utm_campaign=cf13b935bf-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_12_10_03_35&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5d7f10ceb-cf13b935bf-293907111&fbclid=IwAR3TehObTufzbk8pO-ZpDyvVn2YkEsVesQnGvkcS1f7dR8CFMzxnaZ4T0Os

"Latino history is American history, and we have a responsibility to reflect the stories and experiences of Latinas and Latinos in the U.S. today," said the Smithsonian Latino Center's director.

12/06/2018

Molina siblings' $10 million gift will give birth to Smithsonian's first permanent Latino gallery space • Long Beach Post

Museum Environments is proud to provide design services in such a valuable project.
https://lbpost.com/life/arts-culture/molina-siblings-10-million-gift-will-give-birth-to-smithsonians-first-permanent-latino-gallery-space/?fbclid=IwAR296MIK7K22S4YKCk_my5B4Tr5WyW1-XzXpFfGUPNCf4BR7Ey3xi0LFzKY

On Thursday, Dec. 6, the Smithsonian Institution will announce the creation of its first, permanent gallery space dedicated to telling the story of Latinos in the U.S. The gallery is made possible by a lead gift of $10 million by five Molina siblings from Long Beach.

10/25/2018

Happy to be participating in the Museum Association of New York workshop. The name is my session is: Found in Translation, Museums as Part of the Immigrant Experience. I will be joined by
Jennifer Schantz, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, New-York Historical Society
Andrew Rebatta, Assistant Curator, Museum of Chinese in America
Hannah Davis, Upstate New York Regional Representative for Folk Arts, NYS Folklore Society
Patricia Lannes, Director and Founder, CALTA21.

09/12/2018

Museum September October 2018 Page 12

I wish to share my article just published in Museum Magazine, "Navigating the Fence Space, How can museum better speak to the immigrant experience"
https://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=522127&ver=html5&p=14

POINT OF VIEW Navigating the Fence Space How can museums better speak to the immigrant experience? By Mariano Desmarás El chuco y qué ? by Carlos Callejo, seen below, seems to ask. Th mural, in El Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas, depicts a landscape around a wood fence guarded by a modern cowboy ...

07/17/2018

Latino Museum Studies Program (LMSP)

Tomorrow I will be leading a workshop/lecture for the Smithsonian Latino Center, Latino Museum Studies Program. Very happy and honored to participate in this program with such an important mission.
http://latino.si.edu/Education/Studies

06/13/2018

Museums and climate change - Happy Museum Project

Interesting UK blog on museum sustainability
http://happymuseumproject.org

Recent years have seen a surge in responses to climate change from museums across the world – a movement that found focus in a Symposium on Museums and Climate Change in Manchester in April 2018 – congratulations to Henry McGhie and the other organisers.. Happy Museum was delighted to present a ...

05/29/2018

12 pro tips for taking your kids to the museum

https://matadornetwork.com/read/12-pro-tips-taking-kids-museum/

Your kids will thank you… later.

05/23/2018

The Museum Of Ice Cream Is Opening Its Own Pint Shop — And This One Is Permanent

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-museum-of-ice-creams-the-pint-shop-is-a-permanent-location-in-new-york-city-set-to-open-this-summer-9182907

If you’re a fan off all things twee and Instagrammable, you’re going to want to listen up: the Museum of Ice Cream is launching "The Pint Shop," a grocery store-inspired exhibit where you’ll also be able to buy the Museum of Ice Cream’s newly launche…

05/22/2018

COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM TO PRESENT “THE SENSES: DESIGN BEYOND VISION” | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/02/27/cooper-hewitt-smithsonian-design-museum-to-present-the-senses-design-beyond-vision/

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “The Senses: Design Beyond Vision” exhibition, on view April 13 through Oct. 28, which examines how multisensory design amplifies everyone’s ability to receive information, explore the world, satisfy essential needs and experience joy and w...

05/17/2018

The Goldfish Problem: How To Get Attention Of Potential Visitors - Colleen Dilenschneider

On museum marketing when you only have 8 seconds. https://www.colleendilen.com/2018/05/16/goldfish-problem-getting-attention-cultural-audiences/

How can visitor-serving organizations secure attention in today’s noisy world? Goldfish have a notoriously short attention span of only nine seconds. But according to a study by Microsoft, there’s a creature today with an even shorter attention span of onlyRead More ›

05/15/2018

Happy to have presented in the past AAM conference in Phoenix. I joined Karleen Gardner of MIA, Annie Polland, and Margarita Sandino in the session "Creating Place and Space: Museums and the Immigration Experience"

05/04/2018

I wish to invite to all those going to the AAM conference to the session: Creating Place and Space: Museums and the Immigration Experience: Sunday, May 6 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Location: 127 ABC

During these challenging times, how are museums creating welcoming and engaging experiences exploring the historic and contemporary stories of immigrant communities? How can we use virtual and bricks and mortar spaces to help Americans connect to one another through their immigration narratives? What are some museums doing to address and encourage dialogue around issues of immigration through our collections, programs, exhibitions, and online platforms?

Image detail of the mural by Carlos Callejo in El Paso TX "Chuco y qué?" inspiration for my part of the talk.

04/26/2018

Newseum - Serving the Blind Community

The people of 3D Photoworks are behind this exhibit. I believe the interactive part completes the experience. My father was blind and tactile pieces did not always works. I can see how added interpretation is enough to push it over the threshold barrier.

https://mailchi.mp/0f1b2df71353/newseum-serving-the-blind-community

The Newseum is the first museum in the United States to host a major tactile photo exhibit designed to serve sighted and blind visitors with equality. Titled The Marines and Tet, the exhibit features 20 large-format photographs from the 1968 Tet Offensive and 10 tactile versions of the photographs.....

04/25/2018

How the Met museum is becoming more inclusive with Facebook Live

Using social media to host ASL interpreters
https://www.fastcompany.com/40561429/how-the-met-museum-is-becoming-more-inclusive-with-facebook-live

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has come up with a clever way to make art more accessible to art lovers who happen to be deaf. Like many museums around the world, the Met has hosted tours with guides who offer commentary in American Sign Language since at least 2001, but as Hyperallergic points out,....

04/18/2018

New exhibit coming soon at MOCA that ME designed. Sneak peak of installation in process.

04/17/2018

Glad to have participated in the Museum Association of New York conference. Along with Jennifer Schantz of the New York Historical Society and Hannah Davis New York Folklore Society, we presented a session entitled "Found in Translation: The #Museum as part of the Immigrant Experience." The picture is of the ME booth. Museum Association of New York

03/29/2018

Museum Association of New York - Annual Conference

Tomorrow is the last day to register for the MANY conference. This conference much more manageable than AAM conference and better to network with local museum professionals.
https://nysmuseums.org/annual-conference

03/27/2018

Baffled by Conceptual Art? So Are Will Ferrell and Joel McHale in This Museum's Short Film

Very funny, is this a new way of promoting museums?
http://www.adweek.com/creativity/baffled-by-conceptual-art-so-are-will-ferrell-and-joel-mchale-in-this-museums-short-film/

Eric Hirshberg directs the Hammer’s self-deprecating comedy.

03/23/2018

In Germany, the Power of Art in the Twilight of Life

"In Germany, which has the largest number of people over age 65 in Europe and a robust system of publicly financed local museums, tours like this one are increasingly common "
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/europe/germany-dementia-art.html

A growing number of museums bring stimulation and solace to dementia patients through regular tours.

03/22/2018

Leading US Architect Designs a Museum Tailor-Made For Private Collectors in France | artnet News

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/steven-holl-collectors-museum-1248341

Architect Steven Holl and Francois Pinault's right-hand man are behind the project and adjacent boutique hotel in Angers, France.

03/12/2018

Museums Fight the Isolation and Pain of Dementia

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/arts/dementia-national-museums-liverpool.html

Using objects, narratives and technology, museums in Liverpool, England, are rekindling memories and making connections.

03/05/2018

DIA's Popular Inside|Out Program Returns For 9th Year

It includes a short clip of the program.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2018/03/03/detroit-institute-of-arts-inside-out/

The program brings high-quality reproductions of masterpieces from the DIA’s collection to outdoor venues throughout metro Detroit.