Design Thesis Execution | Week 2.1 - SME Kickoff

SME Kickoff Summary

  To gain insights into the logistical processes, research processes, technology limitations, and audience considerations of exhibition design in contemporary Art Museum spaces, I reached out to Ann Lambson, a Senior Interpretive Specialist at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) in Denver, Colorado. I scheduled a 1-hour call with Lambson on Monday, November 29th, to gain insights into the academic research methods and implementation processes of interactive experiences in both permanent and temporary art installations, primarily with the intent of discovering how a contemporary Art Museum team facilitates diverse and equitable narratives in its space through storytelling and design. The meeting was structured around a loose set of questions, whose topics ranged from Lambson’s anecdotal experiences with the process of interpretive experience design to the qualitative and quantitative methods of audience research, audience feedback avenues, object curation, and exhibition success metrics utilized by the Denver Art Museum staff.

The interview began with a conversation about Lambson’s role as an Interpretive Specialist, discussing the day-to-day considerations, processes, and outcomes of her work at the Denver Art Museum. In discussing the processes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This lead to the topics of object labeling, object presentation, and art history pedagogy in museum spaces. Affirming my research on the importance of counter-narrative in pedagogy, Lambson noted the importance of “giving the viewers bits and pieces to fill in the picture [of history]”. However, in seeming contradiction, Lambson went on to note the fairly academic and administrative process of object curation by curators and exhibition administrators. Objects are selected by curators following a specific theme or story (e.g. finding roots in Mexico through Mexican Modernism). While no space may be created with a complete absence of bias, I would like to explore more how the curators of an exhibition work to ensure equity in the pieces and how, if at all, this can relate to the interpretive experience of the museum.

A significant section of the SME conversation related to the curation and labeling of artworks for an exhibition and the considerations of administrative staff as they relate to narrative design. . While most of these processes seem to be purely academic, Lambson did note the integration of social media user testing (e.g. targeted surveys to underrepresented communities), consulting groups (e.g. the Native Community Alliance), and focus groups in the development of exhibition content. It should be noted however that most of these groups seem to focus on the visual contents of the exhibitions themselves, not generally as they relate to the museum space, context, or spoken educational pieces of the experience. 

Additionally, Lambson noted the use of administrative lectures and LMS applications in the DAM to ensure narrative cohesion among the museum staff, at all levels. However, Lambson did mention that there is a lack of distinct metrics in place to ensure the effectiveness of inclusive processes such as focus groups or administrative lectures and that the quality of these methods is typically measured casually through qualitative feedback rather than through formal data-collection processes. There is no full-time member of staff to monitor equity, though external facilitators are sometimes brought in to assess the equity of the museum.

         Lambson noted the relevance of VR, video, and interactive media experiences (e.g. a video game) as engaging experiences, but also discussed the challenges that arise with implementing these experiences effectively. For instance, while not all visitors may be adept at using/interacting with a specific technology such as VR, it is still important that these visitors have access to understand and interpret the content of that interactive experience in a meaningful way (e.g. as in the case previously listed, the video display of the VR experience is projected onto a wall for bystanders to observe without directly interacting with the content themselves). These instances of technology align with the outcomes of my academic research that indicate the value of digital storytelling and engagement in the formation of non-linear narratives. Further, this technology relates to my aesthetic interests in design for entertainment, ultimately affirming my potential solution directions for next semester’s work.

Lambson’s insights into the technology and logistical considerations of experiential museum design provided a more grounded, less conceptual lens of understanding the accessibility of design. While these insights did not entirely contradict my academic research, which indicates the value of counter-storytelling as a form of inclusivity in the presentation of history, they did give me a more legitimate appreciation of the current actions being taken by art museums. Additionally, where much of my research has failed to discuss the link between administrative and “ground-floor” (security staff, reception, etc.) museum staff, as it relates to the educational processes of an art exhibition, Lambson was able to address the importance of cross-institution communication. That said, Lambson did note the lack of defined metrics or feedback channels that might be necessary to measure these processes.