Engaging with a Tricky Subject at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Sometimes, the public finds contemporary art “unfriendly” or hard to understand. The BMA was opening a new contemporary wing and wanted to transform one of the galleries into a space to help give people skills to engage with contemporary art. Through a collaborative effort with the museum staff and local design studio Post Typography, we created two interactive galleries to help achieve this goal. Below are images from the larger of the two, the Big Table Gallery.

Creating a Platform

The idea of the project was to create a space that could be updated with new concepts over time. On top of appropriate materials and ADA access, we needed to ensure the space had the right foundations in the right places.

When it came to the activities, we needed the usual parameters of a clear path to ‘success,’ some modeling or seeding of the activity, and of course, something that could be done without mediation as the space is un-staffed. For the kickoff theme, we worked with Gamynne Guillotte, then Manager of Interpretation at the BMA to create a framework of activities that visitors could drop in, complete, and post on the wall. Our inaugural theme was “Text as Image.” Regional design firm, Post Typography brought it to life, filling the walls with concepts. We built off of our findings from the early rounds of testing for an in-gallery drawing experience. Future iterations of the Big Table Gallery can be seen in this video from the local ABC News station.

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Tell Me Where the Mirrors Go - Oakland Museum of California