Cabinets of Wonders

 

 

 

Dear Nancy,

 

As promised, I am providing additional feedback on the presentations that your students did for the Museum. As I said at the time, they did a wonderful job. My colleagues were struck by their thoughtfulness and the professionalism of their proposals and oral presentations.

 

Here is additional feedback. I’ve been able to be more specific in those cases where students sent a pdf of their presentations (engaging families & seniors). I would love to get a copy of the other two presentations(20-30 year-old visitors and international visitors) and could then provide more substantive comments on those presentations.

 

Best, Amy

 

Engaging Families
This was a very professional presentation. I was very impressed with the group’s sensitivity to the Museum’s mission and existing family activities. They did a great job combing our website to see what we do already, and then suggesting ways to supplement existing programs and consider new family programs. That kind of tactful presentation – focusing on what exists and then moving on to new programs – is a great tactic to use in when presenting to clients. Always complement them on existing programs, before suggesting new ideas!

 

A few things that stuck out about this presentation. First, I liked how you first emphasized what is unique about our space for families – that it is a place to unplug and come together as a family unit. This provided good context for the rest of your suggestions. I also appreciated your emphasis on low-tech solutions for engaging for families. Families can get high-tech at other children’s museums. Our strength is as a place to come together, unplug, learn and have fun.

 

One idea that had particular resonance: employing kids-made directional signage. Exterior and interior signage is a challenge for us. Utilizing children’s art to move people through the space is a wonderful, playful – and economical – solution to a real problem. Additionally, your suggestions of a Family Day and use of shapes for an architectural program are ones that are in place and are very successful. So you are right on target here.

Some of the suggestions toward the end of your proposal like introducing a summer camp experience are interesting but require more resources to implement – both time-wise and money-wise.

 

An Experience for Seniors

First, I love the stock photos you used! Picking the right image is very important when making a presentation and you have chosen well. Also, the quotes from the “interviews” you conducted with your seniors were helpful, providing context for your presentation and the reasons you suggested the interventions that you did.

 

The concept of museum as a community center is one I strongly believe in, particularly for a non-traditional museum likeEldridge Street and one which historically was a gathering place for a community. Many of the activities you suggested are spot-on. What better place to play mah jongg than a synagogue in Chinatown? And Yiddish lessons are a natural, of course, tapping into nostalgia and memory of one’s youth.  

 

Your second light bulb, the museum as a space to celebrate arts, is very much the way the Museum currently operates and serves the senior community. We have strong attendance for our programs (which include concerts, lectures, films, etc.) from this community. It would be helpful to hear about ways to reach this community. What papers are they reading? Are they going on websites? Do they rely on word of mouth?

 

Your third light bulb is just brilliant. I love the idea of promoting the Museum as a place to renew vows, and I like the handy advertising prototype you have created. We plan to introduce this concept in 2012 so be sure to let your parents and grandparents know! We’ll give them a special deal.

 

The More Ideas section was chock full of good suggestions as well.

 

20-30 Year Old Visitors

This was a great subject for ITP to present on as it presents your demographic and a community that has been challenging for the Museum to attract. Because I do not have a copy of the proposal, I will be more general in my comments.

 

I appreciated your sensitivity to the limited resources of the Museum and to the idea that technology can be a wonderful tool for us but only if thoughtfully integrated. I am intrigued by the possibility of video, audio and light interventions – particularly when used in a programmatic way, rather than as a replacement for the current way visitors encounter and negotiate their way through the site.

 

Additionally, beyond the technological mediums that were suggested, I appreciated the focus on content that is appropriate and meaningful here. Using technology to create scenarios of how the synagogue looked pres-restoration, or working with an artist to create a new, site-specific way to tell the story of our 1887 building.-

 

The price tag for some of these initiatives would be an important consideration. You seemed to have that in mind for most of the suggestions. The consideration of how to balance new with old is something the team pulled off very nicely.

 

International Visitors

 

I was particularly struck by this group’s focus on using sensory experiences – sound, touch, taste – to reach out to international audiences. This is a great way to make our building accessible to all, whether they speak the language and can go on the tour or not.  Audio and visual elements – the sounds of a cantor, visuals of the historic Lower East Side – can communicate much. Staff recently talked about making latkes, or potato pancakes, during Chanukah time here at the Museum. Having these smells throughout the building creates a welcoming presence whether you are an English speaker or not.

 

Audio is clearly an option as you suggested for non-English speakers, and one we are contemplating. Again, the challenge is how to best do this ina cost-effective manner.  

 

and this just in…

 

The idea of incorporating new technology into our 125 year old building is one I find very intriguing, particularly your idea of video-mapping. This is something that I would consider exploring, and I appreciated your suggestion of the two ways we might go – working with artist or as a museum tool for telling stories. I should add that this is also a suggestion that some on staff had discomfort with – our restoration was so sensitive to preserving the aesthetic integrity of the space, why would you overlay it with what could be a jarring new technology. I think thoughtfully done this could be very powerful. It’s particularly compelling to me, as you mentioned, because you can turn it off. It’s just another way of seeing and interacting with the space. If any of you would like to purse, please do be in touch. I would explore.

 

 

 

Your programming ideas are also right on and very much in keeping with the kinds of events we offer, films, concerts, talks, more. We’re planning to offer art walks in spring 2012 so you should all come. That said, we’ve struggled sometimes with securing audience for these events, including for concerts with young, cool bands. My sense is that we need more investment from the community we are trying to reach. We should not be programming for the cool, young people. Rather, we should work with an advisory committee from this population and have them make programmatic suggestions – site-appropriate ones – and help market and bring in the audience.

 

 

 

I love the idea of partnering with the New Museum. We haven’t yet made the successful connection. I would be wary about our being an off-site space for their exhibitions. Eldridge Street would not want to be perceived as a satellite site for the NewMuseum but rather its own innovative cultural programmer who presents installations and exhibitions that are appropriate to her aesthetics, history, etc. That said, we should explore alternative ways to collaborate with the Museum.

 

 

 

Love the idea of Yiddish signs. Like the Family Group’s suggestion of “Kid-Produced” signage, this is a creative, fun and inexpensive way to draw more attention to our site from the exterior and as you say “enter the conversation of the Chinese immigrant community.” Food tourism is also a good idea, one we’ve had great success with. Our Passover Nosh & Stroll is one of our most popular programs. We can only serve kosher food so there are some restrictions, and having a fully operating daily food offering would be contingent on our growing our audience. Our numbers currently will not sustain this.

 

 

 

Finally, I really like the idea of using color on the façade of the building. While I have concerns about the cost involved, like the video mapping, it is a way to create a dynamic street presence and entice people to the space.

 

 

 

Again, these are very intriguing ideas and perhaps the most controversial of the ones presented. Some feel you should experience the sanctuary in an unmitigated way. I really like what you’ve done because you have all clearly though hard about programs and technology that would signal we are a place for young people and yet that try to work within the building’s existing historical and aesthetic context, and at the end of the day can be turned off with the flip of a switch.

 

 

 

Great job! Stay in touch. Best, Amy