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"In community building, the third place is the social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place")." (Third place - Wikipedia) To be a third place, a space needs to be accessible, comfortable, leveling, - a home away from home. For art orgs who want to capture this essence and become a third space, intentional space design can be used to incorporate aspects of comfortability like seating, ambiance, food, while being accepting and embracing a non-grandiose feel.

Sources: Third place - Wikipedia
Experience Design & the Future of Third Place – American Alliance of Museums (aam-us.org)

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I found the spectrum of live to digital fascinating - especially with how social media falls into the mix of it. I truly love social media for the way it can encourage conversations; However, in my discussion group we talked about the privacy component and how people do not always show up as themselves to these conversations which affects the engagement. In the arts space, I think many orgs can do a better a job of fostering a more 'live' conversation in the digital space through social media.

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3/24 Audience typographies and engagement ARC

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3/24 Audience typographies and engagement ARC

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I really enjoyed better understanding the different types of audience typographies. However, the arc was extremely valuable to better understand. Moving forward, I want to implement stronger buildup and post processing for events in my own organization by utilizing communication that ADDS to the experience. We only ever just send updates or thank you emails. Now that I understand this better, I think we can really start creating stronger experiences for our audiences.

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Stronger communication can be made with audience members pre and post events. Communication can go to people to ADD information or incite excitement beforehand. Communication afterward can incorporate some 'behind-the-scenes' info or encourage people to come back w/ a discount code for themselves and friends, etc.

Source:

Brown, Alan, and Rebecca Ratzkin. 2011. “Making Sense of Audience Engagement.” WolfBrown.

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The idea of an 'experience' supercedes that of a good or service by going above and beyond to be a personal and memorable experience for audience members (ie, Disney World). Experiences do not just occur in theme parks - venues in the arts world can tailor their offerings to be a unique and memorable experience for guests. (think: themes, memorabilia, engaging all the sense, eliminating negative cues, creating impressions with positive cues, etc)

Source:

1. B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, “Welcome to the Experience Economy,” Harvard Business Review, July 1, 1998, https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy.

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When looking at the four realms of the experience, an experience may fall in one section based on its level of absorption versus immersion and passive vs active participation. Organizations can move an experience to another section by 'ing-ing' an experience to level it up (refer to the above post on experience)

Source:

1. B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, “Welcome to the Experience Economy,” Harvard Business Review, July 1, 1998, https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy.

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The most key thing about relevancy is that its not just about being trendy. Just because something is popular does not mean it's relevant. Things cannot just be 'relevant' on their own. They can be relevant to something else. What is relevant to me may not be relevant to others. Thus, relevancy has a lot to do with an organization's community and they relate to and define their audience.
Critical to think about relating to relevancy is that it does NOT mean 'simplifying' an experience. As Nina discusses in her book, she never could have believed the Princes of Surf event would be such as success. Yet, it was because it was relevant to the community, giving them the opportunity to connect to the history of their town and what it meant to have Surf there (and its history and culture). Relevancy means leaving an experience deep for audiences to dive into still!

Source:  Nina Simon, The Art of Relevance. Museum 2.0: Santa Cruz, CA (2016).

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What is immersiveness?
For this- I'm including some defining characteristics from Immersive Theatre Defined:
1. (Mostly) Stimulates all the senses
2. Double as an art installation/hands on museum
3. Uniquely personal experience
4. Aspect that emphasizes the social
5. Tell a story (with respect)

As Interactive Theatre: Five Rules of Play from an Audience Member tells us:
1. Think outside the venue
2. Justify the audience/actor ratio
3.  Enclose audiences
4. Keep it simple(r)
5. Be consistent

These same notions mostly apply to the museum field as well. I think most to Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms as being immersive. They playfully balance on the line of passive/active participation and require the viewer to be involved to be seen and understood. Museums can incorporate immersion in with success.

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This week, one of the most memorable things was getting the opportunity to learn more about Attack Theatre, hearing from Michele De La Reza. I found it most interesting that different organizations have Attack Theatre perform at their venues and incorporate their art (and audiences!) into the performance. This week we also dove into the experience economy (looking at MeowWolf) as a case study. I'm definitely excited to learn about more ways that arts museums can leverage these concept to create a more memorable and significant experience for guests.

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Week of carnival  / Diving more into experience / Submitting Arts Hack #1.  This week I really enjoyed the reading materials on Omnichannel personalization from McKinsey and company. As a content creator I see so many brands using the same exact content across social media, their website, email and text communications, and I think that's one way to lead to viewer burnout. The article made me think a lot about how the platforms can work together and how information can be woven through different channels to create an actual virutal expereince instead of just getting swarmed with the same content. I also enjoyed finalizing the Arts Hack #1 and seeing it all come together. I genuinely love the Mattress Factory, but do think there is plenty of room for growth, so I did enjoy approaching my experience there with a more critical eye.

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UXD and Immersiveness:
I find the UXD process super interesting. A look at the proces: need to pick a specific problem, listen/hear from users, develop a prototype. The most valuable thing I am taking from the idea of an Equity pause in the process: "An Equity Pause is a time to share our learning and see what we can do better next time in the service of equity and inclusion" (Equity-Centered Design Framework — Stanford d.school). Relatedly, I enjoyed learning more about immersive theater and have some of those examples included in the scrapbook section.

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This week we dove into relevancy, and I think I need to give my brain some more time to think about it. What stands out to me the most is from the Art of Relevancy book that things cannot just be 'relevant' on their own. They can be relevant to something else. What is relevant to me may not be relevant to others. I think I need to do a lot more reflecting on what that may mean for the museum field. I often think museums have a wide audience, which may make this confusing to pinpoint what is relevant for them.

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My last week of classes EVER!!! I really enjoyed Jana's talk (putting some notes here in case I forget: (Jana Frederick's Evaluation Discussion - looking at summative/formative, qualitative/quantitative, the balance, etc - putting the steps in the Tool Kit). Overall, I enjoyed diving deeper into relevancy and thinking about the connection between relevancy and community (and what it means to define community as an org).

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In addition to capturing the idea as a link, add a paragraph of connections to WHY those tools and examples will resonate in X discipline or artistic pursuit, and HOW you envision them in your work in the future.

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Case 1: The Walker Art Center's Open Field (Third Place Theory)

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Case 1: The Walker Art Center's Open Field (Third Place Theory)

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The Walker Art Center created 'Open Field'. They use the space for art events, performances, planting crops, classes, etc. "Open Field will be a playground" (Walkerart.org). AAM notes the organization for this Open Field, noting the development of a place-based space (Experience Design & the Future of Third Place – American Alliance of Museums (aam-us.org). I think for other art museums, this sort of development can open the door to fostering a space that can feel more like a third place. I do not think this perfectly aligns with the third place theory; However, for museums interested in fostering a more open, welcoming, and 'homey' experience, an open field like this can promote accessibility, relaxation, regulars, and even liminality for guests.
Source: An Authentic Commons Is Not a Temporary Affair (walkerart.org)

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Case 2: The ARTS Center (Third Place Theory)

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Case 2: The ARTS Center (Third Place Theory)

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The ARTS Center (in California) moved into a new space and leveraged their students and reused materials to create a move vibrant space that could feel more like a third space for students. Because students spend most of their time between school and home, after-school arts programs can naturally become that third place for students - but the right elements must be in place for the space to be welcoming, relaxing, and feel like that home away from home. I've worked at Steeltown for the past two years (we run an after-school program for high school students). We recently moved into a new building, and I believe this case study will be extremely valuable to us to leverage approval to begin doing something similar in our space to provide a more welcoming and engaging space for our students. For any arts organization operating an after-school program, I believe having the students take control of the space through design is a way to foster ownership and acceptance that is needed in a third place.

Source: Power of Place The Importance of Dedicated 3rd Places for Youth to Engage in the Arts

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Case 3: The Mattress Factory (Liminal Space)

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Case 3: The Mattress Factory (Liminal Space)

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The Mattress Factory is one example of a local Pittsburgh museum that incorporates the concept of 'liminal' space into their space. While the art is useful in helping audience members escape from the busy area of the Northside, there are intentional physical design choices that help this. One, when you travel between the exhibits and the stairwell shaft outside, the museum has speakers that play an odd mix of white noise/construction noise that fits the feel of the Mattress Factory. Additionally, the usage of installation art that you physically have to walk within throughout the museum helps completely immerse you in the space. So how can other institutions learn from this - even if they're not installation-based? One, is to incorporate visual art (like installation) that is immersive when possible to appeal to different types of audience members. Also, to think about sound and smell as well to really make a physical space feel more liminal.
Mattress Factory: Home Page - Mattress Factory
Arts Hack #1 Analysis: Flipgrid | e1cc8f4y

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Case 4: The Brooklyn Museum - The Blacklist Project Video Diaries (Arc of Engagement)

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Case 4: The Brooklyn Museum - The Blacklist Project Video Diaries (Arc of Engagement)

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The Brooklyn Museum incorporated the Blacklist Project Video Diaries into an exhibition in 2008-2009. The project allowed audience members to upload a video of themselves talking about how racism impacted their lives/achievements. The webcam experience brings out the Artistic Exchange by audience members sharing ideas with the organization, and the ability to watch other people’s videos afterward is an example of the organizations encouraging Post-Processing. Leveraging the arc of engagement is crucial for organizations to find ways to increase audience engagment (even in art museums).  More museums, especially with the increased use of video, can incorporate projects like this throughout exhibitions to offer audience members the opportunity to deepen their experiences.

Source: Brown, Alan S., Rebecca Ratzkin. Getting In On the Act. WolfBrown. (2011), 15-17, 34-35.

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Case 5: Carnegie Museum of Art (Arc of Engagement)

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Case 5: Carnegie Museum of Art (Arc of Engagement)

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The Carnegie Museum of Art (CMoA) invited audience members to co-create a work, asking "What is Your Pittsburgh Story?" In this way, audience members had the opportunity to share their own stories. While this is a small step towards more engagment, it's a good example of a small way to allow guests to have deeper engagement throughout the museum. For art museums, projects like this allow guests to move out of passive engagment into active engagement to build a deeper connection.
Source: My own image, taken Fall 2021.

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Case 6: Attack Theatre - Some Assembly Required (Arc of Engagement)

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Case 6: Attack Theatre - Some Assembly Required (Arc of Engagement)

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Attack Theatre incorporates the audience directly into the action with Some Assembly Required. Audience members guide the direction of the dance, sometimes even being invited directly on stage to be a part of the process. In this way Attack Theatre moves audience members into a participatory phase of engagement with Audience members as Artists. Arts organizations can leverage groups like Attack Theatre to take an exhibition from passive to active, giving audience members a memorable and unique experience engaging with and in the art.
Source: Attack Theatre

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Case 7: Rainforest Cafe (Experience,  Immersiveness, Relevancy)

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Case 7: Rainforest Cafe (Experience,  Immersiveness, Relevancy)

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Including this as a way to learn from something that was not successful! While we know that the Rainforest Cafe lost its hype over time - it's important to understand why! As we discussed in class, the Rainforest Cafe failed to provide a deeper meaning/insight for their audiences (think MeowWolf). Yet, they also failed to iterate over time. Nothing new was pulling people back into the space. For arts organizations, this is a great example of a fantastic idea (that was crazy popular and loved) that became lackluster over time because of a failure to iterate. Arts orgs need to take the time to iterate and adjust experiences, giving audience members a reason to come back into the space. Just because a space is immersive and trendy does not mean people will want to continue to come over and over again (go to the Sleep No More case study for a successful example)
Rainforest Cafe | Jungle-Themed Restaurant Chain Worldwide

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Rainforest Cafe | Jungle-Themed Restaurant Chain Worldwide

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Main content starts here, tab to start navigating

hero gallery paused, press to play images slides Playing hero gallery, press to pause images slides

Check Out Our Upcoming Events

View All Events

Tag Us on Social Media for a Chance to be Featured

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Rainforest Cafe | Jungle-Themed Restaurant Chain Worldwide

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Main content starts here, tab to start navigating hero gallery paused, press to play images slides Playing hero gallery, press to pause images slides Check Out Our Upcoming Events View All Events Tag Us on Social Media for a Chance to be Featured

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Case 8: Pittsburgh Airport Sensory Room (Experience x UXD)

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Case 8: Pittsburgh Airport Sensory Room (Experience x UXD)

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Including this because I think this is a great way to support the idea of intentional space design. While we see intentional design in various arts spaces, the intentional design here is to make an experience accessible for those with disabilities. Accessibility-focused design can still be engaging. When we design for the most vulnerable in our society, we can give everyone the opportunity to access our spaces and engage. Relating back to arts organizations, I believe intentional design can go a long way. From our reading: "An Equity Pause is a time to share our learning and see what we can do better next time in the service of equity and inclusion" (Equity-Centered Design Framework — Stanford d.school). In designing engaging experiences for our audiences, taking the time to think about who we are not considering can be a vital way to ensure our experiences are accessible and inclusive.
Source: Pittsburgh Airport's 'Sensory Room' Supports Travelers Who Have Autism : Shots - Health News : NPR

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Pittsburgh International Airport recently opened a suite of "sensory rooms" inside its airside terminal to help travelers on the autism spectrum decompress from the stress of flying. It's one of a handful of airports internationally that have made changes to be more accommodating to people with special needs.

The 1,500-square-foot space in Pittsburgh is quiet, muting the hustle and bustle from the terminal. Designed with input from people who have autism, it features soft furniture and whimsical lighting features, including colorful bubble towers and multiple soundproof rooms. There's also a room designed to replicate an airplane cabin, complete with airplane seats, trays, windows and overhead compartments, so kids and adults can get used to the feeling of sitting on a plane.

Traveling through an airport can be an anxiety-inducing experience for anyone, but for people on the autism spectrum, the sensory bombardment can make the experience even more intense.

"Between smells and sounds and sights and ... announcements - all of that can be alarming for a lot of typical people," says University of Pittsburgh special education professor Rachel Robertson. "But for people with autism, it could be really terrifying."

The space - dubbed Presley's Place - is named for Presley Rudge, the 4-year-old son of Pittsburgh International Airport worker Jason Rudge. Presley has autism and is considered nonverbal.

Rudge, who operates heavy equipment at the airport, pitched the idea for the sensory room to airport CEO Christina Cassotis more than a year ago. Because of Presley's sensory processing issues, flying commercially was not an option for the family. Rudge first encountered a sensory room at Presley's preschool readiness program, where he said his son felt comfortable.

"After that, I'm sitting at work thinking, I wonder if I'll ever be able to go on vacation," Rudge says. "So I said, 'Why don't we put a sensory room in the airport?' "

There are at least six airports internationally that have such spaces - in Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Lehigh Valley, Penn.; Gatwick in the U.K. and Shannon in Ireland - and all vary in size and features. The Pittsburgh team worked with community groups and other Pittsburgh businesses and destinations with sensory rooms to develop its own.

The airport's space is meant for use by both children and adults with autism and other family needs, its designers say.

"The needs are the same for children and adults: If you're on the autism spectrum you need a safe place to go to recharge," says Kerry Mauger, manager of special projects at The Arc, an organization that serves individuals with disabilities and their families. "The Pittsburgh sensory room did very good about having some resources and some spaces that weren't overly kid-like."

Jessica Benham is director of development at the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy. She's autistic and says she's pleasantly surprised with how much feedback the airport's team took during the development of the space. She and the center specifically asked, for example, for soft lighting levels instead of fluorescent lights; the latter's hum can be especially bothersome for some people on the spectrum. And there are multiple comfortable, soundproof rooms with doors within the space for an adult who prefers privacy to decompress.

"I was expecting a small room with maybe some bean bags and dimmable lights," Benham says, "because my expectations have been taught to be low. And so to walk into this space that's enormous and serves a variety of needs - I don't even have the words to say what that means." The space also includes a room with a larger changing table, for adults with special needs, for example - a need families say is often overlooked.

The sensory space is open 24 hours a day, and those who want to see the space in advance of a flight are welcome - in 2017, Pittsburgh International Airport became the first major airport in the country to allow people without tickets to enter the terminals to shop, eat or walk loved ones to the gate.

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Kids And Adults With Autism Flying Easier In Pittsburgh, With Airport's Help

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Pittsburgh International Airport recently opened a suite of "sensory rooms" inside its airside terminal to help travelers on the autism spectrum decompress from the stress of flying. It's one of a handful of airports internationally that have made changes to be more accommodating to people with special needs.

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While Apteka is a restaurant, I think there is A LOT that can be pulled over into the arts industry (in fact, I think Apteka arguably hits some ideas of what we consider an 'arts experience'). What is most important to learn from Apteka as a case study is how experience (and relevancy to your audience!) requires iteration. While the case study on the Rainforest Cafe shows a lack of iteration over time, Apteka continues to iterate on their menu. They leverage the same 'core' meal (pierogies- in the image it's their dish Kluskie Slaskie), and iterate over time - giving visitors a reason to return and try something new -that is not wildly new or out of their comfort zone. For a museum, their can be ways to iterate on permanent collections, keeping the 'core' the same, yet bringing fresh new spins on it (bringing in guest speakers, discussions, other works with it, etc).
Home | Apteka (aptekapgh.com)

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Case 10: Bay Area Video Coalition (Relevancy)

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Case 10: Bay Area Video Coalition (Relevancy)

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For my second case study, I explored the Bay Area Video Coalition's (BAVC) Exploring Engagement Fund media lab project. The organization's staff team took a media lab of mainly laptops and cameras out to various community organizations, partnering with a prenatal care center, two county jails, and a veteran's service organization. The most important takeaway from this case study is that space is so powerful, and non-arts spaces can be leveraged as a strength to the program. For example. the case emphasizes how planning before entering the space is crucial, and having the time to plan allows staff to take constraints and turn them into opportunities. For example, when working with inmates, there were limitations on objects that could be in the space. So while technology was limited, in one instance, an inmate beatboxed different rhythms to use in other inmates' videos. Most notable in the case study was also the notion of iterating. For example, the case mentions, "With a series of activities, staff got to know the participants and had the opportunity to adjust their approach to address space challenges over time" The notion of iteration is crucial to adjusting to be relevant to your audience (or in this case audiences). All arts organizations need to be iterating in this similar way and thinking about how they can iterate to better serve their audiences.
Source: Experiments in Arts Engagement Case Studies
BAYC: Home - BAVC Media

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Case 11: The Hirshhorn Museum's Kusama x Anderson x Duchamp 'Layering' (Relevancy x Immersiveness)

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Case 11: The Hirshhorn Museum's Kusama x Anderson x Duchamp 'Layering' (Relevancy x Immersiveness)

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The Hirshhorn, while debuting the massively famous Kusama rooms, also layered the types of exhibitions in the space, allowing them to be relevant to their wide range of audiences.  The Kusama exhibition was downstairs, which was what was actually bringing a majority of people in the door. On their second floor, they had a Laurie Anderson exhibit that was packed, and on the top floor, they had a Duchamp exhibition that was not 'dumbed down' in the slightest. While I did not like the Duchamp exhibition at all because it felt so inaccessible, it did appeal to the very traditional museum insider. The wall texts were filled with theory, and even as someone who studied art history, I had to reread them. Yet, this layered model allowed new people to physically go deeper into the art field as they explored the museum. As a fan of Kusama, I acted as a 'dedicated' insider[1], bringing in my partner (an outsider). A great quote from Nina Simon about outsiders:  "They deserve their own doors in."
1: Nina Simon, The Art of Relevance. Museum 2.0: Santa Cruz, CA (2016).
Exhibitions & Events - Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian (si.edu)

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Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian

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Exhibitions & Events - Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian

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Upcoming Exhibitions Past Exhibitions Featured Events View more

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Case 12: Sleep No More (Immersiveness x Experience)

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Case 12: Sleep No More (Immersiveness x Experience)

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As discussed in the article, some fans go to see sleep no more over 70 times. Why? Well, because the experience provides uniqueness every time. The masks provide a total escape for viewers. The level of detail, the stimulation of the senses, the focus on many actors (and audience members as actors) hits all of the points of immersion. Plus, it engages audiences in a way that lets them lead their own experience through the endeavor. Most importantly, the show continues to evolve and is never the same. New rooms and environments continue to be added - giving audience members a reason to return.  “In the wake of our increasingly digitized world, it's becoming really clear that people are craving experience"
For museums, this can be done. I think to MeowWolf here, but more traditional museums can add new excitement to permanent exhibitions, embrace change, and allow audiences to shine more centrally.
Source: Meet Emursive, The Company Behind 'Sleep No More,' The Off-Broadway Production That's Been Sold Out For Three Years (forbes.com)

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Meet Emursive, The Company Behind ‘Sleep No More,’ The Off-Broadway Production That’s Been Sold Out For Three Years

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Jonathan Hochwald, Randy Weiner and Arthur Karpati formed production company Emursive with the goal of bringing Macbeth-inspired immersive-theatre-dance mash up Sleep No More to New York City. One might think that such an unusual production, where audience members wear plastic Venetian masks and fol…

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Case 13: We Are Nature (UXD x Experience x Evaluation)

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Case 13: We Are Nature (UXD x Experience x Evaluation)

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The We Are Nature exhibit showcases the importance of thoughtful planning. While the exhibit had that, it still missed the notion that visitors would enter in different doors! While it shows the need to evaluate, it also shows the importance of testing an experience. We can't assume as managers that we know exactly how our audiences will navigate through the experiences we create. We come to the table with our own biases and lenses (and often exclude viewpoints from the table). Formative evaluation can provide a way for more upfront planning to go into an experience. For museums, this may mean visitor testing layouts to better understand the journey someone will take through an exhibition.
Source: We Are Nature Evaluation Report

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Extra Tool: Steps of the Evaluation Process - from Jana Frederick's Talk

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Extra Tool: Steps of the Evaluation Process - from Jana Frederick's Talk

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1. Build an understanding of the purpose of the evaluation/intent
2. Build frameworks, articulate outcomes, define metrics and indicators
3. Make a plan, select methods, design instruments
4. Implement plan, iterate, adapt, collect data
5. Analysis and reporting