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maam2025buildingmuseums
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Thursday March 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm CST
TBA
Last year, The Columbus Museum in Georgia, one of the largest art and history museums in the Southeastern US, completed an ambitious transformation project that placed visitor experience at its forefront. The reimagined museum serves as a model of how a building project can further institutions’ goals of creating a stronger sense of belonging in visitors and reaching a wider segment of the community, such as younger visitors and multi-generational families.

In this session, we’ll explore the intricacies of this reimagining, including: the process of identifying why, what, and how The Columbus Museum could be transformed from the museum ‘on the hill’ to a welcoming environment for all without the construction of a new building; lessons learned from managing multiple exhibit design teams on the gallery redesign; the reimagining of the museum's entrance as a place of visitor-first approaches to introducing both content and amenities; the fundraising challenges and opportunities including the museum's unique partnership with the local school district; and how to use the notion of ritual-building to make a museum more profoundly integrated and emotionally interwoven into people’s everyday lives.

Learning Objectives
  1. Understand how to leverage partnerships with local stakeholders to increase visibility, donations, and community impact
  2. Discuss how to make museum visits more personalized and meaningful
  3. Explore how to augment existing site conditions using design principles from retail and hospitality to make entrance and orientation experiences more inclusive and dynamic 
    Attendees will learn how to create rituals around museum visits that encourage repeat visitation
  4. Understand how to transcend the traditional educational missions of cultural institutions by responding to the needs of families and other constituents with amenities that solve visitor needs.

Moderators
AF

Amelia Falco

Creative Director, Local Projects
Amelia Falco leads projects as a Creative Director, with a focus on experiential retail. Prior to joining LP, she led creative on large retail, brand and experiential projects, including the Adidas 5th Avenue flagship store in New York City and Beijing, NBA Flagship Store, Nintendo... Read More →
Speakers
DJ

Derek Jones

Principal, Perkins + Will
The son of academic parents, Derek grew up in a Los Angeles home steeped in scholarly inquiry. His mother emigrated from Beijing at the age of 16, and as a boy, Derek frequently traveled with his parents to Japan and China. Later, while pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts in Japan, the... Read More →
LS

Lonny Schwartz

Principal, The Design Minds
Lonny Schwartz is the principal and founder of The Design Minds, with more than 25 years of experience designing museum exhibitions. The Design Minds' is a content-based design firm providing interpretive planning, exhibit and graphic design, and content development. Mr. Schwartz... Read More →
MR

Marianne Richter

Executive Director, The Columbus Museum
Marianne Richter has focused on connecting The Columbus Museum with the communities of the Lower Chattahoochee Valley in Georgia and Alabama since she began her tenure as Director of The Columbus Museum in 2015. The extensive collections of American art and regional history and significant... Read More →
Thursday March 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm CST
TBA 315 Chestnut St, St. Louis, MO 63102

Attendees (5)


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