The Moon Belongs to Everyone: Embracing a Digital Mindset in Museums

If museums want to thrive, they have to upgrade alongside the rest of society. This means that museums must find innovative ways to integrate technology into exhibits and keep audiences active and invested. As mentioned the article The Moon Belongs to Everyone: Embracing a Digital Mindset in Museums by Mike Murawski, the idea of a museum being “promiscuous with its collection” simply because they made sharable virtual exhibits is an interesting concept; while it’s wonderful that technology can make art more accessible to more communities across the globe, a virtual exhibit removes the awe of seeing art in person. I find that being in the presence of art or artifacts more impactual than observing a photo of that art or artifact. So, even though being able to view an exhibit on your phone or laptop is educational, it is far less impactual. Also, the article mentions how technology gives the public more influence in museums, and demands a collaborative effort between “users” and curators. Although this “shared authority” is often technologically based, some exhibits such as Santa Cruz Collects rely simply on the present physical audience’s participation. I think that “shared authority” can be extremely beneficial to both curators and the audience no matter the degree to which technology is involved. Building a community through technological networking and making the audience feel more involved in the exhibits will allow everyone involved to be more interested and invested in exhibits.

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