Best Practices in Museum Interpretation &

Experience

Examples to inspire discussion at the board retreat on September 21, 2014

04/09/2023 2

Discussion Question for Board Retreat:

What exhibition hit the mark for you in terms of excellence in interpretation?• Seeing original works of high quality art is inspiring in itself,

but what can museums do to make art experiences even more memorable and accessible to a wider audience?

• What does innovative interpretation look like? The staff is researching this question now and seeks input from the board, whose members visit museums all over the world.

• Some examples we’ve seen follow to inspire your thinking.• If you have some recent experiences like this, please bring

these examples to the retreat to share in the breakout discussion.

Innovative Interpretive ApproachesVictoria & Albert Museum Furniture gallery – layered information on easy to use

touch screens, plus tactile samples and video clips (left) V&A Italian Fashion exhibition – innovative use of video/image projections to provide context and

drama (right)

Experiential (hands-on)Learning

Van Gogh Museum - microscope investigation of paint chips (top left), V&A Furniture gallery –

tactile samples of molds for furniture décor and video clip (bottom left), Newseum – read the

news activity (right)

Creative Densitya.k.a. open storage or study storageDesign Museum NY – use of windows in stairwell to display glass art (left),

Rijksmuseum – “special collections” beautifully installed with information on nearby kiosks (right)

Expanding Beyond the Galleries

Newseum – street front displays change daily with today’s news from all 50 states (left); Morgan Library foyer/cafe engulfed in colorful artwork

installation (right)