NEWS AND EVENTS
Dec, 1, 2023
"Street Museum Workshop"
Michael Burns, founder of the Omnimuseum Project, and a partner at Quatrefoil Associates will lead a workshop at the Peale Museum that explores the idea of creating a place-based, networked experience interconnecting Baltimore's constellation of local cultural organizations, and their communities in collaboration with the city's multi-disciplined arts community. This workshop looks at how museums, heritage sites, and other cultural institutions can be linked through a networked narrative connected through street art, game design, and other interventions in both physical and digital space, that weave together the overlaps and parallels in their stories, assets and collections. This 4 hour workshop will begin at 2:00 PM, on Dec. 1st 2023.
"Street Museum Workshop"
Michael Burns, founder of the Omnimuseum Project, and a partner at Quatrefoil Associates will lead a workshop at the Peale Museum that explores the idea of creating a place-based, networked experience interconnecting Baltimore's constellation of local cultural organizations, and their communities in collaboration with the city's multi-disciplined arts community. This workshop looks at how museums, heritage sites, and other cultural institutions can be linked through a networked narrative connected through street art, game design, and other interventions in both physical and digital space, that weave together the overlaps and parallels in their stories, assets and collections. This 4 hour workshop will begin at 2:00 PM, on Dec. 1st 2023.
Fall, 2021
"Going Rogue For Good"
The team collaborating on our Free The Museum initiative authored this article which first appeared in the journal Exhibition (Fall 2021) Vol. 40 No. 2.
Download it below.
"Going Rogue For Good"
The team collaborating on our Free The Museum initiative authored this article which first appeared in the journal Exhibition (Fall 2021) Vol. 40 No. 2.
Download it below.
| exhibition_21fa_goingrogueforgood.pdf |
Nov. 5, 2020
ReMuseum 2020: Activate the Outdoors
Tim McNeil and Emma Thorne-Christy discuss Free the Museum at ReMuseum 2020. This session is moderated by Karen Kienzle (Director, Palo Alto Art Center)
ReMuseum 2020: Activate the Outdoors
Tim McNeil and Emma Thorne-Christy discuss Free the Museum at ReMuseum 2020. This session is moderated by Karen Kienzle (Director, Palo Alto Art Center)
Oct. 23, 2020
Curating Cultural Experiences in an Unprecedented Time
The COVID-19 pandemic and new, Black Lives Matter-led, civil rights movement have forced many museums and other cultural institutions to rethink how, and for whom, they curate and produce content. What does it mean when museums can no longer permit visitors within their walls? How do these institutions adapt to meet the moment, and what is that outcome? And who is leading the groundswell of outdoor and immersive "exhibits" that are expanding where and for whom museums operate? We'll talk with the leaders of a brand new wave of institutions that are delivering innovative and immersive cultural experiences beyond the walls of museums and movie theaters.
Panel members include:
+ Amanda Schochet / MICRO
+ Michael Burns / Omnimuseum Project
+ Amber Johnson / Justice Fleet
+ Michael Epstein / Museum of the Hidden City
Curating Cultural Experiences in an Unprecedented Time
The COVID-19 pandemic and new, Black Lives Matter-led, civil rights movement have forced many museums and other cultural institutions to rethink how, and for whom, they curate and produce content. What does it mean when museums can no longer permit visitors within their walls? How do these institutions adapt to meet the moment, and what is that outcome? And who is leading the groundswell of outdoor and immersive "exhibits" that are expanding where and for whom museums operate? We'll talk with the leaders of a brand new wave of institutions that are delivering innovative and immersive cultural experiences beyond the walls of museums and movie theaters.
Panel members include:
+ Amanda Schochet / MICRO
+ Michael Burns / Omnimuseum Project
+ Amber Johnson / Justice Fleet
+ Michael Epstein / Museum of the Hidden City
Oct, 5, 2020
"Hacking The World", MAAM Conference 2020 session
"Hacking The World", MAAM Conference 2020 session
Michael Burns, Betsy Loring and Alvaro Amat lead a session on the basics of ubiquitous museology, and the Free The Museum initiative.
Posted Oct 5, 2020
Interview: Museum FAQ
Interview: Museum FAQ
In this #MuseumFAQ video, Paul Orselli interviews Michael Burns, founder of the Omnimuseum Project, to discuss expanding the museums presence and the Free The Museum initiative.
Free The Museum
Launched Sept. 2020 (Ongoing)
Free the Museum is an initiative to activate the museum experience in the world around us, transforming every day places into sites of engagement, expression and informal learning. It is a call to action aimed at equipping museum practitioners with the resources needed to apply their skills, knowledge and creativity to different facets of public space. Free the Museum is a campaign to imagine a museum that is more open, inclusive and equitable, one that is more flexible, responsive, relevant, and firmly planted in the world we live in. Check out our FTM Project Archive page. Sign up for the FTM newsletter for the latest updates. Join the movement!
Launched Sept. 2020 (Ongoing)
Free the Museum is an initiative to activate the museum experience in the world around us, transforming every day places into sites of engagement, expression and informal learning. It is a call to action aimed at equipping museum practitioners with the resources needed to apply their skills, knowledge and creativity to different facets of public space. Free the Museum is a campaign to imagine a museum that is more open, inclusive and equitable, one that is more flexible, responsive, relevant, and firmly planted in the world we live in. Check out our FTM Project Archive page. Sign up for the FTM newsletter for the latest updates. Join the movement!
On The Air
Sept 8, 2017
The Omnimuseum Project is working with The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture to take the stories of Baltimore public schools (past and present) to the streets! In this interview on WYPR with "On The Record" host Sheilah Kast, The Peal Center’s director, Nancy Proctor and The Omnimuseum Project’s executive director, Michael Burns discuss their September 9th workshop for “Be Here: EDU”. Click HERE to listen.
Social Science Encounters Charrette, Baltimore MD
July 8, 2017
Social Science Encounters is an ongoing endeavor initiated by The Omnimuseum Project in 2017. The goal of Social Science Encounters was to engage people in everyday public settings in ways that deepen their sense of empathy and recognition of a common ground with others around them. Charrette participants worked in teams to develop concepts addressing questions like: How can people be prompted in public spaces to reflect critically on their own assumptions and prejudices? How can people be engaged in thinking more deeply about their social relationships with others around them? How might the divisions we believe stand between us become more permeable – reminding us we all have more in common than we have differences?
Charrette Participants: Andrea Jones, Natalie Campbell, Kiah Shapiro, Roula, Tsapalas, Matt Levendusky, Susan Ades, Simona Uzaite, Will Schenck, Elif Gokcigdem, Sydney Luken, David Crandall, Cory Bernat, Nancy proctor, Michael Burns
Chaos at the Museum: Infiltrating the Urban Fabric - Buenos Aires
November 17 - 20, 2016
The Omnimuseum Project was represented by Michael Burns and Clare Brown at "Chaos at the Museum" in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We presented some of the basics of ubiquitous museology and conducted workshops focusing on "activating" urban spaces as informal learning environments.
Meeting: The Museum Lens
October 17, 2015
The Museum Lens, was part of a series of gatherings organized by the Omnimuseum Project around the topic of ubiquitous museology. The goal of the meeting was to try and get at the conditions that constitute the "museum mindset" and how it might be adopted in the everyday world. Four primary question were introduced to launch the discussion:
1. What is the “museum lens”?
2. What are the skills and behaviors associated with the museum lens?
3. What do museums do better, or differently than other institutions (formal and informal)?
4. What does seeing through the museum lens bring to school, workplace, community, society?
Meeting Participants:
Michael Burns, Director of the Omnimuseum Project, (meeting organizer)
Trisha Edwards, Head of Education for the National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation (meeting organizer)
Carol Blossert, Carol Blossert Services and host of “Museum Life” on VoiceAmerica
Andrea Jones, Director of Programs and Visitor Engagement at the Accokeek Foundation
John Leigh, Multi-Media Engineer at Quatrefoil Associates
Nancy Proctor, Deputy Director for Digital Experience At the Baltimore Museum of Art and Co-Chair for Museums and the Web
Laura Yoder, Doctoral Candidate, English, NYU
Location: National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center, Washington DC
Ubiquitous Museology Charrette
September 12, 2015
On September 12, 2015 a group of designers, educators, administrators, scientists, technologists and students gathered in Washington DC for a charrette on the subject of ubiquitous museology. Ubiquitous museology (UM) is the practice of engaging people in the science, culture and history that surround them every day. UM rethinks the “museum experience” by embracing the world itself as a site for informal learning and enrichment. UM lays the groundwork for museums and other cultural institutions to occur in real world places and among things and phenomena that correspond with their educational missions.
Charrette Participants:
Cory Bernat, Carol Blossert, Clare Brown, Kyle Browne, M.W. Burns, Jayna Champeau, Kate Devlin, Tricia Edwards, Jonathan Healey, Kassie Juenke, Judith Landau, John Leigh, Elena Saxton, William Schenck, Cassandra Slack, Roula Tsapalas, Chad Tyler
Organized by M.W. Burns and Clare Brown
Location: Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, Washington, DC
American Alliance of Museum's Conference, Seattle WA.
May 20, 2014
Contributors and members of the Omnimuseum Project came together to discuss their projects and strategies for spreading informal learning and enrichment opportunities across broad geographical areas and embracing the world of the "everyday" as a site for learning.
Title: Beyond Museum Outreach - Toward a Ubiquitous Presence.
Presenters included:
Alvaro Amat, Exhibition Design Director at The Field Museum in Chicago
Clare Brown, Chair and Academic Advisor for the Master of Arts in the Exhibition Design program at the Corcoran College of Art + Design
Katherine Hamilton-Smith, Director of Cultural Resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District
Michael Wall, Vice President of Research and Public Programs at the San Diego Natural History Museum
Ruth Hawkins, Director of the Arkansas Heritage Sites program at Arkansas State University
Michael W. Burns, Director of the Omnimuseum Project who moderated the session
Sept 8, 2017
The Omnimuseum Project is working with The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture to take the stories of Baltimore public schools (past and present) to the streets! In this interview on WYPR with "On The Record" host Sheilah Kast, The Peal Center’s director, Nancy Proctor and The Omnimuseum Project’s executive director, Michael Burns discuss their September 9th workshop for “Be Here: EDU”. Click HERE to listen.
Social Science Encounters Charrette, Baltimore MD
July 8, 2017
Social Science Encounters is an ongoing endeavor initiated by The Omnimuseum Project in 2017. The goal of Social Science Encounters was to engage people in everyday public settings in ways that deepen their sense of empathy and recognition of a common ground with others around them. Charrette participants worked in teams to develop concepts addressing questions like: How can people be prompted in public spaces to reflect critically on their own assumptions and prejudices? How can people be engaged in thinking more deeply about their social relationships with others around them? How might the divisions we believe stand between us become more permeable – reminding us we all have more in common than we have differences?
Charrette Participants: Andrea Jones, Natalie Campbell, Kiah Shapiro, Roula, Tsapalas, Matt Levendusky, Susan Ades, Simona Uzaite, Will Schenck, Elif Gokcigdem, Sydney Luken, David Crandall, Cory Bernat, Nancy proctor, Michael Burns
Chaos at the Museum: Infiltrating the Urban Fabric - Buenos Aires
November 17 - 20, 2016
The Omnimuseum Project was represented by Michael Burns and Clare Brown at "Chaos at the Museum" in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We presented some of the basics of ubiquitous museology and conducted workshops focusing on "activating" urban spaces as informal learning environments.
Meeting: The Museum Lens
October 17, 2015
The Museum Lens, was part of a series of gatherings organized by the Omnimuseum Project around the topic of ubiquitous museology. The goal of the meeting was to try and get at the conditions that constitute the "museum mindset" and how it might be adopted in the everyday world. Four primary question were introduced to launch the discussion:
1. What is the “museum lens”?
2. What are the skills and behaviors associated with the museum lens?
3. What do museums do better, or differently than other institutions (formal and informal)?
4. What does seeing through the museum lens bring to school, workplace, community, society?
Meeting Participants:
Michael Burns, Director of the Omnimuseum Project, (meeting organizer)
Trisha Edwards, Head of Education for the National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation (meeting organizer)
Carol Blossert, Carol Blossert Services and host of “Museum Life” on VoiceAmerica
Andrea Jones, Director of Programs and Visitor Engagement at the Accokeek Foundation
John Leigh, Multi-Media Engineer at Quatrefoil Associates
Nancy Proctor, Deputy Director for Digital Experience At the Baltimore Museum of Art and Co-Chair for Museums and the Web
Laura Yoder, Doctoral Candidate, English, NYU
Location: National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center, Washington DC
Ubiquitous Museology Charrette
September 12, 2015
On September 12, 2015 a group of designers, educators, administrators, scientists, technologists and students gathered in Washington DC for a charrette on the subject of ubiquitous museology. Ubiquitous museology (UM) is the practice of engaging people in the science, culture and history that surround them every day. UM rethinks the “museum experience” by embracing the world itself as a site for informal learning and enrichment. UM lays the groundwork for museums and other cultural institutions to occur in real world places and among things and phenomena that correspond with their educational missions.
Charrette Participants:
Cory Bernat, Carol Blossert, Clare Brown, Kyle Browne, M.W. Burns, Jayna Champeau, Kate Devlin, Tricia Edwards, Jonathan Healey, Kassie Juenke, Judith Landau, John Leigh, Elena Saxton, William Schenck, Cassandra Slack, Roula Tsapalas, Chad Tyler
Organized by M.W. Burns and Clare Brown
Location: Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, Washington, DC
American Alliance of Museum's Conference, Seattle WA.
May 20, 2014
Contributors and members of the Omnimuseum Project came together to discuss their projects and strategies for spreading informal learning and enrichment opportunities across broad geographical areas and embracing the world of the "everyday" as a site for learning.
Title: Beyond Museum Outreach - Toward a Ubiquitous Presence.
Presenters included:
Alvaro Amat, Exhibition Design Director at The Field Museum in Chicago
Clare Brown, Chair and Academic Advisor for the Master of Arts in the Exhibition Design program at the Corcoran College of Art + Design
Katherine Hamilton-Smith, Director of Cultural Resources for the Lake County Forest Preserve District
Michael Wall, Vice President of Research and Public Programs at the San Diego Natural History Museum
Ruth Hawkins, Director of the Arkansas Heritage Sites program at Arkansas State University
Michael W. Burns, Director of the Omnimuseum Project who moderated the session