A talk given at the Nobel Peace Center on Monday, November 5, 2012 about how we transformed the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History through participatory practice.

1. OPENING UP
THE MUSEUM
Nina Simon/ Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
SLIDES/ BIT.LY/OPENMUSE
OPINIONS/ @NINAKSIMON

2. Hi.
My name is Nina,
and I want to
change museums.

3. photo by muckster on Flickr

4. photo by underdutchskies on Flickr

5. photo by geemo88 on Flickr

6. I know many art museum
workers would recoil in horror at
the idea of being inundated by
'Sunday painters'.

8. $

9. What happens
in that building?
$

10. What happens
in that building?
$
THIS IS TREMENDOUSLY EXCITING.

14. OPENING 1:
community as
CO-CREATOR

22. “The percentage of ‘unrelated’ responses
decreased from 58% (white cards) to 40% (blue
cards), and ‘specific’ responses nearly doubled,
from 28% (white) to 50% (blue).”
http://www.participatorymuseum.org/ref3-16/

29. even though we
have seen
famous exhibits
from picasso to
monet-this is
the first exhibit

30. 2010-2011
visitors busiest day cash
40000" 3000" $350,000#
35000" $300,000#
2500"
30000"
$250,000#
2000"
25000"
$200,000#
20000" 1500"
$150,000#
15000"
1000"
$100,000#
10000"
500"
5000" $50,000#
0" 0" $0#
2010(2011" 2011(2012" 2010'2011" 2011'2012" June#2011# June#2012#

31. 2010-2011 2011-2012
visitors busiest day cash
40000" 3000" $350,000#
35000" $300,000#
2500"
30000"
$250,000#
2000"
25000"
$200,000#
20000" 1500"
$150,000#
15000"
1000"
$100,000#
10000"
500"
5000" $50,000#
0" 0" $0#
2010(2011" 2011(2012" 2010'2011" 2011'2012" June#2011# June#2012#

32. OPENING 2:
artifacts as
social objects

33. photo by DG Jones on Flickr

35. Science Museum of Minnesota
Photo by Terry Gydesen

40. photo by mattwi1s0n on Flickr

41. OPENING 3:
MUSEUMS that matter

49. your
SLIDES/ BIT.LY/OPENMUSE
OPINIONS/ @NINAKSIMON turn