About the show

A tiny show guiding you through the rocky landscape of museums. Museum Archipelago believes that no museum is an island and that museums are not neutral.

Taking a broad definition of museums, host Ian Elsner brings you to different museum spaces around the world, dives deep into institutional problems, and introduces you to the people working to fix them. Each episode is never longer than 15 minutes, so let’s get started.

Episodes

  • 20. Universal Design at the White House Visitor Center with Sherril York

    April 18th, 2017  |  9 mins 57 secs
    sherril york

    Dr. Sherril York, executive director of the National Center on Accessibility, was part of the team that renovated the White House Visitor Center in 2012. Design priorities included making the experience accessible for all visitors.

    The new visitor center features raised line floor plans, tactile 3D models, and physical directional keys adjacent to touchscreens.

    In this episode, based on her case study for the fall 2015 issue of the Exhibitionist, Dr. York describes the process of working on alternative navigation methods, explains the difference between accessability and universal design, and underscores the importance of not thinking about accessibility and universal design as an afterthought.

  • 19. Remembering the Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre

    April 3rd, 2017  |  15 mins 2 secs
    honoré gatera, kigali genocide memorial

    Recording from Kigali Genocide Memorial, we talk with Honore Gatera, the director of the memorial, about what his institution means to the city and country today.

  • 18. Maps and the 20th Century at the British Library

    February 27th, 2017  |  4 mins 48 secs
    british library

    In order to understand a map, you must understand how it was made. Maps are not neutral.

  • 17. Entertainment and History at Disney's America

    February 6th, 2017  |  6 mins 44 secs
    disney's america

    In 1994, Disney was hard at work on a new theme park called Disney's America. The park, which would open in Virginia not far from Washington DC, would showcase the “sweep of American History.” Confident and enthusiastic, Disney executives were walking a tightrope between entertainment and history.

  • 16. Visitation Trends at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum

    January 16th, 2017  |  11 mins 7 secs
    ah-tah-thi-ki, carrie dilley

    The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum is commemorating three anniversaries in 2017: the 200-year anniversary of the first attack of the Seminole War, the 60th anniversary of federal recognition of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the 20th anniversary of the opening of the museum.

  • 15. Tamar Avishai's The Lonely Palette

    January 2nd, 2017  |  12 mins 16 secs
    tamar avishai

    The Lonely Palette is the best museum podcast out there.

  • 14. Early Interpretive Planning at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

    December 12th, 2016  |  11 mins 59 secs
    andrew anway, national museum of african american history and culture, sara smith

    National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on the National Mall in September 2016. Today we will talk to some of the people who were thinking about the museum in 2007.

  • 13. Museums at a Crossroads with Rainey Tisdale

    June 23rd, 2016  |  4 mins 34 secs
    rainey tisdale

    Curator Rainey Tisdale sees two possible futures for museums: they play a more interdisciplinary role for their audiences or keep going down the same path they're on, becoming less and less relevant each year.

  • 12. Dead Bodies in Museums Part 2

    May 24th, 2016  |  7 mins 16 secs

    From museums to mausoleums, we look at how cultures view their own dead.

  • 11. Dead Bodies in Museums Part 1

    April 22nd, 2016  |  6 mins 47 secs

    The Inuits Robert Peary brought back from his 1897 expedition were treated as artifacts. What that meant post mortem. Part one of a two part series on dead bodies in museums.

  • 10. Framework For Engaging with Art

    April 4th, 2016  |  9 mins 1 sec
    dallas museum of art

    At an art museum, would you rather listen to a detailed guided tour or just enjoy the art without any interpretative support?

  • 9. The Museum Selfie with Dustin Growick

    March 11th, 2016  |  4 mins 57 secs
    dustin growick, museum hack

    Dustin Growick is in charge of audience development and the team lead for science at Museum Hack. Growick and Museum Hack treat a museum as a platform to build something more personal and fun.

    One of the tools that they use to make it more personal and fun is the museum selfie. The theory is that taking selfies is easy way to put yourself literally and figuratively in the context of the museum.

    In this this episode, Growick discusses the philosophy (as well as some dos and don'ts) of museum selfies.