Center for the Future of Museums Blog

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My Story Part 4: How to Get Trapped in a Tuscan Villa

By Elizabeth Merritt

Ten years ago, when I wrote my fictional diary of 2019, I used the scenario created by the Institute for the Future for the Superstruct forecasting game as a lens through which to reexamine my daily life. On the way to work, I’d …
When Museum Neighbors Include Neighbors without Homes

By Melissa Prycer

TrendsWatch 2019 draws attention to the rising rates of homelessness across the world, including the U.S., and profiles the work of several museums working specifically with and for people experiencing housing insecurity. But many museums, …
Day 3: A Visit from the Authorities

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is the third installment of a “diary of the future” I wrote a decade ago, exploring what the world might be like in 2019. My story takes place in a scenario created by the Institute for the Future for their Superstruct forecasting …
Two Scoops: The Museum of Ice Cream

By Elizabeth Merritt

A recent discussion thread on Museum Junction debated whether the Museum of Ice Cream really counts as a museum. I’m interested in why they choose to self-identify as a museum, and what value that has contributed to their brand. …
Day 2: Settling In

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is the second installment of “My World 2019” a fictional diary I wrote in 2008 to explore the scenario created by the Institute for the Future for their Massive Multiplayer Online Forecasting game Superstruct. I’m …
Doing More with More: Investing in Earned Income

By Judy Gradwohl

As the saying goes, “it takes money to make money.” Often museums feel they can’t risk their slim financial margin on speculative ventures, but not taking such risks comes with a cost as well—the cost of lost opportunities. In today’s …
My story, Part 1 (October 7, 2019)

By Elizabeth Merritt

When CFM launched in 2008, one of our first capers was recruiting museum people into Superstruct, the Institute for the Future’s Massive Multi-player Online Forecasting game. Over the course of three months, 7000 players transported …
The Museum of Sex: What’s it like to be a for-profit museum?

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’ve long wanted to learn more about the very few museums in the US that operate as for-profit organizations. Why did their founders choose not to go the more common route of incorporating as a nonprofit? Are they actually making money? …
Decolonizing the Future: museums as agents of generational equity

By Elizabeth Merritt

“We treat the future like a distant colonial outpost devoid of people, where we can freely dump ecological degradation, technological risk, nuclear waste and public debt, and that we feel at liberty to plunder as we please.” –Roman …
Is the future of museums, museums from the future?

By Elizabeth Merritt

Readers of this blog know I collect exhibits that explore imaginary futures, especially when these explorations inspire people to take action today. In today’s post, Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson, Project Leader and Communications Officer at …