Fall 2026: Cutting Through the Noise – Preview
VOL. 45 ISSUE 2
The Fall 2026 issue of Exhibition explores how museums can cut through the noise with thoughtful design, sensory awareness, and exhibitions that invite reflection, connection, and joy.
Exhibition is an AAM member benefit for Individual and Museum Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 3+, Ally, and Industry Members.
In this issue:
Editor’s Letter
Exhibition‘s Editor, Jeanne Normand Goswami, introduces the articles in this issue that explore how museums can cut through the noise with thoughtful design.
Mementos de Memoria: A Museum Becomes an Ofrenda
Feature | Free to Read
by Manuel Ferreira
The Denver Art Museum’s Momentos de Memoria invited visitors to connect art with personal loss, transforming the museum into a shared space for remembrance and collective meaning-making.
The Art of Silence: How AV Technology Can Create Calm —Not Clamor— in Museums
Feature | Free to Read
by David Whitemyer
Ambient audiovisual design can reduce sensory overload, slow visitors’ pace, and foster more meaningful, inclusive museum experiences through intentional restraint rather than spectacle.
Touching Rice Grass: Southern Paiute Worldviews as an Antidote for Brain Rot
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Ian Ford-Terry, Andrew Anderson, Robin Anderson and Nathan Harper
Springs Preserve’s Nuwu Pahsats garden centers Southern Paiute peoples’ knowledge, language, and ecological relationships to reconnect visitors with the living desert and its Indigenous heritage.
Reframing Dioramas: Visitor Evaluation and the Art of Reflection
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Matt Davis, Beth Katz, David Pullido, and Andrea Mode Andrews
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County reframed historic dioramas to confront colonial legacies and inspire conservation without sacrificing their beauty and awe.
We Will Not Be Erased: Community, Artifacts, and Telling LGBTQ+ Histories
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Adrian Cardwell and Jennifer S. Landry
The Irving Archives & Museum and Badge of Pride partnered to present LGBTQ+ history through artifacts, community voices, and participatory design, fostering visibility, belonging, and hope.
Curating Plague in a Noisy Age: An STS Approach to Public Health Exhibitions
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Chia-Hsin Chen
The National Cheng Kung University Museum’s low-tech plague exhibition shows how quiet, carefully paced interpretation can help visitors navigate complex public health histories without adding to information overload.
When Noise Is Everywhere, Joy Becomes Radical
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Becky Jefcoate
The Fitzwilliam Museum’s Happy Place project shows how co-designed exhibitions can foster well-being, joy, and connection while deepening engagement with collections.
Liminal Design: Creating Physical Space that Opens Headspace
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Margaret Chandra Kerrison
Thoughtfully designed transitional spaces can transform exhibitions into journeys that foster reflection, emotional engagement, and connection among visitors.
The Neuroaesthetics of Wonder: Designing for Brain Restoration in a Noisy World
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Piper Hart
Neuroinclusive exhibition design can cultivate wonder through sensory awareness, layered discovery, and shared meaning-making, helping visitors stay curious without becoming overwhelmed.
Ian Kerrigan on Commemoration and “Finding Your Why”
Q and A | 🔒 Member Login
By Ian Kerrigan
Ian Kerrigan of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and editor Jeanne Normand Goswami discuss commemorating traumatic history, earning public trust, and presenting emotionally charged narratives with nuance and care. They also reflect on Ian’s six years serving as Exhibition’s managing editor.
Glitter and Grit
Exhibition Critique | 🔒 Member Login
by William J. Bonfiglio
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Dolly Parton exhibition traces her life and career through the lens of her storytelling, philanthropy, and enduring cultural impact.
Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement
Book Review | 🔒 Member Login
Claire Caverly
Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment explores how inconsistent decision-making leads to errors and unfairness, offering strategies that may help exhibition teams make more consistent, thoughtful decisions.
Share your thoughts about this issue of Exhibition!
About Exhibition
Published twice a year, the journal offers 128 pages of thought-provoking articles, exhibition critiques and commentary, technical articles, and essays. Each issue is organized around a theme, such as the power of words, exhibitions and universal design, innovation and community relevance, and new media in exhibitions.
Get Exhibition with AAM membership!
Beginning in 2025, Exhibition is now a digital publication and a benefit of AAM membership. Become a member to get access to thousands of digital resources, including Exhibition, Museum magazine, and much more.
Not sure if you already have access? Log in to your profile to check your membership. Don’t forget to ensure your individual profile is linked to your organization’s profile, if applicable, which will provide access to any organizational membership benefits.
Coming Up
Spring 2027
Between the Lines: Language in Exhibitions
The Call for Papers for the Fall 2027 issue and the theme will be announced by mid-November – stay tuned!
Advertise in Exhibition
Exhibition is supported in part by our advertisers. Learn more about the opportunity and rates in our Advertising Media Kit. Explore advertising and partnerships.
Contribute to Exhibition
Calls for papers are posted twice each year (typically in November/December and April/May). While the editors welcome queries about contributions, please note that each issue is created around a specific theme. We also invite volunteer contributions to the journal as book reviewers and exhibition critique writers.
Submit a Letter to the Editor. Letters are accepted on a rolling basis for upcoming issues.
Did you miss these issues?
Spring 2026
Present Tense
Fall 2025
Accessing the Museum
Spring 2025
The Ethics issue
Fall 2024
Active Disruption