"The more we include, the more interdisciplinary the educational opportunities and interactives are, the more diverse stories we tell, the greater the feedback and reaction from our community," says Nicole D'Orazio, Director of Exhibitions, Missouri History Museum.
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| Nicole D'Orazio |
In 30+ years of covering the attractions industry, I've done many stories on museums using external specialists and external creative teams to design and produce exhibitions. The internal/external model is also often implemented (to positive effect) in the creation of visitor attractions and theme park experiences. In my role editing the TEA/AECOM Theme Index over the past 15 years, which includes a definitive, annual study of the world's top-attended museums, I've also seen and helped chronicle how large museums in destination cities often depend (and benefit from) traveling blockbuster exhibitions to drive visitation in a two-year cycle.
In contrast, the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis has deliberately gone the other direction to mount a series of highly successful exhibitions that tell local stories, using in-house teams and local suppliers, to resounding response from the community and dramatic attendance growth. (One of my personal favorites was "Little Black Dress," and the picture at top is one of the sketches I made there.)
I interviewed Nicole D'Orazio about this direction and their process, through the lens of the "St. Louis Sound" exhibition running through Jan. 2023.
Click here for full story and more pictures, published by InPark.
Also check out Nicole's personal website, which includes photos and diagrams of the innovative temporary wall system she helped design.
