A New Life: Re-Framing and Re-Purposing the Art Museum of the 21st Century

Lindsay Bedford // Adviser: Susan Feenan

A New Life: Reframing and Repurposing the Art Museum of the 21st Century

What is a museum and what is the role this anchor institution plays in the 21st century? This thesis explores this question along with how design can be utilized to create a more equitable and culturally responsive art museum, specifically in an underserved community in Philadelphia. By focusing on equity, access, activism, and advocacy, while providing an environment to promote local initiatives, creativity, and innovation, the museum’s primary function changes from an archive of physical objects to an archive of cultural memory. By structurally changing the institution to have a stronger focus on the visitor and their experiences/connections made in the museum, the museum becomes an archive of the people and their communal identity.