Founded in 1929 with the mission of legitimizing and popularizing the art of our times, MoMA had succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. Modern art now draws more crowds than any other. MoMA had risen from art world challenger to undisputed global leader. But its success had disconnected it from the pulse of New York City’s audiences and vibrant art scene.
MoMA had become a bucket list attraction made to be Instagrammed rather than engaged with.
We needed to help MoMA continue to push the boundaries of what a museum could be while reconnecting it to New York City’s vibrant audiences.
Journey mapping among MoMA’s internal and external constituencies, and the creation of cross-functional innovation teams encouraged MoMA to look at the world with fresh eyes. We forced a radical shift in MoMA’s perspective by encouraging them to think of themselves as citizen, not citadel. As a place for engagement with art, not as a place for passive art consumption.
We coached a new innovation team and pioneered a new Shark Tank-like process that has resulted in many new initiatives.
This resulted in a partnership with IDNYC card to engage more New Yorkers from all boroughs. It also led to programs directed at bringing in communities of artists to spark conversation and inspire new art.
We stimulated a fundamental change in how MoMA displays its art. Instead of siloing art movements, it is now focused on creating dialogue and generating fresh perspectives through provocative juxtapositions. Topical rehanging of its collection that responds to urgent real-world events.
We developed ways to help visitors navigate the often overwhelming MoMA experience – concepting new signage, lobby information display, and digital wayfinding in the museum. We also de-cluttered the brand architecture by creating a simple branding system to help people recognize places and programs with ease.
Realizing that young NYC artists were a pivotal constituency for MoMA’s future, we helped make the Artist Membership program more accessible: simpler to apply to, and much more affordable. We simultaneously revamped the program and its perks, like instituting Artist Member-only nights that have been met with a hugely enthusiastic response.
Beyond the work we did with MoMA, the new mission has led to their engaging the world in new ways. One example: they enthusiastically adopted the New York City identity system – making every NYC ID card holder a MoMA member. This dramatically increased outer borough and younger attendance.
Another action flowed from MoMA’s new spirit of engagement: when the Trump Administration’s Muslim travel ban went into effect, MoMA curators rehung the iconic 5th floor gallery to include works by artists from the banned countries.
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