Chaos at the Museum: Re-Envisioning Exhibition Design

Patricia Austin co-originated and co-curated the international summit 'Chaos at the Museum Re-Envisioning Exhibition Design', with Tim McNeil. It was the first in an annual series of international summits debating and reflecting on the rapid changes in exhibition design.

The first summit looked at how the principles of exhibition design have undergone significant transformation in the last 20 years. Designers now not only devise innovative approaches to the display of artifacts and the communication of stories, they design for audience engagement, interaction and participation. Today's hyper-connected audiences are looking beyond the museum exhibition's traditional role to inform, educate and inspire. Exhibition development teams are exploring and experimenting with active audience participation through novel, experiential, non-museum-like environments.

'Chaos at the Museum' explored what’s working and what’s not in the realm of designing for visitor participation.

• http://www.re-xd.org/