the role of museums, etc.

[Amy Freelunch]

Ok, this is just sort of random, but it's something I sent to a few people to start a conversation about museums and potentially how museums could fulfill a role in SL.

I have no idea. Just putting it out there.



**
Museums in RL fulfill three roles: they are exhibition spaces, they
are archives of culture, and they are educational institutions.
(Actually, in the US, museums are under the same nonprofit umbrella
status as universities and, as a result, have education as a mandatory
part of their continuing to be exempt from taxes.)

Museums and galleries in SL function mostly as exhibition spaces. I
haven't seen one yet work as an archive effectively, but out of the
three roles I think this is the least interesting just because we have
the option of keeping things in our inventory. But I haven't yet seen
really even attempt to be an educational institution in a meaningful
way.

In a RL museum, you might stop by for a tour of the space and hear a
lecture of what the artworks are about, how they are made, etc. But
you might also sign up for a class (for beginners and people who don't
really consider themselves to be artists) to tinker around and build a
project based on what's in the exhibition space. Or maybe you will go
to a lecture about current trends in the art world or how a certain
period of art history informs a body of work. Or maybe there will be a
film festival of movies that were inspiring to the artist whose work
is in the space.

The point is, RL museums create an environment of learning around art
that goes beyond plunking a work down and having people look at it.
I think this would be really interesting to explore in SL.

[ichibot]

sl is like a black hole, there's no history and objects in-world have no monetary value.

[Arahan Claveau]

Hi Amy,

There are places like the NMC Campus that have regular seminars and guest speakers but it is all a bit inaccessible and generally not aimed at the public.There is a problem in SL in that all the worst examples of art is what gets the most exposure, you only have to visit SL5B to see how much flat avatar photography dominates.

A traditional museum environment would be refreshing and has the potential to be very successful if approached in some of the ways you suggest and made to appeal to a wide cross-section of people. It could act as a central hub, connecting to the wider SL art world which is a maze of wildly fluctuating quality.

I think to make it work there would need to be serious sponsors and support from real-world organisations and also from inside SL. The major hurdle I think would be getting enough people to visit, maybe looking into what attracts people to RL museums is a good starting point.