Case Studies for Cultural Futures | First 15 years : An exhibition and public programming web archive for the Detroit Museum of Contemporary Art

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Exterior view of MOCAD, 2017. Photo: MOCAD.

Project Title

First 15 Years: An Exhibition and Public Programming Web Archive for MoCAD

Contributed by

Noya Kohavi

Noya Kohavi Consulting

Services: Consulting in the fields of digital archive design, machine learning and AI

Client

MOCAD - Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit

As a non-collecting institution, MoCAD (the Detroit Museum of Contemporary Art) doesn’t have a conventional object archive to rely on when building a public legacy for the institution. Instead, this project aims to represent the institutional history of the museum using its exhibition and public programming archive.

This project addressed a set of critical questions as a way to prepare the museum to develop new digital infrastructure that could support the archive. The project constructs both a conceptual framework and technical roadmap for the archive, aiming to represent institutional values and prioritize accessibility and discoverability of the content, so that our community could feel a sense of belonging and ownership.

Project Goals

The goal of this project was to integrate conceptual and technical work in the design of the archive, and to position the institution as not just a content producer, but as a platform for information sharing.

This integrative process was made to ensure the end product would represent not only the data it's built to share, but also the ways in which information is shared and presented. Some of the considerations guiding this strategic development included:

Build legacy and clarity around the history of the museum
Considering the archive’s accessibility as the impetus to the design rather than an afterthought
Promotes good stewardship of the archive through its design
Assert and address critical concerns before entering an infrastructure project
Design to serve a multiplicity of audiences, from academic and curatorial activities to the general public
Design using a multiplicity of voices, rather than one authoritative voice
Serve early-career artists, mirroring the museum’s focus on first solo shows
Present an artist-driven archive to the public``

Special Thanks

Pat Elifritz, Senior Manager of Media + Technology at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Kesla Trom, NEW INC
Marina Garcia-Vasquez, NEW INC
The Knight Foundation

Links

Key Technologies

Website, R&D, Database

Project Tags

Archive
Database
Permanent collection
Public program
Education
Experiment
Data visualization
Social impact
Audience engagement

Project Duration

3-6 months

Budget

$0-$10k

Funding

N/A

Reflections

Briefly describe your project’s timeline and development.

This project consisted of a series of conversations asserting and addressing the critical questions described in the "goals" section.

Reflections

What do you think went really well?

The museum’s openness with the materials allowed for a grounded understanding of the assets in question.

Curiosity, openness, and critical thinking allowed for a creative approach to the problem of representing legacy for a non-collecting institution.

Ample time allowed for enough runway for substantial discourse around wants and needs.

Reflections

What were the outcomes?

The outcome of the project is a design document and roadmap for building the digital archive. This conceptual roadmap details an archive with two entry points/anchors: exhibitions and public programming, both supported by text, visuals, and video.

This is used to provide a multiplicity of timelines, as a variety of portals for the public to engage with the archive. As a narrative-making device, this archive leverages its assets such as public programming video and and artist interviews, interweaving them with an exhibition archive to create a plurality of moments in time which the visitor can experience.

Focusing visually on non-hierarchical navigation devices, the archive’s website is externalized through a site map instead of a traditional menu, allowing for spatial navigation and encouraging wandering.

This document can be used to guide building a digital archive in-house or as a detailed RFP when outsourcing a project of this scale, thus ensuring the goals of the institution are clear when introducing new collaborators.

Reflections

What was most helpful in pulling this project off?

The museum’s creative and critical approach to legacy building.

Reflections

Based on your experience, what advice do you have to share?

Be sure to prioritize clarity and alignment on values, goals, and methods before embarking on digital infrastructure projects.

Reflections

Do you plan to continue this project?

Yes, this R&D process will inform the future development of the archive.

This case study was generously contributed by

Noya Kohavi

MOCAD - Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit

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