Open Forum

Looking to connect with any exhibit managers or designers who are doing research about how to best create sustainable and low-carbon footprint exhibits in their museums. I am especially interested in research about how material and equipment choices affect BIPOC communities and what choices lead to improved environmental justice. Would love to share resources. Let me know if you know of any research being done in this area, what you are doing to do better, or if this is a topic that intersts you.

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Douglas Flandro
Exhibit Designer
CambridgeSeven Associates, Inc.
Cambridge MA
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Hi Douglas,

I actually just submitted a session proposal to ACM on this subject, focusing most specifically on exhibit materials. For us, we just created an exhibit, Dream Tomorrow Today, in which we tried to reduce the amount of overt plastics, in part due to the environmental justice issues around vinyl and the like. Fingers crossed the session gets accepted. I will share the results if we wind up putting together the session. Feel free to reach out directly if you'd like more specific information on the work we're doing at The DoSeum.

Meredith Doby

Vice President of Exhibits

The DoSeum

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Meredith Doby
Vice President of Exhibits
The DoSeum
San Antonio TX
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Yes. Would love to see more. Please do share the session if you put it together. Thank you for doing the work.

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Douglas Flandro
Exhibit Designer
CambridgeSeven Associates, Inc.
Cambridge MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-02-2023 10:05 AM
From: Meredith Doby
Subject: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

I actually just submitted a session proposal to ACM on this subject, focusing most specifically on exhibit materials. For us, we just created an exhibit, Dream Tomorrow Today, in which we tried to reduce the amount of overt plastics, in part due to the environmental justice issues around vinyl and the like. Fingers crossed the session gets accepted. I will share the results if we wind up putting together the session. Feel free to reach out directly if you'd like more specific information on the work we're doing at The DoSeum.

Meredith Doby

Vice President of Exhibits

The DoSeum

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Meredith Doby
Vice President of Exhibits
The DoSeum
San Antonio TX
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Sustainability and environmental justice were part of the process when I was a major Aquarium.

Now, as a small design firm, we try to use the same intentionality. Materials, product life cycle, vendor and contractor choices are all part of the program. 

Sadly, there are still not a lot of great choices for materials in graphics

One great resource is this website for museum materials.

https://www.mindfulmaterials.com/museum-pledge 

Bart

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Bart Hays
Principal/Operations
Pacific Grove CA
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Mary O'Leary
Breezy Point NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/19/2023 9:55:00 AM
From: Mary O'Leary
Subject: RE: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

I am an Exhibition Design and Experience Design graduate student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. As part of my independent research as a student, I have been looking at sustainable exhibitions and why there are more exhibitions on sustainability than are sustainable. I recently spoke on it at the Museum Association of New York, with a session called 'Sustainable Exhibitions: Beyond Awareness.'

 

Some of the best things I have found in my research is that creating truly sustainable exhibitions is an institutional investment. With that said, there are no easy standard metrics for comparison or a Carbon Footprint converter (like the ones trending in the early 2000s.  

 

Some key things are if you develop exhibits in-house or work with a third party. In both instances, sustainability has to be designed into the front and back end of the exhibition, or it will likely get cut due to budget and time constraints. A good thing to do is start tracking how much waste each of your exhibits produces and how you decrease that per exhibition. 

 

Things to watch out for are potentially greenwashing phrases like "as sustainable as we can be." It is more of an orange flag, not a red flag; a cause for pause to ask some follow-up questions. 

 

I am getting a little long for a discussion board post so I'll leave it there for now!

 

-mary

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Mary O'Leary
Breezy Point NY
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Hi Douglas,

Gaylord has a demountable exhibit case collection designed for reusability and sustainability.  The museums we work with really appreciate being able to contunually repurpose the cases exhibit after exhibit instead of having to throw-out and repurchase cases to fit new designs.  www.gaylord.com/AXS.  Would love to tell you more if you are interested!

All the best,

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Michelle Keib
Business Development Manager
Gaylord Archival
Syracuse NY
michelle.keib@gaylord.com
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When I was at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), we received a large grant from the National Science Foundation to research and develop tools for creating and evaluating exhibits from a triple bottom line (social, economic, and environmental) perspective to increase the sustainability of exhibit design processes and products. You can learn more about the project and our findings here: https://www.informalscience.org/sustainability-promoting-sustainable-decision-making-informal-education. Unfortunately, the website that housed all of the resources we created no longer exists, but feel free to be in touch with me and I can share more. 

Best, 

Kyrie Kellett

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Kyrie Kellett
Principal
Portland
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Hi Douglas,

actually this post is mainly to be in the loop, interesting topic. I know a lot can be done, but at the end of the day, I strongly believe that either the museum (director) wants to pursue sustainability or not. Certifications, public statements, projects, all that is fine, but at the end it all comes down to whether an institution is committed or not.

We have an active group at the german museum association, a recent interesting document I found on this issue is this (lots more available, I assume this kind of papers are known, if not, let me know and I will upload more).

Good initiative,

best,

ars

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Lars Wohlers PhD
Founder and Owner of Interpretive Planning, Training, and Visitor Studies Company KON-TIKI
Heiligenthal
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I am familiar with the SEDC Toolkit, as I wrote it. The updated version is here: 
https://www.mindfulmaterials.com/museum-pledge

Would definitely be intersted if you have more similar papers. The toolkit is meant to be a work in progress.

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Douglas Flandro
Exhibit Designer
CambridgeSeven Associates, Inc.
Cambridge MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-22-2023 05:48 AM
From: Lars Wohlers
Subject: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

actually this post is mainly to be in the loop, interesting topic. I know a lot can be done, but at the end of the day, I strongly believe that either the museum (director) wants to pursue sustainability or not. Certifications, public statements, projects, all that is fine, but at the end it all comes down to whether an institution is committed or not.

We have an active group at the german museum association, a recent interesting document I found on this issue is this (lots more available, I assume this kind of papers are known, if not, let me know and I will upload more).

Good initiative,

best,

ars

------------------------------
Lars Wohlers PhD
Founder and Owner of Interpretive Planning, Training, and Visitor Studies Company KON-TIKI
Heiligenthal
------------------------------

Hi Douglas,

I wanted to be sure you are aware of the STiCH website as a resource. Its Carbon Calculator allows you to compare the carbon impact of various materials based on life cycle assessment data. The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation was just awarded a two-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to expand and improve the calculator based on user feedback.

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Tiffani Emig
Deputy Director
American Institute for Conservation
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/22/2023 9:42:00 AM
From: Tiffani Emig
Subject: RE: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

I wanted to be sure you are aware of the STiCH website as a resource. Its Carbon Calculator allows you to compare the carbon impact of various materials based on life cycle assessment data. The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation was just awarded a two-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to expand and improve the calculator based on user feedback.

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Tiffani Emig
Deputy Director
American Institute for Conservation
Washington DC
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There is a contact form and email address (STICH@culturalheritage.org) on the About page of the site: https://stich.culturalheritage.org/about/. You can also just email directly if you'd like. 

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Tiffani Emig
Deputy Director
American Institute for Conservation
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-28-2023 10:55 AM
From: Douglas Flandro
Subject: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

I didn't realize they received an additional grant. That is fantastic news. Do you know how we can submit feedback?

 

Douglas Flandro, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ID+C, CPHC^®  

Associate

 

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CambridgeSeven
1050 Massachusetts Avenue
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/22/2023 9:42:00 AM
From: Tiffani Emig
Subject: RE: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

I wanted to be sure you are aware of the STiCH website as a resource. Its Carbon Calculator allows you to compare the carbon impact of various materials based on life cycle assessment data. The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation was just awarded a two-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to expand and improve the calculator based on user feedback.

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Tiffani Emig
Deputy Director
American Institute for Conservation
Washington DC
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Hello All:

I am a retired museum executive director and I would be interested in this discussion as I work on an exhibition of my own art that is dealing with issues of social justice and climate change. 

Jan MIrenda Smith

Contrapposto Muse Strategies LLC

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Jan Smith
Museum Consultant
Neenah WI
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Hi Douglas,

I am an organizing member of Art + Climate Action, and we are hosting a Zoom-based community meeting on Sustainable Exhibition Design this Friday, October 6th. Here's the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpde-orT8iH902Ik_DK6XUKjy67TRgjarb

A+CA is also a member of PACT (Partners on Art and Climate Targets). PACT is an international coalition of organizations within the visual arts engaged in collaborative efforts to accelerate the sector's broad adoption of collective climate action. They include: Art to Acres, Art + Climate Action, Art/Switch, Art to Zero, Artists Commit, Galleries Commit, Gallery Climate Coalition, Ki Culture. Many of these organizations have conducted extensive research on how art spaces big and small can reduce their climate impact. For starters, I would recommend checking out GCC's website, under Resources: https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/ 

I also invite you to check out A+CA's video library which includes recordings of previous community meetings on topics that range from climate conscious shipping to waste and materials: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTgNkNF4SiQUXEqVkGIhSg

Devon Bella

Art + Climate Action, Director

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Devon Bella
Director
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Original Message:
Sent: 10/3/2023 6:54:00 PM
From: Devon Bella
Subject: RE: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

I am an organizing member of Art + Climate Action, and we are hosting a Zoom-based community meeting on Sustainable Exhibition Design this Friday, October 6th. Here's the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpde-orT8iH902Ik_DK6XUKjy67TRgjarb

A+CA is also a member of PACT (Partners on Art and Climate Targets). PACT is an international coalition of organizations within the visual arts engaged in collaborative efforts to accelerate the sector's broad adoption of collective climate action. They include: Art to Acres, Art + Climate Action, Art/Switch, Art to Zero, Artists Commit, Galleries Commit, Gallery Climate Coalition, Ki Culture. Many of these organizations have conducted extensive research on how art spaces big and small can reduce their climate impact. For starters, I would recommend checking out GCC's website, under Resources: https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/ 

I also invite you to check out A+CA's video library which includes recordings of previous community meetings on topics that range from climate conscious shipping to waste and materials: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTgNkNF4SiQUXEqVkGIhSg

Devon Bella

Art + Climate Action, Director

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Devon Bella
Director
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Hi Douglas,

Another resource I haven't seen on the rich thread to your response is the American Institute for Conservation's sustainability resource page (developed by AIC Sustainability Committee, of which I'm a member). Information on figuring out the Life Cycle Assessment of a material may be particularly useful. The link is here

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Yadin Larochette
Arts and Heritage Consultant
https://www.yadinlarochette.com/
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-03-2023 06:53 PM
From: Devon Bella
Subject: Sustainable and Low Carbon Footprint Museum Exhibitions

Hi Douglas,

I am an organizing member of Art + Climate Action, and we are hosting a Zoom-based community meeting on Sustainable Exhibition Design this Friday, October 6th. Here's the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpde-orT8iH902Ik_DK6XUKjy67TRgjarb

A+CA is also a member of PACT (Partners on Art and Climate Targets). PACT is an international coalition of organizations within the visual arts engaged in collaborative efforts to accelerate the sector's broad adoption of collective climate action. They include: Art to Acres, Art + Climate Action, Art/Switch, Art to Zero, Artists Commit, Galleries Commit, Gallery Climate Coalition, Ki Culture. Many of these organizations have conducted extensive research on how art spaces big and small can reduce their climate impact. For starters, I would recommend checking out GCC's website, under Resources: https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/ 

I also invite you to check out A+CA's video library which includes recordings of previous community meetings on topics that range from climate conscious shipping to waste and materials: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTgNkNF4SiQUXEqVkGIhSg

Devon Bella

Art + Climate Action, Director

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Devon Bella
Director
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