Museumopolis Group Critique. Photo Credit: Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP.) Source: CUP website.

We are late to the Museumopolis party!  Museumopolis was a project that brought together 15 New York state public high school teens back in 2013 to ask and research the question “What’s the role of a museum in a city?” The project was part of the Center for Urban Pedagogy’s Urban Investigations research and design programming for teens. The teens interviewed museum directors, curators, educators, artists, academics, and cultural consultants to get the scoop on museums.  Then they prototyped their own museums of the future; from museums without walls to museums run by residents.  The teens presented their results at Dia Beacon to community members, one present and one past mayor of Beacon, and a state assembly member.  You can see and even purchase the booklet they produced about the project here. We may just have to go purchase this right away…

What do you think?  How could museums themselves provide opportunities like these for local youth to influence the future of an institution?