After checking out Nina Simons' Museum 2.0 blog on the weekend I came across 'Hack the Museum', currently on display at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History from July 19th - August 18th '13.
With technology rapidly moving from innovation to innovation it seems these 'Hack' events are becoming far more common practice in the Arts/Tech/Culture world -- perfectly complimenting the participatory leaning of many contemporary artworks.
Using the MAH's permanent collection as a starting point, the hacker's challenge was to create a unique, inventive & forward-thinking museum experience as a collaborative. Result of this, the MAH's experience gallery now hosts: a painting that hangs from the gallery ceiling which the visitor/user may lie under and experience in 3D; a gravestone which the visitor/user may stand in front of, communing with its owner using a Ouija board; and a sculpture in it's crate, un-wrapped and un-exhibited since its acquisition thirty years ago.
Event structure:
Over the course of 2.5 days, 75 museum designers from around the world were invited to create an exhibition together. This crowd was made up of a mix of curators, artists, engineers, architects & designers, all of whom camped out at the museum for the duration of the Hack Camp.
Whilst the final exhibition (as an outcome) must have been the hacker's dominant focus, the hacking process itself is what I think is most interesting. Below are links to provide further insight into the 2.5 days of experience design experimenting!
Instagram pics: http://statigr.am/tag/hackthemuseum/
Confessional tent videos: http://vimeo.com/70161874
Vine video: https://vine.co/v/h7315FjgKYO/embed