San Diego Mesa College The Museum of Digital Technology Essay

The recent upheaval due to the pandemic, as well as upset in our social, economic, and political arenas is reflected in the international world of museums. Around the world, museums great and small are reconsidering their purpose, their audiences, their source of funds and content, indeed, their existence.

You get to start a new art museum here in Balboa Park (Links to an external site.). Don’t worry about money (because this is an imaginary project). Let’s say you’ve got about ten million dollars for a collection, staff, and setting up a space in one of the park buildings.

Here are the rules: NO ENTERTAINMENT THEMES. That means no museums about fantasy stuff, no cartoon stuff, no game stuff, no music or sports stuff. Many students come to college from high school and childhood before that. Their experience is basically a child’s view of the world, with primal role-playing in hunting down people and killing them or getting gold coins for defeating monsters, maybe being a fairy princess/rock star/hero in a popular entertainment or sports franchise. Your museum will not be about that stuff.

What will it be about? From what you’ve learned in the class, is there a culture, specific artist, movement in art, a medium, or a classification you think would be a good addition to the museums already in the park?

Whom do want to attract and what should they be thinking about when they leave your museum?