“Constituencies are fluid, mutable, protean. They grow, change, adapt, hybridize and reform…are always in the process of both becoming and unbecoming— constituencies result from a process of social production whose mediums and vehicles are, of necessity, collaborative.” - Becoming Constituent By John Byrne
The role of museums has traditionally been to teach, to decipher and deliver stories or history to the ‘passive’ visitor. The museum of the near future will be an active place of collaborative production. It will facilitate user driven programs and enable dialogue between disparate players. Its architecture must facilitate encounter, exploration and adaptation by its organization and by its formal expression.
“… it becomes possible to begin imagining the Constituent Museum of the future as a model of dispersion and connection as opposed to a model of expansion and colonization.” - Architectures of Use John Byrne
Often housed in intimidating exclusive architecture, symbols of institutional power, museums can be inaccessible to the very people they are in place to serve. Museums must not only be organized to adapt to change but must also signal the potential for openness. The traditional distinction between exhibition, education and events must be challenged. Engagement must happen at ‘street level’. Encounters must be easy and natural, facilitated by the architecture. We must simply ‘find oneselves’ within the museum without crossing a theashold.