Wonder, an exhibit at the Renwick Gallery, brought in more visitors in six weeks than the whole rest of the year. The Museum of Ice Cream sold out a six-month run in 90 minutes. What do these spaces have in common? Their presence on social media sites, such as Instagram, blew up. Visitors took the ultimate Insta-worthy pics, enticing thousands of others to visit to snag their own photos.
But what is the real impact of these spaces? Do they provoke deeper thinking? Could designing for Instagram be a good museum strategy or does it compromise more authentic engagement with the objects and themes?
The article Selfie Factories: The Rise of the Made-for-Instagram Museum dives into these questions, challenging us to think about the role of social media in the museum world and the role of museums in the social media world.
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