This CALL TO ACTION aims to transform everyday places into sites of engagement by unleashing the skills of museum practitioners into the world around us.

Professor Tim McNeil and Design MFA alumna Emma Thorne-Christy (2014) have launched an international initiative called Free the Museum. The project calls on museum professionals to activate the outdoors beyond the walls of their institutions because of the limitations on museum opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of community solidarity, social justice and Black Lives Matter. The initiative is a joint project with the Omnimuseum Project. McNeil and Thorne-Christy have teamed with fellow museum activators Michael Burns, Betsy Lorring, Andrea Jones and Tricia Austin.

People who work for museums, zoos and aquariums, science centers, nature centers and heritage sites and other informal learning institutions put a lot of effort into creating experiences that engage and inspire their visitors, deepening the public’s understanding and appreciation of the world around them. So imagine what might happen if we applied that effort to the world at large. This is the concept behind the Free the Museum initiative.

FREE THE MUSEUM is an initiative to activate the “museum experience” in the world around us, transforming everyday places into sites of engagement, reflection, healing, activism, and informal learning.  It is a CALL TO ACTION aimed at equipping museum practitioners with the resources needed to apply their skills, knowledge and creativity to different facets of public space.  

Free the Museum is a movement to embrace these turbulent times by activating the “museum experience” in the world around us.
 
Free the Museum is a call to action for museum practitioners to transform everyday places into sites of learning, joy, reflection, and healing. 

Free the Museum is a way to discover new paths forward, imagining a museum model that is more inclusive and equitable, more responsive and relevant to the community in which it sits.
 
Free the Museum is your chance to “hack the world,” repurposing everyday places as platforms for meaning and expression, highlighting the stories they have to tell.

The initiative encourages active participation and the submittal of relevant projects to the Free the Museum website.