We helped MoMA develop a portfolio of ways to rethink their approach to philanthropy

What do changes in philanthropy and society at large mean for an art museum? As giving changes, how will art museums evolve? The Museum of Modern Art asked us to help them think through these questions, which we did by hosting a two-day strategic design workshop with a group of internal stakeholders from across the organization.

We guided the group through a session to bubble up latent opportunities, surface potential challenges, and ultimately create a portfolio of 18 ideas that included new products, services, and internal policies.

The museum is now developing these ideas internally.

Starting point

Though the outcomes of this session are confidential, the following questions served as waypoints for our workshop:

What unique assets does the Museum have to tell its story? As we seek to demonstrate value in the 21st century, how will different forms of value (social, environmental, financial, curatorial, etc) be expressed?

How could the museum make memberships feel more participatory? How could the Museum’s educational resources be used to invite people into an ongoing conversation with the museum?

How might one enable individuals to engage in the evolving story of the Museum, slowly building a relationship over time? What role might digital media play here?

Debrief

After running a number of workshops (including ours), our client at MoMA wrote this blog post reflecting on the experience.