ABSTRACT

Leslie Bedford, former director of the highly regarded Bank Street College museum leadership program, expands the museum professional’s vision of exhibitions beyond the simple goal of transmitting knowledge to the visitor. Her view of exhibitions as interactive, emotional, embodied, imaginative experiences opens a new vista for those designing them. Using examples both from her own work at the Boston Children’s Museum and from other institutions around the globe, Bedford offers the museum professional a bold new vision built around narrative, imagination, and aesthetics, merging the work of the educator with that of the artist. It is important reading for all museum professionals.

part One|36 pages

Contemporary Exhibition Theories

chapter 1|18 pages

Exhibitions as Education

chapter 2|16 pages

Alternative Exhibition Models

part Two|34 pages

Constructing a New Model

chapter 3|8 pages

Story

chapter 4|12 pages

Imagination

chapter 5|12 pages

John Dewey and Art as Experience

part 3|46 pages

Working in the Subjunctive Mood

chapter |6 pages

Conclusion