Colony was an interactive, collaborative project of the FLUX Foundation sponsored by The Museum Group (TMG) and created at the 2012 American Alliance of Museums annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN with 5,000 conference participants. TMG nominated the FLUX Foundation as their annual Thought Leader for the conference, inviting FLUX to give a presentation at the meeting and create an interactive, collaborative space of creation as part of the conference experience. Each piece of this cardboard and plywood structure was painted and cut by hand by an amazing team of volunteers in Oakland, CA, in our workshop at American Steel Studios. We created a buzz about the project by including one 8.5″ square piece of colored cardboard inside every one of the 5,000 conference goers tote bags. The surprise of discovering these unexpected pieces – or SNAPs (socially networked art panels) – generated a lot of excitement about the installation and drew people to the space to engage and create. Conference participants descended on the FLUX space and jumped in with their SNAPs by writing inspiring thoughts, ideas, funny decorations and doodles. They mixed and remixed their SNAPs with those of their colleagues, creating new forms and possibilities, and escaping the predictable.
Location: American Alliance of Museums 2012 Annual Meeting – Minneapolis, MN
Collaborative Locations: Skirball Cultural Center Los Angeles, CA; Figge Art Museum – Davenport, IA
Media: Cardboard & plywood
Dimensions: footprint ca. 30’x30’.
Commissioning Agency: The Museum Group & American Alliance of Museums
