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The Museum as a Landfill,
The Landfill as a Museum
Lead Concept Development, Writer | Museum Treatment
Landfills and museums serve similar roles—spaces that house objects no longer in use, reflecting an area's values and history.
So we curated a series of museum-landfills that erase the boundary between these institutions.
We were awarded honorable mention at the 2020 Museums for Climate Action through the Glasgow Science Centre.
Everything decays. From porcelain tea cups to paper coffee cups.
But what's preserved is a function of human choice. The museum collects waste, curates and preserves it, hangs it on white walls and places it on pedestals. Unlike the traditional institution, the community curates the landfill. Everyone can contribute an object.
Graphics and Copy by Danielle Lotridge
Traveling Exhibitions and an Online Database
When contributing to their local landfill, the visitor-curator has the opportunity to submit information about their object to an online database—from personal stories to reflections on the environmental impact of acquiring and later discarding that object.
A Pile of Objects and Knowledge
As visitors add their objects to the landfill, both the physical waste and digital knowledge pile up. Though the landfills are localized, the online grid of information connects all of the installations, building a network of knowledge across space, time, culture, and language.
The Team
Alec Zbornak (Concept Development, Writer)
Alex Mingda Zhang (Architect, Concept Artist)
Danielle Lotridge (Design, Graphics)
Grace Aaronson (Writer, Environmental Consultant)
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