Online Museums

Museums are not only physical spaces. They can live on the internet as well. Like physical museums, online museums provide information to its' visitors via curated exhibitions and "online" installations; links to other sites and built up online pages provide additional information in ways similar to physical museums. Online museums are extremely accessible; because of their location on the internet, anyone who has access to a computer and the internet can become a potential museum visitor, widening the pool of visitors to anyone around the world on the web. And because of the potential for zero space limitations, online museums can constantly grow, adding more information and pages while simultaneously increasing their visitor base.

The first example I wish to discuss is the International Museum of Women. Originally a physical museum site called the Women's Heritage Museum, the International Museum of Women as it exists now was created in 2006 with the launching of its' first online exhibit "Imagining Ourselves: A Global Generation of Women." The museum's mission is dedicated to social and cultural change in regards to women and with its' international lens, focuses on women's rights across the globe.
http://www.imow.org/home/index

While the museum mostly exists online, they also coordinate with local organizations to plan events. Currently, the I.M.O.W. has a photography exhibit hosted by Millis College in the Bay Area. This presents an interesting example of how museums can (and should) reach out to other local organizations to foster a sense of community. The museum also provides a space where their visitors can connect, providing an online meeting space in lieu of a physical one. In many instances, people are more likely to reach out to fellow visitors when they are protected in the spaces of their home.

My second example is The Alternative Museum (TAM). TAM, like the International Museum of Women, began as a physical museum in NYC.

TAM's original gallery space

Check out The Alternative Museum's website below:

http://www.alternativemuseum.org/index.html

In 2000, TAM closed its' doors and transitioned to an online museum. While the museum's main mission is to serve as an archive for TAM's previous exhibitions, it also is host to several online exhibitions. TAM sees itself as the wave of the future of museum practice and states on their site that TAM wishes to keep up with the globalization of technology. Currently, there are eight exhibitions on display on TAM's website, ranging from photography to multi-media art. Arguably it is difficult to compete with seeing art in person and online museums undoubtedly confront this fact often. But it's no wonder that online museums have been created over time; their accessibility, relatively zero space limitations, and ability to coordinate public events for their local communities make online museums extremely well-rounded.