Beyond the Building: Designing Museum Experiences in Community Spaces

ID: WMA2026_639

Track:

When the City of Holladay sought new ways to share its history and culture, surveys showed a traditional museum wouldn’t reach its audience. This session explores how Riggs Ward Design and city leaders created Rooted Together—a tapestry of interactive experiences woven into public spaces. Learn strategies for community-driven storytelling and placemaking and discover how bringing history into everyday places can deepen access, relevance, and connection.

Session Information

Format: Regular session/panel (roundtable, single speaker, etc.)

Uniqueness: Unlike traditional museums, City of Holladay embedded co-created exhibits into everyday spaces and expanded access, reduced costs, and transformed the community itself into a living museum.

Objectives:

Museums across the West are being called to aspire toward new models of relevance, especially when traditional collections are limited or absent. This session highlights how the City of Holladay embraced that challenge by treating the landscape itself—historic sites, viewsheds, and everyday community spaces—as the primary “objects” of interpretation. By shifting to a distributed, place‑based model, Holladay demonstrates how institutions can communicate idea‑centered concepts with clarity, depth, and authenticity. The three objectives explored by the presenters will be how to:

1. Tailor the Museum Model to the Community Participants will examine Holladay’s decision to move beyond a conventional museum format and interpret stories in the locations where they unfolded. This includes tools for evaluating when a “museum without walls” can strengthen engagement and help institutions reach toward more responsive, community‑rooted practice.
2. Apply Community‑Driven Design Strategies Through the work of Riggs Ward Design, attendees will learn replicable methods for co‑creation, inclusive storytelling, and stakeholder collaboration. These approaches show how idea‑based interpretation—supported by place rather than objects—can reveal narratives that resonate deeply and build long‑term trust.
3. Implement Scalable, Cost‑Effective Solutions Participants will identify ways to use existing infrastructure such as parks, schools, and public spaces to create meaningful experiences while remaining resource‑conscious. Emphasis is placed on adaptable approaches that institutions of any size can implement immediately. Together, these objectives encourage museum professionals to aspire toward broader impact by strengthening community relationships and communicating meaning through story, place, and lived experience.

Engagement: Participants will engage through the case study walkthrough and small-group ideation to reimagine their own “museum without walls” concepts. Interactive prompts and real project examples from City of Holladay and Riggs Ward Design will guide learning. Resources include presentation slides and adaptable planning frameworks attendees can apply to their own communities.

Relationship to Theme:

Audience

Audiences: Curators/Scientists/Historians Events Planning Registrars, Collections Managers 

Professional Level: All levels 

Scalability: Interactive prompts and real project examples from City of Holladay and Riggs Ward Design will guide learning and allow participants to scale their ideas to multiple organization types and sizes.

Participants