Jennifer Snyder, PhD, is the Associate Director of Digital Learning and Interactives at the Art Institute of Chicago and an expert on helping small museums survive in the 21st century. Half of our country’s population lives in small communities, and over 50% of America’s museums are located in small towns – yet these institutions often struggle to keep up financially and technologically with their big city counterparts. How can small museums survive? Do they need to go “all-in” on the expensive 21st century technology now utilized by museums in New York City, Chicago, and L.A.? Can they truly reach larger audiences? We asked Dr. Snyder these questions and more in our exclusive interview for The Field Journal!

Taylor Studios (TSI): Hello, Dr. Snyder – thank you so much for sharing your expertise and knowledge with our audience! Before we dig into questions about how small museums can survive in the 21st century, can you perhaps tell us a little about your background? Where did you study, what sparked your love of museums, and what are you working on currently?

Dr. Jennifer Snyder (JS): Thanks so much Chris, excited to be featured! In college, I had my sights set on an academic career. But, as we all know, the bottom dropped out of the economy in 2008. I was set to graduate in the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. I started to expand my horizons, and gather experience in anything that might set me apart from my graduate cohort. I took side jobs building websites and running social media for policy organizations – Askew Institute and the Bob Graham Center. I worked on a Knight Foundation grant to fund a digital interactive that helped prepare students to participate in a civil society, named the the Civil Debate Wall. The Graham Center won the grant and hired Local Projects, an award winning design firm based in New York City. Local Projects poached me and I spent three years working to learn everything I could about the intersection of storytelling and digital interactives. I worked on such phenomenal projects as the National African American Museum of History and Culture, Eisenhower E-Memorial, Spotlight on Broadway, Civil Debate Wall, Change by Us and many more.

I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida to finish my PhD and begin as the new Director of Digital Initiatives at the Florida Humanities Council, the Florida branch of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Council’s mandate was to bring humanities to the third largest state in the country. Digital seemed like the best way to reach such a large and diverse audience. We built multiple different digital projects, the two most successful being Florida Stories, a native app platform for historical tours of small town Florida, and thinkFlorida, an open source digital interactive that connects small towns across the state. Now, I am the Associate Director of Digital Learning and Interactives at the Art Institute of Chicago and still an advocate of small town museums everywhere.

TSI: Do you have a favorite exhibit that you’ve either seen or worked on? What exhibit (anywhere, anytime) has made the greatest impression on you?

JS: I am always on the lookout for the next mind-blowing exhibit. There are so many great exhibits out there, so this is a hard question to answer! Currently, I am in love with the intersection of low tech/physical and digital components in an exhibit, such as Local Project’s Memory Mapsor Bluecadet’s Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I have experienced Bjork’s VR exhibit, walked through a VR Dali painting, but exhibits that make the largest impression on me are the simplest ones. One of my most memorable experiences was attending the opening of a Smithsonian exhibit on work at the Polk County History Center. I watched as the community filled the museum to capacity. Citizens wandered around the exhibit discussing personal stories with friends, family, and neighbors. There was no interactive, no digital experience. But, imagine if we had captured those stories. If we were prepared with some kind of low tech, digital recording, we could have captured the moment. This exhibit opening inspired the creation of thinkFlorida, an open source project, which provides a platform to showcase community stories we might have otherwise lost, through a beautifully designed interface. Currently, there are five more on display in small museums across the state and a few other councils’ are interested in putting it in theirs. It is currently on github, and I encourage you to download it!

TSI: It is 2017. What are some of the biggest “pain points” facing America’s small museums? What obstacles do they face?

JS: Small museums face tons of challenges; funding, visitor growth, an aging volunteer population, difficult boards, wifi/technical issues, and the list goes on. However, I think the biggest problem is a branding one. The mandate of most small town museums is to collect and preserve the history, culture, and art of a community. A mandate firmly rooted in the past. In a world as pluralistic as ours, small town museums now have more of a responsibility to be a platform, to be a facilitator of community discussion. Museums need to face forward, into the future. Expand beyond their buildings and engage with diverse audiences and communities. Small town museums are not just well situated, but can lead the charge in this realignment. Drawing upon their strength – commitment to and connection with their community – these museums can truly make a difference.

TSI: It seems that every day we read about a new museum pioneering virtual reality into their exhibits, or creating some new Disney-like high-tech exhibit, or spending millions of dollars on the latest and greatest screen-based multi-sensory experience. With big city museums utilizing such state-of-the-art technology, is it necessary for small museums to follow suit? Even if they struggle to afford it, should small museums try to go as “high-tech” as possible?

JS: I think going “all in” to digital projects is problematic on a number of levels. Let’s be real, what small museum has the budget, the manpower, or the ability to maintain such a digital system? What small museums do really well, however, is storytelling. Small museums know the history, the culture, and the art of a specific location. Digital is not the answer to all problems. Digital is simply a vehicle with which to tell a story and it is a piece in the larger ensemble that small museums should use in tackling a problem. Visitors go to museums to listen to stories. So, what is the story you would like to tell? What is the best vehicle with which to tell that story? Sticky notes? An app? Start with the story; then find the best way to tell that story.

A side note: App development, once a huge financial burden, is now turning into templated tools. Like squarespace for app development. A few years ago, an app would have cost over $100,000. I have reached out to groups like Guidigo and built apps for less than $30,000. You can now rent, use templated tools, or even buy much cheaper technology.

TSI: One “pain point” that small museums will probably always face is funding. They simply do not have the number of funders that big city museums have, nor (typically) as wealthy of funders. How do small museums, often with these limited budgets, truly create engaging exhibits? Is it possible? What are some strategies?

JS: Some of the most engaging exhibits are from small museums with limited budgets. Small museums are the beating heart of so many communities. Yet, many do not reach out to other community organizations. My best advice would be to partner up. A wonderful man, Butch Wilson, runs the Clewiston History Museum. He wanted to apply for a Smithsonian Museum on Main Street exhibit. So, he partnered with another small town, then the local library, city hall, local industries, and even the surrounding area RV parks to bring the exhibit to central Florida. It was a huge success. Finding partners, even in the unlikeliest of places, can leverage existing resources in new and exciting ways. So, get out there and find your RV park!

TSI: Another “pain point” is visitor growth. Many small museums throughout the country are finding their visitors aging and their visitorship in decline. One way to grow visitorship is through offering engaging exhibits and/or programming. Of your exhibits and programs, which have you found to be the most popular among visitors? Why?

JS: You are correct; many small town museums are watching their visitor numbers decline. However, the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street program has uncovered some fascinating research, which shows that millennials faced with rising rent, an unhinged work/life balance, and aging parents are returning to small communities across the country. Add to that mixture a rise of telework and you have a brand new population to volunteer, serve on boards, and even work at small museums in rural areas. But, with this new audience comes a new expectation. How do you appeal to this new and changing demographic?

I find the most popular exhibits are the ones in which the visitor finds themselves in the exhibit. This can be achieved in multiple ways – content, interaction, etc. – but we want to feel connected to the story being told. So, get millennials involved. Fill a few seats on your board with people of a younger demographic. Reach out via social media. Organize exhibits around content that would appeal to a younger audience. Be willing to fail and keep trying.

TSI: Finally, you have become an expert in the field. What is your best advice for someone starting their very first exhibit or museum project?

JS: My best advice can be broken down into two main ideas. (1) Start with the story. What is your main idea? Who is your audience? Why should they care? User engagement principles/circles are simply the thesis statement of an exhibit. Once you know the story, then (2) iterate/concept. There are many different paths a story can take. While no path is wrong, there are more effective/creative paths than others. Gather your curator(s), board member(s), scholar(s), expert(s), and even your intern(s), and start concepting. What is the best way to get to your end goal, your thesis statement? The best idea is buried somewhere in the middle. Be ruthless. Go in with an open mind. Recognize your own biases towards specific software, platforms, and paths. Be willing to take a risk and learn from your mistakes.

TSI: Such wonderful advice! Before we let you go, do you have a book, blog, project website, or anything else which you’d like us to tell our readers about? We’d love to help promote all that you do!

JS: For personal ramblings and cool projects, you can follow my Twitter handle. My personal website of projects and contact info can be found at www.callicolone.com. Thanks so much for having me!

TSI: Thank you so much, Dr. Snyder! And thank you for all that you do to help museums across your state and across the country. Your expertise serves as such an inspiration!

Inspired? Want more? View Dr. Snyder’s informative, wide-reaching, and captivating TEDx talk on her work and advocacy for small museums!