Mmuseumm
{{short description|Micro-museum in New York City}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{About|the museum in New York City|other similarly named topics|Museum (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Mmuseumm
| image = Mmuseumm (51521774293).jpg
| alt = Exterior of Mmuseumm showing a small window with visible objects inside
| caption = Mmuseumm in 2021
| established = 2012
| location = Cortlandt Alley, Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City
| type = Natural history museum
| founder = Alex Kalman, Safdie brothers
| website = {{official|mmuseumm.com}}
| coordinates = {{coord|40.717406|-74.002719|display=inline,title}}
}}
Mmuseumm is a modern natural history museum located in Tribeca, Lower Manhattan in New York City. The museum displays contemporary artifacts in a style reminiscent of the historical cabinet of curiosities model.{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Rob |date=May 5, 2016 |title=Object Journalism at Mmuseumm |url=https://designobserver.com/object-journalism-at-mmuseumm/ |website=Design Observer |access-date=April 12, 2025}}{{Cite news |last=Wyman |first=Annie Julia |date=2014-11-10 |title=Cabinet of Wonder |language=en |url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/10/cabinet-of-wonder/ |access-date=2021-10-21}}
History
Mmuseumm was founded in 2012 by Alex Kalman{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/21/nyregion/tiny-museum-new-york-city.html|title=This Tiny Museum Fits Inside an Elevator Shaft|first=James|last=Barron|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 21, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/sara-berman-closet-mmuseumm2/|title=An Artist Recreates Her Mother's All-White-Everything Closet|first=Hilary|last=Reid|date=May 28, 2015|access-date=October 7, 2019|website=T Magazine}} and the Safdie brothers.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/nyregion/museum-all-60-square-feet-of-it-celebrates-the-eccentric.html|title=Museum, All 60 Square Feet of It, Celebrates the Eccentric|last=Robbins|first=Liz|date=August 9, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 20, 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiny-downtown-museum-expands-with-new-exhibit-1433120428|title=Tiny Downtown Museum Expands With New Exhibit|first=Ralph Jr.|last=Gardner|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 1, 2015|via=WSJ.com}}
Location and space
Mmuseumm is located in Cortlandt Alley in Manhattan, between Franklin Street and White Street—a stretch occasionally referred to as "Mmuseumm Alley".{{cite AV media|title=NYC-ARTS Full Episode: September 17, 2015|url=http://www.thirteen.org/programs/nyc-arts/nycarts-full-episode-september-17-2015/|website=THIRTEEN - New York Public Media|access-date=November 26, 2015|language=en-US|format=video}} The museum's first location, Mmuseumm 1, opened in 2012 inside a former elevator shaft. A second wing, Mmuseumm 2, debuted in 2015 a few doors down.
The museum's total area is approximately {{convert|36|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, and its displays are visible to the public 24 hours a day through peepholes embedded in its doors.{{cite news|last=Chernick|first=Karen|date=June 7, 2020|title=NYC's Tiniest Museum Releases a Jumbo Catalog of Exhibitions Once Planned for 2020|language=en-US|url=https://observer.com/2020/06/mmuseumm-canceled-exhibition-catalog/|access-date=October 21, 2021|work=Observer}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-c1-small-museum-nyc-20131205-dto-htmlstory.html|title=Tiny museum in New York showcases everyday objects|first=Alana|last=Semuels|website=Los Angeles Times|date=December 5, 2013}}
Concept and exhibitions
Mmuseumm is dedicated to the curation and exhibition of contemporary artifacts intended to document and interpret modern life.{{cite AV media|title=Seen in NY: Mmuseumm|url=https://vialogues.com/vialogues/play/16687/|website=Vialogues|access-date=November 26, 2015|format=video}} Its curatorial approach, described as "Object Journalism", presents everyday items in a natural history museum format, often drawing comparisons to historical cabinets of curiosities.
Exhibitions are organized by "seasons", a structure inspired by the museum's original summer operating schedule.{{cite news|last=Heller|first=Steven|date=May 22, 2014|title=A 'Mindblowing' 80-Square-Foot Museum of Random Junk|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/05/the-glory-of-random-crud-in-an-80-foot-art-space/371420/|access-date=October 21, 2021|work=The Atlantic}}
Gallery
File:Mmuseumm 1.png|alt=Exterior view of Mmuseumm 1 during Season 4 in 2015|Exterior of Mmuseumm 1 during Season 4 (2015)
File:Mmuseumm 1 Interior.png|alt=Interior of Mmuseumm 1 featuring a densely packed display wall|Interior view of Mmuseumm 1, Season 4 (2015)
File:Sara Berman's Closet, Mmuseumm.png|alt=Exhibit featuring white clothing arranged neatly in a closet|Sara Berman's Closet exhibit at Mmuseumm 2 (2015)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline}}
- {{official website|http://www.mmuseumm.com/ }}
{{Museums in Manhattan|state=collapsed}}
{{Financial District, Manhattan|state=collapsed}}
{{Tribeca, Manhattan}}