High Museum

Art Lab

This collaborative experiment invited Atlanta, its families, and its artists into the High Museum’s design process to help reimagine the future of their family-focused space.

Museums around the world have been undergoing a seismic shift from places where people go to observe art to places where people go to interact with, and even create, art. The High Museum invited Second Story and local artist Esteban Patiño to help craft an interactive space where the museum could explore new ideas and activities with its visitors.

Art Lab consisted of a series of installations that let children and adults create and imagine together by taking a playful, tactile approach to learning. Second Story contributed three interactive prototypes to this experiment including Animation Station, Ism-izer, and My High Art Studio.

My high art studio

ISM-IZER

Ism-Izer mirror helped visitors learn about a variety of art movements through play as they transformed their reflections into various -isms such as impressionist or pointillist self-portraits. Related works from the High’s permanent collection were highlighted with each -ism, encouraging visitors to explore the other museum galleries.

ANIMATION STATION

This participatory station invited families to learn about and create their own stop-motion animation movies. The delightful and imaginative characters inspired by the works of artist Jaime Hayon became interactive pieces of living art that visitors brought to life through their own stop-motion masterpieces. This experience accompanied Hayon’s Tiovivo installation in the High’s piazza courtyard, giving children and families a way to further connect with his fantastical characters.

LIVING LABORATORY

The Art Lab turned a former gallery space into an exciting living laboratory, and the High gleaned valuable insights directly from the local community to inform the redesign of its Greene Family Learning Gallery.