Ed, Annie and Jim sit together on couch, each wearing an interesting hat.

January 2022 TEA News

TEA is deeply grateful (and really excited!) to be starting this new year with a myriad of meaningful projects, an extraordinary community of friends, and a powerful commitment to making the world a better place one creative experience at a time. We look forward to continuing to share the progress of our young company throughout 2022 and encourage you to reach out to us anytime to share your stories, projects, and ideas. If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that only together can we thrive. Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy start to the year!

New Year, New Work

Akron Art Museum

The Akron Art Museum is working to help their audiences explore non-traditional and digital art, connect more deeply with their local community, and showcase the work of contemporary artists. We were asked to imagine and help implement an experience that would reach across all these goals. Together with our partners, The Safarani Sisters, we’ll be working to do just that over the course of 2022-23 through a large-scale, community based public art project. This project is representative of our ongoing commitment to lifting up the work of contemporary artists, forging unique partnerships, and finding ways for everyone to access creative experiences.

American Ancestors

American Ancestors (otherwise known as the New England Historic Genealogical Society) is on the brink of an expansion project that will feature first of their kind gallery experiences which showcase the extraordinary and diverse American story through the lens of family history. We (as well as creative partner and writer, Susanna Brougham) are leading the team through a detailed interpretive planning and experience design process that will define the messages and content of these new spaces. This project reminds us, especially in these times, that we share a common past through the universality of our family stories.

Västernorrlands Museum

The Västernorrlands Museum, a regional history museum in Northern Sweden, is in the process of revamping their permanent exhibitions and examining how to get locals and tourists alike out and about to historic sites. We’re working with their exhibition, curatorial and interpretive staff (as well as creative partner and playwright, Patrick Gabridge) to develop the concept for an immersive, transmedia experience which tells the story of the Swedish 17th century witch trials. Delving deep into this complex story has been a fascinating exercise in how to help audiences connect the present to the past, how to sit with the discomfort of more questions than answers, and how interpretive planning can meaningfully guide uneasy content.

The Illinois State Museum

The Illinois State Museum invited us to conduct a collective thought exercise on how project management gets applied in a museum setting. We examined definitions, tools, and examples as we discussed work culture, best practices, and the myriad of challenges currently facing museum practitioners and the field writ large. This was a great opportunity to exercise our belief that everything is a designable surface, including processes and workflows. How we come together to make things is so important!

But, wait! There’s more…

There are more exciting project announcements just around the corner. If you haven’t already, please follow us on our social media channels to hear about our latest projects, ideas, and inspirations.