Inspired by the Museum’s 2020 vision statement, WAM has long believed in the idea that the Museum can function as a space where the community comes together. The idea of creating public spaces—or third spaces-where people can congregate is at the center of the Museum’s identity. The idea of third space was first developed and introduced in 1989 by Ray Oldenberg is his book The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. For WAM, third spaces will always be our galleries, places that connect you with our art, spanning seven thousand years of human history, creativity, and imagination. Join us in these spaces to celebrate, talk, dream, draw, read, and write with friends, neighbors, colleagues, and even other guests you meet here.As part of this initiative, we also continue our experimentation with seating. We began this journey with Constellation, a furniture installation by Kraud Inc., now in the Remastered Galleries; bean bags in Helmutt’s House; Thonet chairs throughout the facility; a prayer bench; and now couches, club chairs, and coffee tables in several of our European galleries. We invite you sit, linger, lounge, relax, kick back, and REST. Galleries were made for sitting, and I hope that this new furniture encourages long hours spent enjoying the artworks and community at the Museum.
- Adam Reed Rozan, Director of Audience Engagement
