No Idea is Too Ridiculous Workshop

This project will help participants focus on identifying real project constraints, recognizing imagined constraints, and developing new methods for creative problem solving.

This will be the third iteration of the No Idea project. For more information on the earlier experiments, please see http://www.pcah.us/the-center/about/spotlight/. 

The specifics:

• Two-day workshop, March 21 and 22, 2012
• Participant organizations will be awarded $1000 to create a project using techniques, skills and ideas explored in the initial workshop. Note that there will be some constraints on the project.
• On June 7 and 8, participants will re-convene to present their projects to one another, discuss, and reflect on their process and learnings.                  

Who is it for?

You—if you’re interested in exploring creative practice with your peers and learning from a leader in the field.

The opportunity is available for 3 – 7 participant teams. Ideally, teams will be made up of 2 staff participants, but single participants will be considered as well. Team members may come from the same organization, or may be made up of participants from different organizations.

If you’d like to participate:

• Answer the questions below (no more than 2 pages), and include a brief note from your supervisor indicating their approval for your participation
• Check the dates on your calendar—we’ll consider your application a commitment to attend all of the indicated program dates if you are selected to participate
• Submit your responses to Laura Koloski, Senior Program Specialist (email: lkoloski@pcah.usor mail to 1608 Walnut Street, 18th floor, Philadelphia PA 19103) byFriday, February 17
• We’ll let you know about 2 weeks after the deadline if your team has been selected to participate

No Idea is Too Ridiculous Application Questions: 

1. Who from your organization would participate? (We encourage you to consider a team of two). What are their roles in the organization and what kinds of experience do they have?

2. How do you think your participation might change or influence your work?

3. Tell us about a current project you’re working on. What are your project goals, and what are the challenges you’re facing in realizing those goals?

Kathleen McLean is principal of Independent Exhibitions, a museum consulting firm specializing in exhibition development, design, programming, and strategic planning. From 1994 - 2004 she was the Director of the Center for Public Exhibition and Public Programs at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California, where she directed the major revisioning and strategic planning project, “Refocusing on the Floor.” Other projects she directed at the Exploratorium include the national award-winning traveling exhibition, Memory; and a visitor/storytelling research project called Finding Significance.

Since 1974, McLean has designed and developed a wide range of exhibitions for public audiences in museums of history, art, and science, as well as interdisciplinary and children’s museums. Many of the exhibitions she has developed focus on social issues and public response. In 2006, Kathleen McLean was selected for the American Association of Museums’ Centennial Honor Role, as one of 100 museum professionals to have made a significant contribution to American museums over the last 100 years. McLean is co-editor of Visitor Voices in Museum Exhibitions and Are We There Yet? Conversations about Best Practices in Science Exhibition Development; and author of Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions.