PHILOSOPHY OF A NOMAD ORGANIZATION

The Pedestrian Museum is an itinerant institution dedicated to present temporary exhibitions in different areas of New York City and in other urban environments in and out of USA. The museum’s collection comes from the donations that visitors, workers or neighbours give.

FORMAT
 

Interactive intervention/installation located in the urban environment:

This institution works like an intervention/installation of a specific type that uses busy pedestrian areas; ideally, spaces in buildings that have access to the street, located in public and/or commercial areas of the city. The institution’s interest is to preserve the presence of pedestrians in a specific location due to a collection that is formed once the donators provide the most varied of personal objects, souvenirs and relics. The museum itself materializes together with the objective of the project, during the assembly of the received articles. The donation process is free of charge and the objects are collected, classified, packed and then exhibited. The transactions take place in the street where the museum is installed, taking advantage of the constant flux of people that go from one place to another. This institution’s staff is made up of artists themselves, that are presented to the public (wearing dark blue suits and white shirts) pretending to be curators, guardians of the museum, museologists and installers. In this way, the working hierarchy in cultural organizations is examined.

AUDIO/TEXT TRANSCRIPTION

“The Pedestrian Museum is an itinerant institution dedicated to present temporary exhibitions in different areas of New York City and in other urban environments in and out of USA. The museum’s collection comes from the donations that visitors, workers or neighbours give. The Pedestrian Museum is a physical expression that reflects, through donations, the spirit of the place in which it is located.

The museum is currently accepting donations for this space. Therefore, we invite you to jointly support us, providing an object owned by you. If you wish to remain anonymous as donator, please ask so at the moment of the contribution. For any further information please contact the staff. Every object, from that moment on, will belong to the Pedestrian Museum. Thank you for your cooperation”.

OPEN ROUTE TO THE PEDESTRIAN MUSEUM

In 2001 the Pedestrian Museum opens its doors to the busy 42nd street of New York, in the heart of Times Square, invited by the Chashama organization. That same year, the institution is transferred for three months to the zero zone, where the World Trade Centre used to be, as a part of Looking In, an exhibition organized by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. In early 2004, with the support of the Longwood Art Gallery and the Bronx Council of the Arts, the Pedestrian Museum establishes itself in the Bronx district. Currently the institution is transferring to Mexico City. Invited by MUCA Rome, the Pedestrian Museum will install itself in the University Campus (UNAM) for a month.

We hope to have the opportunity of continuing with our itinerary in other cities, including Madrid, with Madrid Abierto, taking advantage of the flux of visitors that go to ARCO 2005.

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