Within the bold museum design by ACMI
The Australian Center for Moving Images (ACMI) is dedicated to everything related to screen culture, from film and games to digital art and culture. After a two-year A $ 40 million refurbishment, the museum reopened this month, revealing major changes in physical space as well as what goes on under the hood. “By creating this completely remodeled museum with these three strands of change – programmatic change, technological change, and architectural change all happening at the same time – we were able to create a museum that I think has new muscles to do different kinds of things For the world we are in now, ”says Seb Chan, Chief Experience Office.
"Museums have tried to change little things that end up being a bit petty and miss the opportunities that come with reshaping the wholesale business," he says. "This is a great opportunity to do it all at once: you can incorporate one design language across everything." From the identity developed by North to the eye-catching exhibition design of Second Home, ACMI hired a number of partner companies to dramatically revamp the museum, which has been temporarily closed due to government restrictions but is set to reopen this week.
Chan, whose practice is rooted in social theory and change, has been heavily involved in the Australian music scene, hosting parties and illegal raves. “I think, like many experienced designers, I come from the event world,” he says. He eventually embarked on a career working with museums and technology, including the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney ("like a combination of the Science Museum and the V&A") and later the Smithsonian, in collaboration with the late Bill Moggridge, IDEO Co-founder and director of New York's Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.
Chan joined the ACMI team under the museum's director, Katrina Sedgwick, who also had an events background, founded the Sydney Fringe Festival in 1995 and later became the founding director and CEO of the Adelaide Film Festival. "I think we were very fortunate to have a director from the festival world who doesn't come from museums and wanted to see the museum as a place where new things become possible." Says Chan.
Above: ACMI outside. Above: The ACMI identity and word mark developed by North. Pictures: Shannon McGrath