ACIDO Rocket Finalist
Cohesion: An Open and Shared Museum Experience
Cohesion is an outdoor, adaptable museum experience aimed at bringing people together safely during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cultural institutions have historically served as places for people to come together and learn about their collective history. Now, these same institutions are suffering and are facing tremendous challenges, with a third of them at risk of never opening again. Besides their cultural benefits, museums provide visitors with psychological well-being, subjective well-being, and restoration, which is important to individuals’ mental health and self-actualization, particularly at a time when the future is so uncertain.
Cohesion focuses on how we may safeguard cultural institutions by providing alternative forms of engagement with museums and with the community. It democratizes museum content by showcasing visitor-generated work, which also helps mitigate the loneliness and isolation that many are currently experiencing.
About the Designer
Sofia Tapia, Carleton University
I believe in design as storytelling, and think that it has the power to connect us at a deeper level, be it through a shared experience or a common goal. As a designer, curiosity jump-starts my drive to learn through research, empathy motivates me to keep users front-of-mind, and an appreciation for aesthetics pushes me to develop solutions that are not only functional, but beautiful.