Crack the Looking Glass

Adriel Luis, USA

The amazing thing about human culture is that everyone participates in it. History is made by wealthy emperors as well as the meek and oppressed. Indeed, some of the most significant contributions to humanity have been genius flukes. But museums – the institutions assigned to present these moments and milestones – maintain an air of exclusivity that has come to define them. Today, museums continue to follow a highbrow template that all but mirrors how they were first invented only for high society – the defense for this tragic phenomenon is "tradition." Tonight, Adriel Luis – Curator of Digital and Emerging Media at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center – illustrates that beyond gadgets, nodes, and devices, technology offers us a unique opportunity to break the cyclical molds that have limited museums for eons. Let's discover how we can shift museums from antiquated spaces to platforms for universal discussions.