We are pleased to present our new publication, Innovation In Action: Three Case Studies from the Intersection of Arts & Social Justice in EmcArts’ Innovation Labs. In this blog post, we will explore the innovation story of the Jane Adams Hull-House Museum, one of the three organizations profiled in the publication. You can download their case study here.
The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum was accepted into Round 3 of the Innovation Lab for Museums in July 2013. Contrary to the general assumption that fast-paced cultural practices are always better, the Hull-House museum used the Innovation Lab to prototype a community engagement model based on “slowness.” Founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, the Hull-House pioneered various core services for immigrants living in Chicago’s Near West Side. Drawing from its founding beliefs in human creativity and meaningful community relations, and inspired by the slow food movement, the Hull-House Museum launched The Porch Project through the Innovation Lab for Museums. This case study explores the Museum’s process of intentionally slowing down to create more organic social engagement in community life.
In 2012, EmcArts along with the American Alliance of Museums’ (AAM), Center for the Future of Museums (CFM), and MetLife Foundation launched the Innovation Lab for Museums, an initiative designed to enable selected museums to design, research and prototype innovations, testing novel approaches to field-wide challenges in a laboratory-like setting. To learn more about the structure and goals of the Innovation Lab process, click here.
Download the Hull-House Museum case study here.