Collective Paper Aesthetics

🌵 By the Time I Get to Phoenix… it’s almost here! 🎶

Just over a week to go until the Association of Science and Technology Centers Association of Science and Technology Centers 2026 Conference at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix.

I’ll be there with Collective Paper Aesthetics on Friday, September 18, from 12:20–12:35 PM, presenting:

“Designing for Participation: How the HEART-board Pyramid Engages Communities in STEAM Learning”

The session will include a showcase, hands-on experience, and Q&A, exploring how participatory design can create opportunities for communities to engage with STEAM learning through making and play.

I’m looking forward to connecting with science center professionals, museum educators, designers, and colleagues from around the world—and to exchanging ideas about participation, learning, and new approaches to audience engagement.

🌵 See you in Phoenix!

AudienceEngagement ParticipatoryDesign Museums

From Kunstsilo to the World 🌏

We’re pleased to announce our next World Art Foundations Talk on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 9:30 EDT | 14:30 GMT | 15:30 CET.

Join Torill Haugen, Head of Innovation and Development, and Kjersti Irgens Kuhnle, Project Manager for Children & Youth, both of Kunstsilo and me for a conversation on the design evolution of the Kunstsilo Kullen modular system and its adaptation across cultural institutions worldwide, including Casula Powerhouse (NSW), THEMUSEUM (Ontario), Zuidparktheater in partnership with MuseumLAB by Museon-Omniversum, Zuidwest and Festival De Betovering, and ARoS Aarhus Art Museum.

Each installation reinterprets the Kullen system for its own site and audience — ranging from 400 to 1,000 units, in a single color or a five-color palette. Rather than replicate the mirrored monumentality of the original Kristiansand silo (2024), each iteration retains the system’s underlying geometry while developing its own visual identity: a permeable, prismatic and anti-prismatic structure that dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior. The result is a design built for adaptability, allowing curators to reconfigure the installation with ease and visitors to engage with it on their own terms.
This talk offers a rare look at how a single modular concept can be reimagined across vastly different cultural contexts — and what that process reveals about scalable design in museum practice.

Learn more about the story behind the Kunstsilo model:
https://lnkd.in/erNGxk7H

Register for the WAF Talk:
https://lnkd.in/d9BN58vr

Photo: Nazanin Valizade

✨Incredibly happy to share that I’ll be part of an upcoming World Art Foundations Talk on engaging young audiences!

On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 9:30 EDT | 14:30 GMT | 15:30 CET, I’ll be joining Torill Haugen, Head of Innovation and Development, and Kjersti Irgens Kuhnle, Project Manager, Children & Youth at Kunstsilo , to share a practical case study on developing a young audience engagement strategy.

👉 Learn more and join the WAF Talk: https://worldartfoundations.com/waf-talk/

We’ll talk about how strategic collaboration and innovative programming have shaped Kunstsilo’s approach to engaging young audiences, sharing our experiences and practical insights that may be useful for other museums and cultural organizations.

A big thank you to Rosalia Romano for this opportunity and for bringing us together for this conversation. 🙏

And if we’ve been in touch recently about implementing the modular system in your museum and you’d like to learn more about our experience, please DM me. I’d be very happy to continue the conversation.

Looking forward to sharing, learning, and connecting with colleagues around the world! 🌍

☀️ As we say goodbye to the summer programme at Zuiderparktheater Den Haag we’re taking a moment to look back at another summer with Vouw & BouwLAB.

For the second summer in a row, Vouw & BouwLAB brought its modular play system back to the park, inviting visitors to build, explore, experiment, and play together.

Vouw & BouwLAB is a collaborative project developed over multiple seasons at Zuiderparktheater, together with MuseumLAB Zuidwest by Museon-Omniversum and festival Festival De Betovering . Together, we reimagined a geometric modular system using corrugated plastic, cardboard, and 260 g paper, adapting it to different seasons, formats, and public contexts across the city of The Hague.

The result is an open-ended, participatory play experience that encourages creativity, interaction, and new ways of engaging with public space.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this summer and helped bring the modular play system to life! 💛

📸 Photo by Vouw & BouwLAB

Last Wednesday, August 19, was Frozen Forms Day at De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender — or, as my younger brother called it, “my day.” 😊

Many thanks to the selection committee — Anne de Haij, Director of the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam; Fons Hof, Director of Art Rotterdam; and Edgar Mulders, legal specialist and passionate art collector — and to Trichis

It’s a great honour to be part of this unique annual celebration of art and creativity for the second time in my career.

And a huge thank you to everyone at the Anchorage Museum for commissioning, building, documenting, running, and dismantling Frozen Forms. You rock!

A special thanks to Jim Kohl for documenting the exhibition in such a poetic way. 🙏

What a week!

A big thank you to the dedicated and welcoming team NSM Thailand Official for the warm welcome and for bringing together so many like-minded people from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond for this week’s ASPAC get-together.

I was particularly impressed by the decision to position Science Central—including its exhibition spaces and Business Lounge—within ThailandNSTFair 2026. It created a vibrant platform where science, innovation, education, and business could come together in meaningful ways.

One of the highlights was seeing so many children from across Thailand actively engaged in hands-on science and technology activities. Their curiosity, enthusiasm, and excitement were truly inspiring. And, of course, the delicious food and cute shopping added to the experience!

For me, this was not only a special experience but also a brilliant curatorial decision—bringing science closer to people and creating opportunities for meaningful engagement across generations and sectors.

Kudos to NSM Thailand and everyone involved in making this happen.

Meet Miss May, who has a real gift for making complex geometry clear, engaging, and inspiring.

Tomorrow and the following day, Miss May and her colleagues will facilitate the Science Central ASPAC Pavilion at the ThailandNSTFair 2026, sharing ideas and engaging with visitors around “Intelligence in Science for a Sustainable Future.”

Many thanks to everyone who stopped by yesterday and today. It was wonderful and inspiring to exchange ideas, knowledge and perspectives with so many curious and engaged visitors.

We look forward to continuing the conversations and welcoming more people to the pavilion!

Getting set up at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok for our ASPAC Pavilion, part of the larger ThailandNSTFair 2026. 🔬🌏✨

The fair brings together science, technology, creativity, and innovation under the inspiring theme “Intelligence in Science for a Sustainable Future.”
Did you know? In 2024, nearly 700,000 people attended the NST Science and Technology Fair, with more than 300,000 students and visitors registering in advance from over 1,200 schools across Thailand. It’s an incredible platform for connecting people with science and inspiring the next generation of curious minds.

Many thanks to everyone at NSM Thailand Official and Pico for all the hard work in bringing the Collective Paper Aesthetics booth together.

We’re excited to be part of this special week and look forward to welcoming visitors to the ASPAC Pavilion! 🚀

Looking forward to an exciting week ahead in Bangkok!

I’m very much looking forward to being part of ASPAC Conference 2026, “Museum Empowering Futures: Science Engagement in the Age of Uncertainty taking place” at NSM Thailand Official It will be a great opportunity to exchange ideas, meet inspiring colleagues from across the region, and reflect on how museums and science centres can engage audiences in a rapidly changing world.

Collective Paper Aesthetics will be showcasing our hands-on, interactive modular systems at the National Science & Technology Fair 2026, taking place at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Muang Thong Thani.

Halls 9–11, IMPACT Muang Thong Thani Exhibition and Convention Center
18–21 August 2026
09:00–19:00

It’s always exciting to see the growing role of science engagement, STEAM education, creativity and immersive experiences in connecting people with science and technology.

If you’re attending either event, I’d be very happy to connect and exchange ideas. Hope to see many familiar and new faces in Bangkok!

📸 Photography: Alessia Frasson & Cameron Bleck for Blooomers