Spatial Dialogues between Exhibited Interiors and Cultural Exteriors: How Local Museums Connect to the Community

Main Article Content

Issue Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023)
Published Jan 30, 2023
Section Articles
Article downloads 619
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v6i1.258
Submitted : Sep 29, 2022 | Accepted : Jan 12, 2023

Nuttinee Karnchanaporn Chanida Lumthaweepaisal

Abstract

Local museums can no longer simply wait for visitors to come and see their exhibited interiors. They are tasked with community engagement and cultural continuity. They must remain relevant to their communities, but how? Recently, local museums, especially those promoting local history, have struggled to relate to rapidly changing and diverse communities. To ensure museums are community-centred spaces, this research suggests that their spatial components need rethinking. While exhibitions in local museums should be designed through a collaboration and co-creation process between museum staff and locals, semi-outdoor and exterior spaces could be organised to host community gatherings, cultural events, and public conveniences. The paper explores the spatial dialogue between exhibited interiors, semi-outdoor multifunction spaces, and cultural exteriors of four local museums in Thailand, including how they build communities and support cultural heritage. The paper elucidates that while the exhibited interiors of these local museums represent pride in treasures of the past, semi-outdoor multipurpose spaces and cultural exteriors support heritage continuity. With a combination of the three spatial components: exhibited interior, semi-outdoor multifunction space, and cultural exterior, local museums can look forward to a promising future.

Keywords: local museum, community, interior-exterior connection, culture

Article Details

How to Cite
Karnchanaporn, N., & Lumthaweepaisal, C. (2023). Spatial Dialogues between Exhibited Interiors and Cultural Exteriors: How Local Museums Connect to the Community. Interiority, 6(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v6i1.258
Author Biographies

Nuttinee Karnchanaporn, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Nuttinee Karnchanaporn is an Associate Professor at Interior Architecture Program, School of Architecture and Design, KMUTT and is a Vice President for Academic Affairs, Thailand Interior Designers' Association. Nuttinee holds PhD in Histories and Theories of Architecture from Architectural Association (UK), MFA in Interior Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (USA), and BFA in Interior Design from Silpakorn University (Thailand). Nuttinee is working in various fields: teaching, research, curatorial work, and writing on design-related issues. Her researches explore interiors in relation to spontaneous urban culture, domestic interiors, and civic space development in museum.

Chanida Lumthaweepaisal, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Chanida Lumthaweepaisal is a Bangkok-based interior architect who graduated with a Bachelor of Interior Architecture from School of Architecture and Design, KMUTT and a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture from Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. After graduation, she spent one year practicing as an interior designer at Studio Makkink & Bey Rotterdam. Chanida is currently Head of Spatial Environment and Experimental Design LAB (SEED LAB) and is an Assistant Professor in the Interior Architecture Program at the School of Architecture and Design, KMUTT. Her subject of interest is museum space, learning space, and residential design.

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