Scratch and sniff wall at the Color Factory

A "selfie museum" or "Instagram museum" is a type of art gallery or

installation Installation may refer to: * Installation (computer programs) * Installation, work of installation art * Installation, military base * Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...

designed to provide a setting for visitors to pose in photographs to be posted on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

sites such as

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. Typical features of exhibits in a selfie museum include colorful backdrops, oversize props, and optical illusions such as

anamorphosis Anamorphosis is a distorted projection requiring the viewer to occupy a specific vantage point, use special devices, or both to view a recognizable image. It is used in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, toys, and film special e ...

. 29Rooms, a three-day immersive art installation created by

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 i ...

in 2015 in New York City, has been cited as the first example of this type of facility. The

Museum of Ice Cream Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) is an art installation and experiential museum that operates in several cities across the United States. The company has expanded internationally with locations in Singapore, and China. MOIC aims to transform the con ...

, opened in 2016, is also credited as a major catalyst of selfie museums. By 2019, there were reportedly dozens of selfie museums across the United States. They faced challenges in 2020 when most were forced to close temporarily due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Some predecessors to this trend from the

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

world have been identified, such as ''

Rain Room ''Rain Room'' is a 2012 experiential artwork by Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass of Random International, which found its first permanent installation in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in 2018. The piece had previously shown in a number of intern ...

'', '' Urban Light'', and the mirrored rooms of

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, and is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attribute ...

. The large-scale experimental artworks exhibited at the Burning Man festival have also been cited as an influence, as well as the artist collective

Meow Wolf Meow Wolf is an American arts and entertainment company that creates large-scale interactive and immersive art installations. Founded in 2008, its flagship attraction, ''House of Eternal Return'' in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a facility, which ...

. Some commentators have criticized the use of the word "museum" to describe these establishments. Unlike traditional museums, which are often non-profit organizations with an educational mission, selfie museums are almost always for-profit businesses, earning money through admission fees and, in some cases, corporate sponsorships. Museum of Ice Cream founder Maryellis Bunn has expressed regret over using the word, and coined the term "experium" (a portmanteau of "experience" and "museum") to describe such businesses. Selfie museums are an example of experiential commerce. Many are

pop-up exhibition A pop-up exhibition is a temporary art event, less formal than a gallery or museum but more formal than private artistic showing of work. Pop-up exhibits are erroneously called pop-up museums, such as the Museum of Ice Cream but do not fit the Int ...

s, opening for only a few months in a particular location, while others are permanent.

Notable examples

* Color Factory * Dessert Museum *

* Museum of Pizza

Notable examples

References

Further reading