Devon Akmon is the director of the renovated and revitalized MSU Museum.

Conversation Highlights:

(0:20) – What’s been happening at the renovation and revitalization of the venerable MSU Museum?

(1:03) – Was the remodeling something you knew was necessary when you became director in 2021?

(1:49) – You found a way to stay open during the renovation.

(2:52) – What are you excited about in the renovated MSU Museum?

(4:06) – What are some current or future exhibits you’d like to highlight?

(5:38) – What are the MSU Museum’s priorities in the Uncommon Will Far Better World campaign?

(6:34) – What do you want us to know about the revitalized MSU Museum?

(7:14) – What are challenges and opportunities ahead for the MSU Museum and the entire arts industry?

Conversation Transcript:

Russ White (00:00):

Well, it's great to welcome Devon Akmon back to MSU Today. Devon is the director of the Michigan State University Museum. Devon, welcome back. Thanks for having me on the show. So Devon, the museum has been closed for a while. I'm not sure if you're saying refurbished, modernized. What are you saying has happened to the museum?

Devon Akmon (00:21):

Certainly a lot has been happening. I would like to call it a renovation.

Speaker 1 (00:24):

Renovation, I like it.

Speaker 2 (00:26):

The museum has never been in a building that was purposely built for museums. So where we are today on the Circle was previously the library. So we've been in, the museum has been in that building for about 75 years. And this is the first infrastructural upgrade to the building, meaning heating, cooling, windows, all the things that make a museum flourish and make us excellent at stewardship of the collection.

Speaker 1 (00:52):

And Devon, did you kind of know when you took over in 2021, we need to renovate? Or was that part of even why you took the job knowing we would renovate? 

Speaker 2 (01:04):

Certainly it was a priority from day one. So we are really proud that the Michigan State University Museum is accredited and less than 5% of museums are. There are 35,000 museums in the nation. Less than 5% are accredited. However, because of the accreditation standards, we were very concerned would we be able to continue with that designation given we didn't have heating and cooling. So from day one at that time, it was Provost Woodruff and Vice Provost Stoddard and I, we discussed this and made it a priority. And with the collective leadership, were able to get that vital support from our board of trustees who agreed this is an investment we need to make here at MSU.

Speaker 1 (01:41):

But you didn't really close completely, right? You stayed alive in the new MSU Credit Union building. You were there. Talk about how you stayed open and alive.

Speaker 2 (01:49):

So we've been really working to revitalize the museum. I don't think that most people recognize that the MSU Museum was founded in 1857 with the first incoming class of students here. And I always tell people MSU had two great visions. One, this notion of a land grant, and two, a museum that would help with teaching, learning, public engagement, research. So as we've been rethinking what a museum could be in the 21st century post pandemic, we were making great inroads and we knew that by shutting down for 18 months, we would be at a disadvantage. We wouldn't be able to serve our students and faculty in the community. So with the gracious support of our friends at MSU FCU, they provided us with a space where we had exhibitions and programming and a host of activity happening for about 18 months. We just closed down that gallery last week and now we're eagerly anticipating the reopening of the museum.

Speaker 1 (02:40):

So Devon, it's renovated. Tell us about what the renovation looks like. What are you excited about? What are some of the changes? Obviously some of the infrastructure, but what are you excited about in the renovated museum?

Speaker 2 (02:52):

Well, certainly the upgrades, new windows, all these things that will make it a comfortable and stable environment and enable us to do more forward-looking collection stewardship. However, we were able to renovate and upgrade some of the spaces in the museum as well. So the Forest Acres Trust has been phenomenal and they granted us $2 million to reenvision our lower level. So now we have a new immersive lab for faculty and students to engage more closely with our one million objects and specimens in our collection. We have more experiential learning galleries now because of this where we can collaborate with our students and faculty to build exhibitions. It doesn't have to just be the professional staff, but we also have other spaces in the museum for teaching, learning. We've included two new community, what we're calling lounges for students so that they can just drop in and hang out.

(03:42):

We recognize that our students need a third space that's not their dorm or apartment or the classroom where they can just hang and spend some time on campus. So we're thinking about what it means to be vital social infrastructure on campus and then of course all the exhibitions and programming.

Speaker 1 (03:58):

And speaking of exhibitions, as we're now back open here in 2026, talk about some of them that are going on now or coming up that you want to highlight.

Speaker 2 (04:07):

Well, I think we've got an array of really exciting stuff coming down the pipeline here in the next two years. But as we open, one of the first exhibitions we'll have is called Blurred Realities. And that's looking at information, disinformation, what is real, what is fabricated, and how do we navigate that today? That's a pernicious issue that is a society we're dealing with. And we used an open call to solicit the content for this and we had 250 submissions from 32 countries, but only eight made it into the exhibition. And then we have a whole host of programming that will support that. This year marks our 25th anniversary as a Smithsonian affiliate. So we're also going to be presenting a show called X-ray Vision: Fish Inside and Out, which comes from the Smithsonian's national collection of fishes, the largest and most comprehensive in the nation.

(04:54):

So this enables us to look at scientific specimens in new ways, but it's beautiful. It looks like art. So whatever your choosing is, there's something there for you. And then there's just an array of other things that we're doing as well. I think our programming schedule, we continue to offer unwind the first Friday of every month where students can just come and hang out on Friday nights and things of that nature. So there's going to be a lot of new things, a lot of things that are unexpected and forward looking as we head into our new chapter.

Speaker 1 (05:26):

That's cool. And Devon, the university is well underway with its uncommon will, far better world campaign. Talk about some of the museum's priorities in the campaign and how those that are interested can help.

Speaker 2 (05:38):

Indeed. So as I mentioned, this was a $28 million plus project, but we are trying to raise another $20 million at the MSU Museum. And these funds will largely enable us to continue rethinking our core gallery spaces. Some of those galleries hadn't been updated in 50 years. Moving forward, we would like our semi-permanent galleries to be rotated every five years or so and having even more robust temporary gallery shows. So a lot of the revenues that we're trying to garner through this campaign are meant to support this bold new vision. And again, our refocus as an institution is largely about being an interdisciplinary museum, which is largely uncommon in the U.S. And I think this is a place where MSU can be a leader and a lot of the funds from the campaign will help us to explore the edges of this new work.

Speaker 1 (06:28):

Devon, just sort of summarize what you'd like us to know about the renovated museum and how you'd like us all to interact.

Speaker 2 (06:35):

Well, I think if people are looking for a more experiential museum, one that is really looking at the defining topics that are shaping our society today, this is your place. There's an on- ramp for everybody, whether you love science or culture or technology, the humanities, they all come together at the MSU Museum. And again, through our bold relationship with the Smithsonian, we're going to be doing really exciting programs in the near future.

Speaker 1 (06:59):

And Devon, one last thing we've talked about before, just sort of both the challenges and opportunities for the MSU Museum, I guess museums in general, really the arts industry. Are we still coming out of COVID in a way? Where are we? What's ahead?

Speaker 2 (07:15):

Well, it's a really challenging time. Russ, I think as you know, I serve as the board chair of the American Alliance of Museums. And we just put out a report recently showing that attendance is down nationwide in museums. It's actually at pre- 2019 levels. There's a lot of reasons why this is happening. I would argue one is that we're competing more and more for people's time and attention with more experiential opportunities out there, but I also think we're fighting against algorithms. They're so pervasive in our lives. Next book you should read. The next movie you should watch. We as museums also have to figure out these new technologies to better our business models and to make sure we are relevant to our communities.

Speaker 1 (07:52):

Well, it's museum.msu.edu checkout and attend the renovated MSU Museum there on Circle Drive. And we've been talking with Devon Akmon, the director of the MSU Museum. Devon, great to see you and all the best moving forward with the museum. Always good talking with you. Thanks so much. I'm Russ White. This is MSU Today.