New trends in visible storage in museums

What exactly is ‘visible storage’ in today’s museum environment of greater accessibility, and how is it changing how museums are being designed and refitted?

It could be said that museums started as Wunderkammer, or ‘cabinets of curiosities’ – room-sized displays that emerged in the 16th century. They were defined by their clustered, eclectic collections of objets d’art and artefacts, largely amassed during merchant and aristocratic expeditions.

Deeply colonialist – agreed.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina