A Museum for Now is a new place for thought, discussion and ideas about what a museum should be - and needs to be - in an ever-changing world.

Its aim is to explore the mission and form of museums in a changing world, including responses to the climate emergency; changing trends in people’s expectations and behaviours; technological innovations and revolutions - and the ever-growing need to engage with and be accessible to more and diverse groups of people in our society. 

A Museum for Now was set up by the architects, exhibition and graphic design team from Nissen Richards Studio and was first started during the first Coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. The museums we were working with were forced to close their doors and rethink their strategies. At the same time, we also started to think about values - and the value of our work - in the cultural sector.

This new thinking was broadened and deepened by two other initiatives, which interconnect with A Museum for Now’s mission. The first was an invitation to edit a chapter on the future of the Civic & Cultural sector in a post-pandemic world for the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) for their RETHINK Design Guide, for which we brought in expertise from both creative partners and clients at The British Museum and The Natural History Museum. The second was the new Architecture Unit we have begun to teach at London Metropolitan University, which explores museums in a changing world.

About Nissen Richards Studio

Nissen Richards Studio is an award-winning design studio based in London, working across architecture, exhibition design, graphic design, theatre design and interpretation. We work with museums and cultural organisations to design exhibitions and experiences, both nationally and internationally.