Pop-Up or Permanent? The Case of the Mardi Gras Museum

The Mardi Gras Museum (MGM) popped-up for the 35th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras but was quickly taken down (January 29–March 3, 2013). The necessity for permanent rather than temporary cultural interventions became a major issue in subsequent debates about establishing an LGBTQ+ museum. Indeed, in museum discourse, temporariness often precludes pop-up museums from being considered genuine museums. While recognizing these important critiques regarding temporariness, this chapter suggests that pop-ups are a new genre whose value comes through their subversion and strategic appropriation of museum conventions. Moreover, pop-up museums have advantages over more lasting cultural organizations including their community connections, flexibility, relative immunity to censorship, and encouragement of experimentation. For these reasons, pop-up museums warrant serious consideration

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• Visitors’ discursive responses to hegemonic and alternative museum narratives

  Laura Hodsdon•Critical Discourse Studies•2021

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