IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT

Museum Innovations | Keelan Cashmore

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What do you think of when I say the words “art museum?”

Maybe it’s something like this: 

An image of the outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Source.

Or maybe more like this:

An image of the outside of the Louvre. Source.

Chances are, it’s not something like this:

An image of the outside of Happy Place. Source.

Now you might be asking “what exactly is that?”

That is Happy Place!

Happy Place is an immersive pop-up art experience that debuted in November 2017 in Los Angeles, California. After two successful runs in L.A., and one in Chicago, Happy Place has come to Harbourfront Centre in Toronto! 

Part of the Happy Place Candy Room. Photo courtesy of Keelan Cashmore. 

Thanks to social media, Happy Place has become an internet sensation! It’s Instagram page @wearehappyplace has 150, 000 followers, and the hashtags #wearehappyplace and #captureyourhappy show hundreds of photos of the various exhibits within. 

The Happy Place Upside Down Room. Photo courtesy of Keelan Cashmore.

Happy Place was designed as a place where people can literally be happy. Everything throughout the exhibit reflects that; from the colour to the exhibits, everything is designed to put you in a good mood.

So – why do I classify this as a “museum” and not simply a “pop-up experience?”

Because Happy Place embodies the next generation of museums.

A prominent topic in museum studies I’ve noticed lately has been determining what defines a museum. The general consensus appears to be that the term “museum” is coming to encompass so much more than before. Today, “museum” can be used to represent a variety of establishments. These can include attractions like zoos, historic houses, or national parks. They can also include internet sensations, such as Toronto’s Myseum.

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There are a couple of weeks left to check out the ‘Discounted Histories’ and ‘Dressing Toronto’ exhibits at @tomediaarts! It’s been a great month so far, and we’ve loved seeing and meeting the people who’ve come through to the exhibits, as well as at the various events that have taken place. . The hours for the exhibit are as follows: Wed-Fri 11am-7pm. Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. . The doors are east of the main condo entrance on the north side of the building that faces onto Lisgar Park. . The building is wheelchair accessible. . Please visit the link in bio for more information about our Discounted Histories exhibition. . 📸: @elijahnichols_ . . . . . #Toronto #Exhibition #Exhibit #History #Fashion #Torontohistory #torontofashion #torontoigers #thesix #igtoronto #torontoevents #instatoronto #discountedhistories #myseum

A post shared by MYSEUM OF TORONTO (@myseumtoronto) on Nov 19, 2018 at 9:55am PST

Myseum is an innovative museum model that moves throughout Toronto. It is dedicated to showcasing the history, spaces, cultures, architecture, and people that represent Toronto. If something like Myseum is a museum, why not something like Happy Place?

Along with defining what a museum can and cannot be, calling Happy Place a simple pop-up, in my opinion, negates the artistry and craft work that has gone into creating the exhibits.

One of the rooms, Superbloom, consists of 40,000 hand crafted flowers (source). 

Happy Place Superbloom Room. Source.

The exhibit also features two murals by Toronto based artist Jasmin Pannu. The first of these is a maple leaf mural, and the second is used as a backdrop to a canoe and depicts an image of Canadian nature (source). 

Mural designed by Toronto artist Jasmin Pannu. Source.

A pop-up experience, especially one designed around art, is no different than other innovative museum models. No, the experience of Happy Place is not like going to see an exhibit on Rembrandt or Picasso, but it is still a place where art is featured. All of the exhibits were designed by Los Angeles artists in collaboration with Happy Place creator, Jared Paul. 

Why should we avoid recognizing their work as art, simply because it might not be what we're used to seeing?

The Happy Place Ducky Cubby. Photo courtesy of Keelan Cashmore.

Happy Place also embodies more traditional aspects of museums. For example, the staff often act as guides, showing people where to go, explaining how to interact with the space, and taking photographs. There is also a focus on conserving and preserving the art work. Each room has its own set of rules for what can be handled and how.

Overall, I think it’s important to remember that museums have evolved and changed exponentially over the years, and they will continue to change.

As time goes on and the definition of “museum” changes, it’s important to remain open to new possibilities and everything the museum field has to offer!