Field Trip to Philly Typewriter
Hosted by the Lab for Radical Museum Futures, in collaboration with Independent Museum Professionals
Leave the conference floor for an afternoon! Meet people who are asking the same questions you are — and ask them somewhere unexpected.
About this event
We'll visit a shop that sells, repairs, and manufactures typewriters — machines that were declared obsolete, and yet…. a place where people line up to touch something slow, mechanical, and permanent in a world full of convenience, obsolescence, and ghosting. Neither a museum nor an archive. Both, somehow, at once. And a signal worth reading carefully.
The Lab for Radical Museum Futures is bringing museum professionals out of the conference and into the city because we want you to experience signals of change first-hand.
Looking for another field trip? Here's the one to the Ministry of Awe and Shane Confectionery.
What we'll take away
A conversation with colleagues — some who are members of IMP! — who showed up for the same reason you did. And memories to carry back into your institution.
Whether you work in a historic house or a science center, a children's museum or a contemporary art space, you know the difference between a room that has walls and a room that is alive. You'll spend this afternoon feeling alive — and in the company of colleagues who are paying close attention.
How it works
We'll get deep access: a tour of the repair shop and manufacturing process, a look into an inventory that spans 130 years of history, and time to roam a showroom with over 100 typewriters you can actually use — paper, envelopes, and postage on hand for any letters you feel suddenly compelled to write.
BONUS: a live repair intake! The Lab is bringing a rare typewriter to be assessed by the the shop. We'll watch the diagnosis happen in front of you — the handling, the listening, the reading of an object's history through its damage. Evidently, the typewriter is a rare one (who knew! Not us!) If you've ever done a condition report, led a collections tour, or argued for conservation funding, this will feel familiar!
The afternoon moves at a wanderer's pace — we'll start at a specific time, but you can roll up late, and there's no required participation.
For those who want to go deeper, the Lab will offer a field guide: a set of prompts tuned specifically to this place. It's not homework, a worksheet, or an evaluation — we promise! — just a little something to sharpen what you're already noticing. Entirely opt in and there if you want it.
No conference badge required. Comfortable shoes are strongly encouraged. Bring your most generous attention — and maybe a letter you've been meaning to send!
About Philly Typewriter
"Philly Typewriter has the same goal each day: for you to take home a fully functional piece of history." — Broad Street Review
"People would appear, and I thought they were waiting for the bus. And they would tell me, 'We're here to see the typewriter repairman.'" — Bryan Kravitz, co-owner
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." — Bryan Kravitz, on the shop's unlikely revival
"AI on one side of us, robotics on the other side, and yet our table is still flooded. As human beings, I think we want this real tactile connection again." — Bill Rhoda, co-owner
"This place is part museum, vintage repair shop, community meeting place and typewriter warehouse." — Yelp reviewer
"You have a national resource right here in Philadelphia. Now go get those typewriters fixed." — Tom Hanks, calling a journalist back the morning after meeting him specifically to recommend the shop
Philly Typewriter is located at 1735 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia. After you register via Luma, we will share any relevant details for the visit.
About the Lab for Radical Museum Futures
The Lab for Radical Museum Futures is an independent practice combining futures thinking, speculative design, and embodied learning to help cultural workers navigate uncertainty and build imaginative capacity.
Learn more at radicalmuseumfutures.com