Field Trip to Ministry of Awe and Shane Confectionery
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.
**Reflection**
What makes a place feel like somewhere? Is it because it has been designed to impress? Is it because it has been created to teach something? Is it because it's been standing for a long, long time? Is it because lots of people agree that it's important?
About this event
We’ll explore a 19th-century bank that stopped being a bank — and became a magical arthouse. Then we’ll visit a candy shop that has been making their buttercream chocolates in the same building since 1863 — and refuses, categorically, to be anything other than exactly what it is. Neither is a museum. Both have something urgent to teach us. The Lab for Radical Museum Futures is bringing museum professionals out of the conference and into the city because we want you to experience these signals of change first-hand.
Looking for another field trip? Here's the one to Philly Typewriter
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
At each stop, we'll get behind-the-scenes access: an insider overview of the Ministry of Awe's making, and at Shane, a special tour that includes the oldest operating elevator in the country. 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 at each stop: a set of prompts tuned specifically to that 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.
Both stops are in Old City, walkable from each other. Ministry of Awe is at 27 N. 3rd Street; Shane Confectionery is at 110 Market Street.
Ministry of Awe requires a ticket to enter. Shane Confectionery does not. After you register via Luma, we will share a group ticket link with a discount, or you can wait to purchase at the door.
About Ministry of Awe
"If you've been to a museum, a theater, a haunted house, a dream, maybe, we are not quite any of those things…. It changes; it grows new rooms in the night. It occasionally misbehaves. We consider that a feature, not a bug." — Meg Saligman, creator
"I would do everything here. I would have my wedding here. I would baptize my kid in this place." — artist Sam Cronick
About Shane Confectionery
"Shane Confectionery is a dying breed of stores that has been around for over 100 years. It is still housed in the same building where these high quality candies are handmade and boxed. The inside of the store is like a jewel box and the candies are so well displayed. It is hard to make a decision when you shop there." — Justin W., TripAdvisor
"Shane Confectionery has survived for a century and a half, and has seen the modern world come into its fruition. The future is ours to unfold." — Shane Confectionery's website
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