Empowered: Building Healthy Communities Together

Kayla Van Name
Exhibition and Experience Design

About this Item

Title
Empowered: Building Healthy Communities Together
Contributor Names
Van Name, Kayla (Author)
Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Exhibition and Experience Design (Degree granting institution)
Waisman, Kate (Thesis advisor)
Date
2022
Degree Information
M.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York 2022.
Department: Exhibition and Experience Design.
Advisors: Waisman, Kate. Committee members: Lyons, Christina.
Abstract
This document is comprised of two sections. The first section explores the thesis of implementing intergenerational experiences in designed exhibitions to provide opportunities for socially isolated older adults to engage with others in ways that are accessible, personally meaningful, and inspiring. Through research, case studies, prototyping and interviews, I examine existing intergenerational program models and identify key strategies and best practices for developing mutually beneficial, highly engaging experiences. I then explore how these practices can be adapted and applied to an exhibition environment to promote various levels of social contact, accommodate the needs of all participants, and minimize the need for facilitator involvement.The second section describes a proposed project that applies the strategies explored in my thesis to the design of an innovative experience. Additional research of the target audience as well as the selection of a proposed subject, venue, and client allow for a deeper investigation of the thesis and demonstrates the use of designed exhibition elements. The proposed project validates the potential for intergenerational engagement in exhibitions to provide approachable opportunities for older and younger participants to freely engage with one another, leading older adults to discover a renewed sense of purpose, and ultimately reducing the negative impacts of social isolation on the aging population. Through the thesis and the proposed project, this paper identifies a design methodology for exhibitions to develop flexible and accessible shared spaces that foster intergenerational social interactions for isolated older audiences.
Subject
Museum exhibits
Intergenerational relations
Intergenerational communication
Museum studies
Museums--Social aspects
Museum visitors
Rights
In Copyright
The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
Identifier
FIT Repository ID: etd_000879
pqdiss: 28963270
ISBN: 9798790646553
Related Materials
Also available from ProQuest
Type
Text
Thesis
Language
eng
Publisher
Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Citation

Van Name, K. (2022). Empowered: Building Healthy Communities Together [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/3993
Van Name, Kayla. Empowered: Building Healthy Communities Together. 2022. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Digital Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/3993
Van Name, Kayla. "Empowered: Building Healthy Communities Together." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2022. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/3993