Mmuseumm

In Spring 2020 a unique little space will be reopened to the public in New York city...

Some months ago, on its front and inner pages, The New York Times devoted many column inches to this unusual museum on Cortland Alley in the TriBeCa area which occupies 36 square feet. Its name is the Mmuseumm. 

The Met’s famous Sargent of a woman in a clinging velvet dress, which is 96 inches high (including frame) would have had to come in via the roof, that is, if Mmuseumm had a roof, which it doesn’t as it occupies what used to be a freight elevator facing directly onto the street.

Its 2019 exhibition included Objects of Collapse, a display of everyday items with almost the same names as brand-name products – in other words, knockoffs. Not Colgate but Colcote, not Head & Shoulders but Hoed & Shouders and Oleos in place of Oreos. 

Mmuseumm measures 6 feet x 6 x 6’3” high, with museum-white walls and red velvet linings on the shelves. The owner and curator is Alex Kalman. He describes what he does as Object Journalism and says: "I think I curate more like an editor at a magazine or a newspaper in the sense that we’re thinking about compelling stories, we’re thinking about relevant stories. These seemingly ordinary objects, they’re intimate and they’re incredibly revealing. So, you can explore big ideas through these small objects.”

The Book Collector covered miniature books not long ago. In this era of expensive real estate (and thus shelf space) miniature is quite clearly the way to go, especially if it gets you onto the front page of The New York Times.

We look forward to seeing what the Mmuseumm has to offer in 2020 and would happily receive any reviews from our readers who venture through its doors.