What is the role of a museum today? A place for quiet contemplation? A giant fun house? A really artsy mall? Museums are wildly diverse in their sizes, annual operating budgets, missions, and their urban context.

This summer 15 public high school students from across the Hudson Valley participated in an Urban Investigation project in collaboration with CUP, the Dia Art Foundation, and teaching artist Katarzyna Balug. The group asked: "What is the role of a museum in a city?" 

To get answers, they interviewed directors, curators, and educators from art and historical museums as well as artists, academics, and cultural consultants to examine different ways a museum can impact a city. Through their research, museums were portrayed as temples for reflection, educational institutions, tourist magnets, and incubators for community activities.

Back in the classroom, the group prototyped museums for centuries from now: museums that lack walls, that are utopian, dystopian, carved from precious stones, or run by residents. These models form the bedrock of an illustrated booklet they created to teach others what they learned and present alternative museum futures. The book will be available for sale at the event and as a free download on the CUP and Dia websites.