#42 - Architecture, Museums, and Public Discourse, with Alyssum Skjeie

Design Voice Podcast

Alyssum Skjeie is a museum professional focused on presenting multi-faceted stories related to architecture and history. She is the new Director of El Pueblo History Museum in Pueblo, CO. In her new role she is eager to learn more about the Southern Colorado region in order to create collaborative exhibitions with the community. Prior to moving to Pueblo last December she lived and worked in Pittsburgh, PA for 8+ years. In her time there she was part of the Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art, and curated or was a team member for over 20 architecture exhibitions and countless public programs. Significant exhibitions Alyssum curated are Sketch to Structure (2015) and Copy + Paste; The Hall of Architecture (2017-2018). She also particularly enjoyed being an integral team member on HACLab Pittsburgh: Imagining the Modern (2015-2016) and Lina Bo Bardi Draws (2019).

In her free time Alyssum runs, hikes, and quilts. She started hosting architecture runs in Pittsburgh as a way to share her love of both running and buildings. Colorado architecture runs are coming soon. She currently enjoys summiting the mountain peaks near Pueblo.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Alyssum’s journey of studying design, to studying architecture history, to becoming a museum professional
• Alyssum’s love of introducing architecture to the public
• How exhibits have the power to raise questions and engage people in public discourse about architecture and design
• The importance of people being able to express what they like or don’t like about their cities
• Using your voice to talk about what you want to see in museums
• Exploring architecture through movement, and Alyssum’s architecture running tours in Pittsburgh
• Alyssum’s new role as Director of El Pueblo History Museum, and her goals of creating collaborative exhibits with the community.