A few months after I moved to Chicago, I attempted to visit the Museum of Holography with a friend who was in town. Unfortunately, we discovered that the museum was closed indefinitely. The collections have been locked away for years at this point, but that’s beginning to change. An anonymous benefactor has assured that the collection will remain intact, and volunteer efforts are underway to sort, clean, accession, and catalogue the materials in the former museum. I attended a object handling and cleaning training session in the old space this weekend and spent some time after helping to clean holograms for the upcoming temporary display at SoHo House. It was so heartening to see people coming together to lend their time and expertise to benefit this amazing collection, and it was fantastic being able to view and handle some truly unique objects. There’s so much to the story of this museum and its holdings, and I hope that it can develop into a permanent museum again someday soon.
The exhibition featuring highlights from the Museum of Holography is on display July 28th from 7pm - 10pm at SoHo House.
There are so many treasures in this collection!
Reviewing some preservation issues: glass plates that are fused together.
Collections awaiting processing.
