The Race for Survival: How Museums are Changing Formats to Keep up with Time

There are poppy and puppy faces on Instagram reels that also include people walking down their heads and crawling through their hands- this is a modern-era museum, and in particular, the Paradox Museum in Mumbai. 

Long gone is the time when the museum world just held the static repositories of artefacts; it is everything about storytelling, social media, and immersive experiences now, perhaps an added layer to the traditional settings of how museums would like.

The newly opened Paradox incorporates ways to ensure active participation through optical illusions, immersive installations, and hands-on exhibits, making it apart from the conventional setting of a museum. Moreover, as the museum claims, it is an integration of storytelling, visual trickery, and digital technology that creates a multi-sensory journey that feels more like an adventure than a museum visit.

But how did the need to go beyond the conventional setting of the museums come into the picture in the first place? Perhaps, the answer can lead to a lot of reasons. While it includes a shift in modern interests, museums also deal with the high maintenance costs. Other than the government-managed museums, it becomes hard for the private players to exist in the ecosystem due to the lack of sustainable revenue generation from the operations.

For Amit Misra, from the Paradox museum, the rise of experimental museums stems from a cultural shift in how people, especially younger audiences, consume experiences. “In a digital and social media-driven world, visitors seek out spaces that are visually striking, interactive, and emotionally engaging. Traditional museum models often struggle to hold attention spans, while experiential museums cater to the demand for Instagram-worthy moments, hands-on learning, and immersive environments,” he says, adding that this shift reflects a broader trend where audiences prioritise memory-making and active participation over passive observation.

The expected and essential surge

The past few years have seen a surge in experimental museums. Mumbai also has welcomed the unique Museums of Solutions, an interactive children’s museum to keep up with modern interests. While in Delhi, some of them, like the Museums of Illusions or the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum, have been recent establishments to match the interests. 

As a matter of fact, the newer outlook of the museums has all been defined by a few common attributes like interactive exhibitions that mostly incorporate virtual and augmented reality. There has also been the addition of video walls, holographic displays to these establishments. Some of the innovations have also led to the newer concepts in the industry, like an experiential agency specialising in Museums. Currently, C S Direkt, founded by Sanjeev Pasrichat, is a popular name in this domain. 

These modifications, in turn, have helped the private players to survive, which, otherwise, would have been difficult. Misra, the Marketing Head for Paradox, admits that the “experimental formats” offer significant advantages. “By creating such a space that might be both entertaining and educational, there is a chance of expansion concerning the target audience to also include influencers, families, school groups, and tourists. This wider appeal translates to higher footfalls and increased revenue streams—from ticket sales to merchandise, café experiences, and brand collaborations,” he says, adding that the experimental model transforms a static museum into a dynamic, evolving brand experience. 

Old wrapped in new

To be able to tap into the business opportunities or the increase in footfall that might result from the modifications, even the old museums have been aiming to revamp their experiences curated by them. The FD Alpaiwalla Museum is the best example of that. 

Located in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill and originally established in 1952, the museum was opened to highlight the history and Culture of the Parsi Irani Zoroastrian Community. It has recently been opened with the changes. “We have totally reimagined the museum in the process of upgrading the museum,” says the Honorary Advisor Pheroza J Godrej.

She told Local Samosa that the museum has introduced a model of a Parsi Tower of Silence, a 9 metre long glass etching of the western staircase of the Royal Hall of Persepolis, the Achaemenian Palace in Iran. Along with that, there has been an addition to the stylised porcelain display of a porcelain shop in Canton. 

“We have recreated the living room of a wealthy Parsi merchant in the 19th century, and we have a Walk-in Fire Temple where you can view the inner sanctum of a fire temple where the sacred fire is housed,” says another advisor for the museum, Firoza Punthakey Mistree. 

While Ms. Godrej and Mistree refrain from commenting on whether or not this model will work as it opened late March, they believe that innovation and creativity have to be the stepping stones to grab eyeballs. “It is a fast-moving world where change is the order of the day, and the ability of the youth to be attentive and focused is a challenge,” Ms. Mistree says.