PLAY! 


The Autry Musseum
June 2017 – January 2018

“At the Autry Museum, the vintage toys of ‘Play!’ are serious fun.”
—LA Times

Featured in Designing for Kids: Creating for Playing, Learning, and Growing, by Krystina Castella


"We are delighted to introduce a space that encourages our visitors to learn with one another, be reminded of their own experiences, and have fun while creating new memories with friends and family." 
—Rick West, then Autry President and CEO
A multigenerational exhibition exploring the universal experience of play across cultures, time, and the American West. Drawing on more than 200 objects from the Autry's own collections — from a Mogollon clay cooking jar made around 1500 BC to Mattel's original 1959 Barbie — the exhibition traced the social meanings of toys and the changing nature of childhood from the 19th century through the present. Across 5,300 square feet of interior gallery space, four thematic sections — Go Outside!, Learning to Be a Grown-Up, Make Believe, and Game Changer — transformed the galleries into a series of immersive, whimsically themed environments: an outdoor play space complete with a tree swing, a walk-in playhouse, a performance stage, and a media wall. The exhibition extended beyond the gallery walls into the museum's outdoor spaces, incorporating playground games and activations on the Autry Lawn to create a fully realized experience for visitors of all ages.

| Creative + Art direction, Illustration, Spacial + Graphic + Furniture + Interactive Design

Team 
| Curation: Carolyn Bruken, Sarah Wilson 
| Media + Technology Development and Fabrication: Anton Lieberman 
| Installation Collaborators: Mac Maker, Cryptic Industries, Brett Hatcher
| Designers: Alan Konishi, Gene Wyrick, Erika Martin–Honles 
| Illustrators: Erika Martin-Honles
| Studio: Autry Museum