There are some pleasant, subtle changes at the entrance of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “When you walk in the front door, you are now greeted by someone,” MAM’s first-ever Chief Experience Officer Scott Schwebel says. “You don’t just walk up to a desk, because the desks are gone.”
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Moving the desks marks a return to Santiago Calatrava’s original design for the space. It’s also a prime example of how Schwebel, who joined in October, approaches MAM from a hospitality perspective.
In his eyes, the museum experience starts when visitors pull up to the curb, and ends, hopefully, with them walking out with merch – stickers and T-shirts were a big part of Schwebel’s success as former vice president of brand, marketing and retail for Colectivo Coffee.
“Museums are challenging places to know how to act; they’re intimidating,” says Schwebel, who wants to introduce music and sound cues to mark movement through the museum and, when possible, correspond with the art. “When I think about this place, it’s alive. It’s not quiet and stoic and intimidating. I want it to be inspiring.”
