On the occasion of the Norsk Teknisk Museum’s 100th anniversary and also the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 the museum has – in collaboration with Ralph Appelbaum Associates and Tamschick Media + Space – developed a ground-breaking, participatory exhibition that invites the Museum’s visitors to participate in a dialog concerning historic and future relationships between technology and democracy.
The TING is a celebration of the museum’s foundation, showcasing the depth of the museum’s collections and relevance to address historic and future technological and social issues. TING is also an occasion to highlight the museum’s role as a space for public discourse and an advocate for democratic values by hosting an open debate on the
exhibit floor.
Ting in its ancient form is a governing assembly and a court – a place where things (Tings) are put up for discussion. This is precisely how the exhibition works: a selected group of objects representing revolutionary technologies are put into the TING for discussion. In each TING session visitors evaluate technologies for their positive and negative impacts on the establishment, fostering and practice of democracy in society . Visitors then collectively formulate an outcome by voting on a series of questions posed by a moderator.
The physical design of the TING is based on the ancient form of a circular gathering space but is implemented with modern exhibition techniques that combine dramatic, object-based displays, bold graphics, large-scale interactive media and film and
facilitated programming. Visitors participating in the TING experience realise that any one technology has many possible uses and meanings and can have profound impacts on the well being of our society on the whole. But through thoughtful debate and collective choice making we can shape the world we live in. The entire experience thus reflects on the democratic process itself, and seeks to inspire in visitors a commitment to participate in ongoing debates concerning the relationship of technology to democracy.
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