Apparently, that’s the question in China these days. According to a recent article in the Economist, there is a “Museum Boom” in China.

I decided to examine this museum issue a little further given the nomenclature we chose for our community.

Through the results of a quick internet search of the term “museum boom,” I discovered that this phenomenon has occurred in other countries. Articles have been written about museum booms in Japan, Poland, the US, Holland, England and Estonia.

So what gives with all these museum booms? There seem to be many different reasons. In some cases, new political systems allow for the construction of buildings and such that were disallowed under old regimes. Or, as in Japan in the 1990s, museums were built to house all the art that had been purchased a decade earlier. Museums have also been viewed as a means to boost a cities cultural standing, to generate revenues, or to spur gentrification. On an individual level, perhaps someone has amassed a collection of art and decides to build their own museum, as was the case for the Rubins who opened the Rubin Museum of Art to house their collection of art from the Himalayan region. Whatever the reason, there has been no shortage of debate when the construction of a new museum is announced.

In China, the mission of museum building is not quite clear. In the Economist article, some see it as “vying to outdo one other with architectural wonders.” Well, then what are they putting inside?

And, some have lamented, “only in Beijing would they be bulldozing genuine, historic architectural decorations to rubble while at the same time making fake ones for a museum.” This sentiment was in an article by the Telegraph’s Richard Spencer last year.

Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out. In the meantime, we’ve been quiet over here on the Oddblog, because we’ve been renovating our Muzeum. We’ve only got one, but there’s room for all the stuff that they’re making in China should they run out of space on the walls, or should the museum building bonanza stop in the name of preserving history.

You might then ask, “why did Oddpodz build its Muzeum? And, what’s with the ‘z.’” Well, we’ll start with the ‘z.’ Everything we do is a little different. Why? Because, if you always do things the way you’ve done them, you are going to get what you have always gotten. And, that’s not us. We thrive on new ideas and innovation. We wanted to create an online destination that was more than just a temple to art, and that was not constrained by walls or conventional thinking.

The Muzeum is home to the ‘global nation of creatives.’ It is an online destination where people can showcase their ideas, connect, collaborate and make things happen. Our citizens are optimistic, independent thinking, creative change agents. It will be a lively intersection for thinkers and doers.

We chose ‘Muzeum’ as the name for our community because ‘offline’ museums are places, where people go to socialize, meet friends, view collections of various things, learn, listen to music, get inspired, discuss, debate or quietly reflect. One may even aspire to be featured center stage as part of a show. You will be able to do all of that here. Our Muzeum is not limited to a single genre, because the world does not exist and problem solving does not happen in silos. Truly creative minds solve problems by connecting seemingly unrelated dots from different experiences and arenas. Oddpodz’ Muzeum has citizens from a plethora of professions, hobbies, interests, educations and geographic locales. There are chefs, teachers, painters, engineers, writers, accountants, farmers, nurses and bassoonists (just to name a few). There is a wealth of experiences, viewpoints and ideas to learn from and connect with.

There will be some fantastic ideas generated and problems solved. Some ideas may be the result of a contest that Oddpodz develops, while some may spring up organically.

So, as museum booms continue around the globe, our Muzeum continues to evolve as a work in progress. We have room for plenty of people, ideas and things AND we are not destroying history. We are making it. Hope you will join us.