ABOUT THE PROJECT

What would happen if money could offer a different kind of value proposition, and triggered a more creative and enriching means of exchange? This project, called Money No Object, questions prevailing concepts of value, and playfully explores alternative ways to make a donation.

Using design interaction and digital innovation, Money No Object is re-imagining museum donation boxes by introducing a more entertaining and socially interactive process for considering and exchanging value within an arts and cultural institution.

Money No Object is a donations system, exploring the use of wearable technology and human contact through social gestures (such as a handshake or hug), as a method by which visitors can make a financial contribution to a museum – such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, where the project was most recently piloted. At the same time, the novel process of donating will aim to re-engage audiences with the broader value of museums, build connections between people, and strengthen social cohesion within a museum’s visitor community.

Working closely with the V&A, Money No Object considers a new significance for material and physical currencies in an increasingly immaterial and digital world, where smart payment transactions are imperceptible, but human emotions, creativity and culture are value that money can’t buy.