Preserving Culture Through Interactive Storytelling

Posters have always been powerful tools for communication — from protest movements to cultural revolutions. They capture a moment in time, express urgency, and inspire action. But in today’s digital world, these works are too often reduced to flat images, stripped of their original impact and context.

This project set out to change that by reimagining posters as living, interactive webpages. Each exhibit becomes its own digital artwork: a page you can scroll, explore, and feel.

An Open-Source Approach

What makes this project different is that it’s fully open-source. The museum is not a closed archive but a collaborative platform:

• Anyone can add new exhibits, designing their own interactive posters as React pages.

• Contributors can enrich existing works with translations, context, and sources.

• The community can help grow the museum into a collective cultural archive.

By opening the doors to contribution, the museum grows beyond a single voice. It becomes a living project that adapts, expands, and preserves culture through shared effort.

Example Exhibit:

The Burning Monk

(1963)

One of the first exhibits recreates the story of Thích Quảng Đức, the Vietnamese monk who set himself on fire to protest religious persecution.

The page begins in silence, with a single flickering flame. As you scroll, the flame grows, revealing the silhouette of the monk. Historical context and headlines fade in, and a blurred photograph gradually becomes visible. The exhibit closes with an invitation to light digital candles — turning the viewing into an act of reflection.

It’s not just information. It’s an experience.

Why It Matters

This museum is about more than design — it’s about:

• Preservation: Keeping cultural artifacts alive in a form that can’t be lost to time or locked away in archives.

• Education: Embedding history and context directly into each exhibit.

• Collaboration: Allowing a community of artists, developers, educators, and historians to contribute.

• Engagement: Transforming passive viewing into active, emotional interaction.

The Vision Ahead

The long-term goal is to build a living online museum:

• A place where posters and protest art are reborn as digital experiences.

• A space where contributors worldwide can add, translate, and preserve exhibits.

• A project that demonstrates how open-source collaboration can safeguard culture and history.