Not An Alternative (est. 2004) is a collective that works at the intersection of art, activism, and critical theory. We have a mission to affect popular understandings of histories, symbols, and institutions. Our projects have taken place in museums nationally and internationally, including Guggenheim, PS1/MOMA, Queens Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum, and Museo del Arte Moderno, and our work was cited in The New York Times and ArtNet’s “Best in Art in 2015” round-ups.
Not An Alternative’s latest, ongoing project is The Natural History Museum (NHM, 2014—), a pop-up museum that highlights the socio-political forces that shape nature, yet are excluded from traditional natural history museums. As a “Trojan horse” strategy, NHM aims not only to critique the museum sector as it exists but also to transform it into a vital infrastructure for environmental struggle. NHM operates in a range of venues, including art museums, our mobile museum bus, major conventions for museum professionals, and within traditional natural history museums. NHM collaborates with artists, community groups, scientists, and museum professionals to create new narratives about our shared history and future, with the goal of educating the public, measurably influencing public opinion, and inspiring collective action.