Laogai Museum: Breaking Ground

These animations were created by designminds for the Laogai Museum design

Scale Model of Laogai Museum design by designminds

Layout of museum by topic - designminds

Laogai Museum Entryway - designminds

Human Rights in China Timeline design - designminds

Inside the new Laogai Museum - designminds

We’ve been happy to work with designminds, a local exhibit design firm.

A very warm welcome to the Laogai Museum blog! We’ve created this blog to engage with you, our supporters, to keep you informed as we move over to our new space in Washington, DC’s Dupont Circle neighborhood.
In its short history, our tiny little museum in Logan Circle has played host to some very important guests, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Uyghur human rights activist and Rafto Prize winner Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, renowned democracy activist Mr. Xu Wenli, Wild Swans author Jung Chang, and many more. Perhaps more importantly, it has become a physical space for conversation on human rights in China. The story of the Laogai must be told, and in many ways we have accomplished that goal. But the next step is for the story to be heard.

It is for this reason that we’ll be moving into the space the Laogai Museum deserves. We’ve hired museum designers Design Minds, who won the 2008 American Association of Museums Exhibition of the Year award for their work with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. They will spend the better part of the next year working side by side with our research team to deliver the best museum experience possible. Meanwhile, PoweJones Architects PC and Monarc Construction will work on transforming a grand old Victorian building into a living, breathing museum and office space while preserving the historical integrity of the structure.

Our new space will offer something for both first-time and repeat visitors. In addition to the exhibition, which will be centered on the 40 million personal stories of the Laogai, we’ll be hosting a lecture series, film screenings, press conferences, and changing exhibitions.
The new Laogai Museum will truly be the center of the conversation on human rights in China. To make a project like this successful takes the support of people like you. We need your help. You’re in at the ground floor, and we hope you’ll always be there as we grow into something greater. Help us spread the word!