Step into the world's smallest museum
- Text by HUCK HQ
- Photography by Nick Heller
“Recent years have certainly been alive with beauty and horror, great invention and destruction,” explains the anonymous recorded voice that guides visitors through New York’s City’s Mmuseumm. “And the artefacts of today’s world found between the cracks of our communities are the physical embodiment of contemporary humanity.”
Nestled in an alley in Lower Manhattan, Mmuseumm is perhaps the world’s smallest museum. The converted elevator shaft plays host to a rotating selection of cultural flotsam and jetsam, curated to help viewers make sense of the mystery and madness of life today.
Objects on display have varied from fake IDs and NYC tip jars to items Dr. Robert Insley has removed from his patients in Chatham, Massachusetts and Stefan Ruiz’s collection of prison-made tools and artwork.
“Intimate illustrations, honest proof… contemporary artefacts,” according to our invisible telephone guide. “What we consider our cultural DNA, to more richly illustrate humanise and understand this modern world.”
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to make sure you never miss another Huck short film.
Find out more about Mmuseumm, 4 Cortlandt Alley, b/t Franklin St & White St, New York City.
Film by Nicolas Heller – @NuevaYorkNico. Music by Falside.
Latest on Huck
Tender, carefree portraits of young Ukrainians before the war
Diary of a Stolen Youth — On the day that a temporary ceasefire is announced, a new series from photographer Nastya Platinova looks back at Kyiv’s bubbling youth culture before Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. It presents a visual window for young people into a possible future, as well as the past.
Written by: Hannah Bentley
Analogue Appreciation: 47SOUL
Dualism — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s Palestinian shamstep pioneers 47SOUL.
Written by: 47SOUL
Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene
Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Amid tensions in Eastern Europe, young Latvians are reviving their country’s folk rhythms
Spaces Between the Beats — The Baltic nation’s ancient melodies have long been a symbol of resistance, but as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, new generations of singers and dancers are taking them to the mainstream.
Written by: Jack Styler
Uwade: “I was determined to transcend popular opinion”
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Nigerian-born, South Carolina-raised indie-soul singer Uwade.
Written by: Uwade
Inside the obscured, closeted habitats of Britain’s exotic pets
“I have a few animals...” — For his new series, photographer Jonty Clark went behind closed doors to meet rare animal owners, finding ethical grey areas and close bonds.
Written by: Hannah Bentley
