Museum Environments

04/29/2026

¡El ritmo llegó! 🎶🔥 What an incredible opening night for ¡Puro Ritmo! The Musical Journey of Salsa at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino. The energy in the room said it all — the people showed up, and the space came alive exactly the way it was meant to.
It was an honor to design this exhibition for the , bringing salsa's rich story — from the dance halls of Havana to the clubs of New York City and beyond — to life through space, light, and nearly 300 objects that tell this powerful cultural journey.
To the entire team at Museum Environments, our partners at the National Museum of the American Latino, and everyone who poured their passion into this project: gracias. This one was truly a labor of love. 🙏
Explore the exhibition now at the Molina Family Latino Gallery, National Museum of American History.

04/17/2026

🎶 The beat is almost here.
¡Puro Ritmo! The Musical Journey of Salsa opens April 18 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History — and we are so proud to have brought this space to life.
From the dance halls of Havana to the clubs of New York City and beyond, this bilingual, multimedia exhibition tells the story of how salsa became one of America's great musical traditions. Nearly 300 artifacts. Iconic costumes from Celia Cruz. The legacies of Tito Puente and so many more legends and hidden pioneers who shaped a global sound.
At Museum Environments, we believe great design should do more than display — it should make you feel. Designing the environment for ¡Puro Ritmo! meant honoring the rhythm, energy, and cultural depth of a tradition that has moved people for generations. We hope visitors feel that the moment they walk in.
This is more than a music exhibit — it's a celebration of culture, community, migration, and identity woven into every rhythm.
If you're in the D.C. area, mark your calendar for April 18. There's a free Salsa Family Festival from 12–5 PM with live music, dance lessons, and gallery tours to kick things off.
Some stories deserve to be told loudly. 🔊

04/10/2026

We’re pleased to announce Museum Environments designer, Desmaras, is set to open a new exhibit with the Institution at The American History Museum. Set to open on April 18th 2026 in the Molina Family Latino Gallery, ¡Puro Ritmo! is an exhibition on the origins of salsa music. This is our third exhibition for The Museum of The American Latino.

11/05/2025

At the NEMA conference drumming interest in exhibit design.

08/19/2025

Helping NMAL with the design of their Pop-up exhibit that is traveling the nation. Happy with the results: A variety of spaces in one booth.

02/07/2024

The exhibition "Video Games the Great Connector" is the latest project by Museum Environments/Branded Environments LLC. It is a project we deem as giving back to the community of Harlem, where we have our offices. The exhibition frames video games as much more than a way to pastime. Instead, it's a medium of discovery and connection. The Harlem Gallery of Science funded and organized the project. Stan Altman, Ph.D., and Brian Schwartz, Ph.D., professors at CCNY, are mission-driven leaders that made this possible. Ashlyn Sparrow, Barry Joseph, and Nick Martinez were the edu-curators, and Marlyka Williams was the graphic designer. Museum Environments merged design with design management by employing simple "big ideas" to achieve an exhibit effect with an economy of means. I missed the opening party due to illness, yet seeing the visitor's engagement in this clip is fun.
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/human-interest/2024/02/04/gaming-to-the-next-level-in-harlem #

NY1's Roger Clark reports.

09/24/2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/23/arts/latino-museum-american-smithsonian.html
Is it challenging to see this exhibit as Marxist? And what if there were mentions of left-leaning persons and events? Museums have the 1st Amendment right to exhibit history, and in addition, they do it with scholarly accuracy.
The ¡Presente! exhibit displays a copy of the Star Bangle Banner in Spanish. Is that controversial? There is a prominent display of a styrofoam Cuban raft made by Balseros to get to the U.S., A very liberty-affirming message. There is a 30-foot case displaying the success of Latinx people in the United States. The exhibit was cautious and did not mention Lo**ta Lebrón or the Ponce Massacre, for example, though it would have been in their right, for they were actual historical events. I hope such attacks on our institutions will provoke the opposite reaction to garner more support in defense of them.

Partisan battles over America’s past, and divisions among Latinos, are affecting this new institution set to be built on the National Mall.

06/21/2023

Museum Environments wins
Built Environment Award
Core77 Design Awards 2023

Thanks to everyone that participated in this project: Quinn Evans Architects, Cinnabar, Andres Clerici, Melinda Zoephel, Alejandro Kiesel, Isabel Urbina, Rafael López, Potion Design, to name a few. A project team list is included on the announcement page.

American History is the first Smithsonian gallery dedicated to Latino history and culture. The gallery's curatorial goal is to claim emphatically claim that "Latino history is American history." The breadth and ambition of this statement required us to open the design process to a transdisciplinary....

05/16/2023

We helped MOCA on the second iteration of their Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy exhibit. This time it is located in the Tangram Mall in Flushing.
https://www.mocanyc.org/event/sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-tangram/

05/15/2023

AAM Conference in Denver
Embedding Inclusion in the Design Process of the Molina Family Latino Gallery
Accessibility was always a priority during the design and production of the Molina Family Latino Gallery. Thanks to the National Museum of the American Latino leadership, the efforts were multidisciplinary and cross-departmental.
I especially wish to invite other exhibit designers to our session. We will talk about how we include inclusion as a design value. From the first day, we talked to consultants and tested prototypes with people who have lived experience with disability.
Saturday May 20th, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM MDT 507, Colorado Convention Center