Feature: Tiniest museum in NYC celebrates vernacular objects

What can you possibly do with a 30-square-foot space in Manhattan? A food stall? A moving library? Or even better.

Four years ago, New Yorker Alex Kalman, together with two of his friends, turned an abandoned elevator shaft of this size into a petite museum.

Located on Cortlandt Alley, an industrial-aura street in downtown Manhattan, Mmuseumm could be easily ignored by passersby, as it is hidden behind a normal iron gate with three small windows.

There seems to be nothing special on the outside, but if you are observant enough and peer into the windows, you'll find a new world. This, according to Kalman, is part of the fun, as "we have to be curious and we have to engage with the world around us."

"The inspiration of Mmuseumm was thinking of museums as a place to come and learn about the world that we are living in," said Kalman, "and to do that using a language that is not just made of masterpieces of art or modern art, or looking at art of ancient civilisations."

Instead, Kalman turned his eyes to the objects surrounding us, "that are very intimate and revealing," in his own words.

Now entering Season 5, with its yearly changing themes, the museum celebrates the beauty of vernacular objects, including some personal objects of immigration found on U.S.-Mexico border, fake U.S. fast-food franchises in Iran, last messages received from your friends or relatives, and so on.

There are some 200 objects on display, fit into 15 shelves. Each shelf features an exhibition covering a different story.

You can find stuffed animals, bottles of perfume, toys, and products in early 2000s featuring Donald Trump, the now presumptive GOP nominee. Each one is painstakingly found via Kalman's personal network.

"We are looking for everyday objects, ones that tell a very compelling and revealing story about who we are, and to be able to look at these things around us and realize we were designed and created out of narratives and out of emotions that apply to us all," explained Kalman, "and allow us to reflect on who we are through these everyday objects."

Mini as the museum is, it has opened its second location just a few steps away, a 4x4 foot model titled "Future Aleppo." The model is constructed out of wood, card, paper, sponge, and so on by a 14-year-old Syrian boy Mohammed Qutaish. Witnessing his hometown destroyed by missiles and bullets, the wanna-be-architect illustrated the hometown in his dream with the model.

Mmuseumm seeks relevance to everyday life, and the idea of humanity. It defies the general perception that museums should be collection of rare of precious items; it also challenges the harsh reality that New York is one of the most packed cities in the world.

"I think museums are meant to provide a way looking at the world that we are living in, and exploring and understanding who we are in a very fun way," said Kalman.

Some people pass by, and some Google it. Every weekend, Mmuseumm receives around 300 people. Jame Maher, a local photographer, told Xinhua that this is one of his favourite little hidden gems in the city.

"It fits the spirit of the city," he said. "You can have a place that is off the path, that people stumble across, it has our spirit in it, because it is just an experience." Endit