Museum of Fantasy

Working title for the institutional/exhibition arm of the Dungeon Books nonprofit. Also referred to as DungeonArts (dungeonarts.org).

Concept

The first cultural institution dedicated to tabletop gaming, speculative fiction, analog play, and surrounding alternative culture — RPGs, TCGs, indie zines, occult literature, underground publishing, fantasy art, worldbuilding as creative practice. See founding-statement for the full thesis.

Why it matters

First-generation tabletop RPG culture (original D&D, AD&D, Traveller players) is aging out. No institution is systematically collecting original artifacts, recording oral histories, or preserving the material culture. The acquisition window is closing every year.

Precedents

• Noguchi Museum — artist founds institution around own collection, cheap industrial space
• City Lights Books — bookstore as cultural institution
• Museum of Jurassic Technology — small storefront, specific vision, irreplaceability as survival strategy (MacArthur Fellowship 2001)

Contacts

• tyler-gaw — potential design/tech collaborator, DungeonArts.org
• haleigh-ciel — mom is Chief of Staff at MAD (Museum of Art and Design, NYC), gateway to museum world

Related

• founding-statement — institutional model and preservation urgency
• nonprofit-strategy — 501(c)(3) incorporation, funding timeline
• expansion-strategy — space design, grant sources
• guild-achievements — ARG / museum experience concept