Word: Fransisca Bianca
Photos: Artsy

Maybe in our reality today, the thought of entering a world without capitalism becomes outrageous, ridiculous even. But the mere thought and wonder of what the world would actually be like without it is just what the Museum of Capitalism in Oakland, California is trying to evoke through its exhibitions. Regarding the mission of the museum itself, its statement is the following, “Much of the evidence of capitalism is either eroding over time or simply not known or easily accessible to the public. Our ambition is to connect and integrate these many efforts before the evidence is erased forever.”

The establishment of the museum perhaps is heavily influenced by a statement from British political theorist Alex Callinicos, who suggested that one day there would be a museum to memorialize capitalism, just as we have museums of apartheid and communism today while speaking on a panel. By touring the museum, visitors may find thought-evoking installations regarding the current world’s primary economic system. Take for instance an interactive installation by Christy Chow (a Hong Kong artist) where visitors are given glimpses of the step-by-step process of garment assembling in a Chinese factory through a video while they run on a treadmill. Another installation is a massive piece of steel container as part of a sculpture by Gabby Miller (a Vietnamese-American artist). The message behind the installation is to remind visitors how container ship shipments from Oakland to Vietnam played a huge role during the Vietnam War.

The main idea of the museum is to simply make capitalism recognizable to the visitors. According to the curators, nowadays capitalism is so often performed that it becomes ubiquitous and invisible. And apparently ironically, the only way to make people aware of the fact is by presenting the possibilities of a world without it.