In this episode, Hava Gurevich sits down with Jason J. Stevens, founding principal and design director of Flutter and Wow Museum Projects, an exhibit design and fabrication studio based in Ann Arbor.

Jason shares his unconventional path from creative writing and the arts to a career designing museum experiences that make complex ideas engaging and accessible. The conversation explores the role of storytelling in exhibit design, the balance between creativity and research, and the satisfaction of building meaningful work behind the scenes.

Hava and Jason also discuss curiosity as a driving force, the difference between pursuing passion and finding daily gratification, and Jason's current collaboration with Michigan Indigenous communities to create a museum experience that challenges traditional ideas about collecting, displaying, and interpreting cultural objects. Together, they reflect on creativity, purpose, and the many ways stories can be told beyond the written page.

Flutter and WoW website:
https://www.flutterwow.com/

About Jason:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonjaystevens/
https://sliceannarbor.com/post/113274935686/jason-jay-stevens

In this conversation:
How Jason J. Stevens entered the world of museum exhibit design
What exhibit design and museum interpretation involve
Translating complicated subjects into accessible experiences
Designing the Shapes of the Universe physics exhibition
Making gravitational waves and the shape of the universe tangible
The research involved in designing museum exhibitions
Learning about the history of Alaskan aviation
How curiosity has shaped Jason’s creative career
Working across art, science, history and children’s museums
The pressure young people feel to identify a single passion
Why activities that provide comfort and gratification can offer a better guide
Working with Michigan Indigenous communities on a museum in St. Ignace
Listening, building trust and supporting a Native-driven vision
Rethinking how Indigenous objects are presented in museums
Why traditional museum displays can separate objects from their original purpose
How storytelling helps people make sense of experience
Museums and exhibitions as doorways into other worlds