Nathan Adkisson

Nathan Adkisson is creative director at Local Projects, the National Design Award-winning exhibition and experience design studio. From the studio's downtown Manhattan headquarters, Adkisson leads multidisciplinary teams spanning architecture, graphic design, UX, media, content, and creative technology.

During more than 12 years with the company, he has helped grow Local Projects from an innovative media workshop into one of the world's leading full-service experience design agencies.

He was a key member of the team that created Planet Word, Washington, DC's museum of words and language, renowned for its pioneering voice-activated interactive experiences. At the University of Maryland, Adkisson led the design of Do Good Plaza, an interactive outdoor installation that blends art, education, and advocacy and now attracts more than 20,000 visitors annually.

In Georgia, he helped reimagine the Columbus Museum during its $25 million renovation, creating a new welcome experience and Children's Gallery inspired by the local landscape. The project later earned national recognition as USA Today's Best New Museum in America.

Recently opened major projects led by Adkisson include Camouflage: Designed to Deceive at the International Spy Museum,
the reimagining of Miami's Freedom Tower, and the United Nations Visitor Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

Across every project, Adkisson champions the philosophy behind the studio's name: every experience should be rooted in its people, its culture, and its place.

He began his career as a journalist and brings a reporter's commitment to factual rigour, diversity of voices, and broad audience appeal to his work. He frequently speaks at AAM and other museum conferences and previously served on the Museum Computer Network (MCN) board.

"Nathan works closely with curators, academics, researchers, executives, and community members to create unforgettable public experiences. His collaborative process emphasises audience testing and co-creation with diverse visitor groups, including students," said one person who nominated Adkisson.