Keep the provenance.
An idea grows stronger when its origins remain legible.
The collection doorway to Bank of Memebankofmemes.org
Bank of Meme
Keep the culture in circulation.
A public vault for ideas worth keeping.
Open the charter ↘CHARTER 01A different instinct for a familiar institution.SCROLL TO EXPLORE ↓
01 / THE CHARTER
Change what the institution is for.
A single meme can give a feeling a name. A collection can reveal the language of a whole culture. Bank of Memes is a new doorway into the Bank of Meme idea: preserve what is useful and make its meaning available to the next person.
Bank of Meme is a proposed public collection of useful, hopeful, and beautifully portable ideas. Every entry should preserve its source, explain its context, and invite a thoughtful next use.
A rich culture has more people able to draw on its memory. Open the vault. Find something worth passing on. Add your care to the next version.
This is the founding charter: an invitation to develop the ideas below.
02 / THE PRINCIPLES
Preserve the context.
Store the meaning alongside the memorable form.
Make withdrawal generous.
Help readers share work with appropriate credit and permission.
IDEAS TO MAKE REAL.
PROPOSED DIRECTIONSThe First Hundred Deposits
A proposed annotated opening collection of useful ideas, visual explanations, and cultural artifacts.
EXPLORATIONThe Context Card
A proposed simple format for recording the source, meaning, and responsible reuse of a meme.
EXPLORATIONThe Open Vault Journal
A proposed occasional editorial exploring why certain ideas stay with us.
EXPLORATION03 / KEEP EXPLORING
ONE INSTITUTION.
A WHOLE WORLD
AROUND IT.
Read the charter and explore its proposed directions. Carry an idea into your own creative work, then follow the neighboring institutions in the web.