Summary of the impact

Theatrum Mundi: Armarium is a highly significant collaborative art work by University of Cumbria Professor of Fine Art Robert Williams and renowned US artist Mark Dion, which has often been cited by scholars, curators and critics from the worlds of art, archaeology, literature and museology as an influential work that explores the nature of collections, collaborative art practice and museum oriented contemporary art work within what is often referred to as `institutional critique'.

As an early example of a collection based piece of work in contemporary art, the work has also had significant impact on the resurgence of the use of cabinets of curiosity or wunderkammer as a prominent modern artistic theme, influencing artistic practice.