Fascinating concept. Now I want to see more gallery-type games. Reminds me of Monster's Expedition and Namco Museum. Also reminds me of a game I want to play, Museum of Mechanics: Lockpicking
While admiring the art I figured they must have been drawn by different artists because of all the different styles, so I was surprised to find out it was all you! Very impressive range and imagination.
It's fun to observe an artifact, have some thoughts about it, and then read the story behind it. Your game made me realize it's a good and simple framework for storytelling in games.
I kinda wished there was some connection between the stories. Like a linear sequence of events, told out of order because of the layout of the exhibit. Or like, some of the artists knew each other or something. Even if it was a tenuous connection, like a shared name (stole that from Calvino).
It was not immediately obvious to me that when I looped around, the museum had changed slightly. I thought I had just reached the end of the game, so I closed it, but then I read your description and went through the rest of the game.