Museum exhibitions can seem, to the untrained eye, like a done deal once they’re open to the public. Yet, creating an exhibition typically takes months or even years of planning and preparation to create an immersive exhibit that effectively and creatively communicates its ideas. To understand what happens in creating the exhibitions at a museum, here is a general overview of how exhibitions are developed from concept to opening.
First: The Concept
An exhibition begins with a concept, which is a clear definition of what the exhibition is about. This is what drives an exhibition from start to finish. A concept can be about any number of topics, including a specific time period, a topic, or theme; a cultural event, or a certain collection of objects. At this point in the development process, the curators and other relevant researchers identify possible story lines that could help tell this story and determine if there is anything in the museum collections or elsewhere to support the content.
Finding and Researching the Objects
In the next phase of exhibition development, objects for the show are selected from a museum’s permanent collection or on loan from private individuals, museums, or public and nonprofit entities. Each object has to be chosen based on its content value or the historical significance of the object as well as its ability to fit the overall narrative. A considerable amount of research on each object is required. Once objects are chosen, conservators prepare the object, document and research every object to understand where it fits in context with the story of the exhibition.
Designing the Exhibition Environment
Exhibition designers then start the process of planning and designing the space based on what they have learned from curators. The exhibition is designed to communicate the content story line by planning out the layout of the exhibit to ensure an appropriate flow of information to the visitor. Designers must also decide where and how best to install objects as well as the lighting, graphic design elements, and other visual components of the display.
Preparation and Installation
Following the design and layout of an exhibition, conservators and fabricators will work to prepare each object for the show, followed by the installation team and the fabricators to create the environment itself. Every object in an exhibition must have a mount (the stand or frame upon which the object rests); some of these mounts must be hidden in a manner appropriate to how the exhibit tells its story. The technical team then lights each area and makes the final touch-ups before the exhibition can be opened to the public.
The Opening
Finally, when the exhibition is ready for public viewing, it is ready to tell its story. Throughout the exhibition’s run in the gallery, museum curators and staff will watch the public to see how they react, and sometimes even ask visitors questions. The success of an exhibition is gauged by its effectiveness in getting its story across and its success is ultimately measured by the reactions of the public it is meant for.
Conclusion
To develop an exhibition, a wide range of people are involved, including researchers, designers, curators, conservators, and fabricators, as well as technical teams for lighting and graphic design work. It takes all these people to successfully turn a basic concept into a fully developed public exhibition. Once this process is complete, the exhibition can open to the public to communicate effectively and creatively the ideas it has.