Manual of Museum Exhibitions (A Lord Cultural Resources Book)

All museum activities converge in the very public forum of the exhibition. Whether large or small, exhibitions are responsible for driving museum attendance and revenue as well as showcasing new research and engaging audiences in new ideas. As museums move from a transmission to a visitor-centered model, exhibitions are more experience driven, participatory, and interactive, built around multiple perspectives and powerful storytelling. The exhibition development process is more complex than ever as audiences demand more dynamic, diverse and inclusive experiences. Museum leaders, interpretive planners, designers, and curators are rising to the challenges in innovative ways. This manual details the exhibition process in a straightforward way that can be easily adapted by institutions of any size. It explores the exhibition planning and development process in a wealth of detail, providing the technical and practical methodologies museum professionals need today. This 3 rd edition includes many new features and expanded chapters on evaluation, virtual exhibitions multimedia, travelling exhibition, curiosity and motivation, DEAI (diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion), while retaining the essential content related to interpretive planning, roles and responsibility, and content development. New and exciting case studies, exhibition examples, and more than 200 color photos and figures illustrate every step of the process. No museum or museum professional can be without this critical guide to an essential function. MANUAL OF MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS 1 Contents 4 Foreword 10 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 14 Chapter 1 Introduction: The Exhibition Development Process 16 PART I: WHY? 20 Chapter 2 Museums and Their Exhibitions 22 2.1. The Trust Factor 23 2.2. Exhibitions as Agents of Transformation 23 2.3. Museums as Activist Institutions 25 2.4. Corporate Sponsorship: How Close is Too Close? 27 2.5. The Way Forward 28 Chapter 3 Where Do Exhibition Ideas Come From? 32 3.1. Research-Based and Market-Driven Exhibitions 33 3.2. Planning for Exhibition Research 33 PART II: WHERE? 38 Chapter 4 Exhibition Facilities 40 4.1. A World of Exhibition Spaces 41 4.2. Developing Design Criteria for Exhibition Spaces 42 4.3. Exhibition Space Characteristics 52 4.4. Exhibition Gallery Security 66 4.5. Accessibility, Adjacency, and Circulation 70 PART III: WHAT? 74 Chapter 5 Permanent Collection Exhibitions 76 5.1. Planning for Permanent Collection Exhibitions 76 5.2. Changing Permanent Collection Displays 78 5.3. Interpreting Collections 79 5.4. Modes of Display 81 Chapter 6 It’s Not Always about Collections 88 6.1. Idea Exhibitions 88 6.2. Children’s Exhibitions 91 6.3. Living History Exhibitions 94 6.4. Science Exhibitions 96 6.5. Digital Immersive Exhibitions 98 Case Study: Weston Family Innovation Learning Centre, Terms of Engagement at the Ontario Science Centre 100 Chapter 7 Virtual Exhibitions 104 7.1. What is a Virtual Exhibition? 104 7.2. Why Develop a Virtual Exhibition? 105 7.3. Thinking About Digital Audiences 110 7.4. Virtual Exhibition Considerations 114 7.5. Virtual Exhibition Development Process 126 7.6. Tips for Smaller Museums that Want to go Digital 127 Case Study: Extending the Life of a Traveling Exhibition, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, United States 128 Chapter 8 Temporary Exhibitions 134 8.1 Types of Exhibitions in a Temporary Exhibition Program 135 8.2 Managing a Temporary Exhibition Program 140 8.3 Making Space for Temporary Exhibitions 142 8.4 Public and Educational Programming 144 8.5 Marketing and Public Relations 144 8.6 Funding and Resourcing a Temporary Exhibition Program 145 8.7 Generating Revenue 146 Chapter 9 Traveling Exhibitions 148 9.1 Why Create a Traveling Exhibition Program? 149 9.2 Strategize for Success 150 9.3 Staff and Professional Resources 152 9.4 Loan Agreements 153 9.5 Designing and Preparing an Exhibition for Travel 154 9.6 Managing the Tour 156 9.7 Borrowers and Organizers 159 Case Study: Natural History Museum London’s Touring Exhibition Program, An Interview with Jan English, Head of Touring Exhibitions 160 Interview: Traveling Exhibitions in a Changing World, with Antonio Rodriguez, Chairman of the Board, International Committee for Exhibition Exchange (ICOM, ICEE) 163 PART IV: WHO? 166 Chapter 10 Exhibitions and Diversity, Equality, Accessibility, and Inclusion 168 10.1 Implications for Exhibitions 169 10.2 Reflections: Fulfillment of Our Promise 172 Case Study: Activating Change: DEAI, Community, and Evaluation, An Interview with Cheryl Blackman, Director of Museums and Heritage Services for the City of Toronto, Canada 175 Chapter 11 Curiosity and Motivation 180 11.1 Cultivating Curiosity 180 11.2 Learning and Exhibitions 184 11.3 Understanding Audience Experiences, Motivations, and Preferences in Exhibitions 186 Chapter 12 Evaluation 192 12.1 Measuring Success by Gail Lord 192 12.2 Before, During, and After: Front-End, Formative, Remedial, and Summative Evaluation by Duncan Grewcock 194 12.3 Qualitative and Quantitative Audience by Barbara Soren and Jackie Armstrong 202 Case Study: University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Front-End and Formative Visitor Study Using Multiple Methods 216 PART V: HOW? 224 Chapter 13 Roles and Responsibilities 226 13.1 Who’s Involved in the Exhibition Process? 226 13.2 Teams and Committees 230 13.3 Contracting Expertise 232 13.4 Making Decisions 232 Case Study: Oakland Museum of California Exhibition Process with Valerie Huaco, Deputy Director and Chief Content Officer 233 Case Study: Roles and Responsibilities in a Small Museum: The Central Bank Museum of Trinidad and Tobago 236 Chapter 14 Preparing the Exhibition Brief 238 14.1 Formulating the Exhibition Concept 238 14.2 Exhibition Brief 241 Case Study: Canada Day 1 Traveling Exhibition 246 Chapter 15 Interpretive Planning 248 15.1 Preplanning, Research, and Visioning 251 15.2 Interpretive Strategy 252 15.3 Organizational and Thematic Frameworks 254 15.4 Organizational and Thematic Frameworks from around the World 256 15.5 Communication Objectives/Visitor Outcomes 264 15.6 Interpretive Plan 264 Case Study: University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, Exploring Michigan 265 Case Study: Capitol Visitor Center Exhibition Hall, Washington, DC: Excerpts from the Interpretive Plan 268 Chapter 16 Content Development 272 16.1 Research Planning 273 16.2 Collections Research and Selection 275 16.3 Exhibition Text by Patchen Barss 278 16.4 Image Research and Procurement 283 16.5 Hands-On Exhibits, Models, and Dioramas 288 16.6 Multimedia Exhibits 289 16.7 Subject Matter Experts 293 Case Study: Working with Subject Matter Experts: Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax, Canada 294 16.8 Communities and Content 297 Case Study: Creating with Community The First Peoples Exhibition at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum, a Shared Endeavor of Museums Victoria and the Victorian Aboriginal Community 298 Case Study: Indigenous-Led Design and Content Development: Indigenous Peoples Garden, Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba 302 Chapter 17 Exhibition Design 304 17.1 The Design Process 305 17.2 Exhibition Display Cases by Mike Chaplin 316 17.3 Lighting Design by Kevin Shaw 323 17.4 Green Design 329 Case Study: Exhibitions and Museums in India: Challenges and Opportunities 332 Chapter 18 Graphic Design 334 18.1 Semiotics in Design 334 18.2 Graphic Design Phases 336 18.3 Graphic Design Elements 338 18.3.2 Color 345 18.4 Imagery 348 18.5 Design Essentials 348 Chapter 19 Multimedia 350 19.1 Strategic Role 351 19.2 Types of Multimedia 352 19.3 Operationalizing Multimedia 366 Case Study: Rights of Passage Exhibition at Canadian Museum for Human Rights 371 Case Study: Mandela: Struggle for Freedom Traveling Exhibition 375 Chapter 20 Fabrication and Installation 378 20.1 Who Will Produce the Exhibition? 378 20.2 Design-Bid-Build or Design-Build: What’s the Difference? 379 20.3 Contracting 381 20.4 The Production Process 383 20.5 Tracking and Scheduling 390 20.6 Warranty 391 Case Study: Creative Contracting by the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum 392 Chapter 21 Financial Planning 394 21.1 Creating an Exhibition Budget 394 21.2 Direct Exhibition Costs 399 21.3 Related Exhibition Costs 401 21.4 Managing the Budget 402 Case Study: Budget Stretching with In-Kind Contributions 404 Chapter 22. Effective Exhibition Project Management 406 22.1 The Role of Project Management and Why it is Needed 407 22.2 A Team Effort 407 22.3 Applying Project Management Methodology 409 22.4 Certifications and Continuous Learning 418 22.5 Completing the Tasks 418 Chapter 23 Conclusion: The Future of Exhibition-Making 420 Glossary 426 Select Bibliography 440 Index 452 About the Editor 472 About the Contributors 474 Manual of Museum Exhibitions, Third Edition details the exhibition process in a straightforward way that can be easily adapted by institutions of any size. It explores the exhibition planning and development process in a wealth of detail, providing the technical and practical methodologies museum professionals need today. This 3rd edition includes many new features and expanded chapters on evaluation, virtual exhibitions, multimedia, travelling exhibitions, curiosity and motivation, DEAI (diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion), while retaining the essential content related to interpretive planning, roles and responsibility, and content development. New and exciting case studies, exhibition examples, and more than 200 color photos and figures illustrate every step of the process. No museum or museum professional can be without this critical guide to an essential function "All museum activities converge in the public forum of the exhibition - regardless of whether the exhibit is held in the physical museum or is on the Web. Since the first edition of this book in 2002, there has been a world-wide explosion of new galleries and exhibition halls, and new ideas about how exhibitions should look and communicate. The definition of what an exhibition is has changed as exhibitions can now be virtual; non-traditional migratory and pop-up spaces play host to temporary displays; social media has created amazing opportunities for participatory engagement and shifted authority away from experts to the public; and as time-constrained audiences demand more dynamic, interactive, and mobile applications, museum leadership, managers, staff, and designers are rising to these challenges in innovative ways."--back cover. "Drawing on years of experience, Maria Piacente details the exhibition process in a straightforward way that can be easily adapted by institutions of any size. She and her contributing authors explore the exhibition development process in greater detail, providing the technical and practical methodologies museum professionals need today"-- Provided by publisher