Exhibitions!

It’s finally here – the second edition of the Manual of Museum Exhibitions, a practical guide on how to budget, plan, design and manage your exhibition projects. Since the first edition was published in 2002, our definition of what an exhibition is has changed. While objects and works of art are still paramount, many are virtual, participatory and pop-up migratory experiences. New forms of technology from social media applications to complex integrated systems are challenging the bottom line as well as how we operate.

This second edition of the Manual of Museum Exhibitions explores the exhibition development process in greater detail, providing the technical and practical methodologies museum professionals need today. In particular, we have included whole new and expanded chapters on project management, financial planning, participatory exhibitions and interactive multimedia while retaining the essentials of interpretive planning, curatorship, and roles and responsibilities.

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Interpretive Planning

If we understand that exhibitions are about meaning, communication and affective transformation, it follows that they are not first and foremost a problem of design, but rather a challenge in planning for effective communication. Interpretive planning has emerged as a distinct and respected discipline in museology and one of the more critical tasks in the exhibition development process. A well-structured interpretive plan will not only provide the foundation for a powerful visitor experience, but also become a crucial decisionmaking and organizational tool throughout design and implementation.

What about Content?

We often forget how critical content development and coordination is during the design phase of a project. An exhibition may be creatively designed with the most exquisite finishes and the coolest technology, but without rich and engaging content the visitor experience will be flat, inauthentic and unsatisfying. Researching, interpreting, selecting and procuring artifacts, images, video and stories, as well as writing text is a massive and often underestimated undertaking. Not only do we need to ensure that the content is right, we also have to package it for the design and fabrication teams so that it gets incorporated correctly!

Financial Planning

A well-managed budget can enable creativity, aid in decision-making, and ensure a successful project. Managed poorly, a budget will be a cause for frustration, backtracking, and a significant stumbling block for realizing the Museum’s vision. The first step is establishing a budget that is appropriate to the desired size, quality and complexity of the exhibition. As this Table illustrates, a major cost driver for today’s exhibitions is the level of multimedia that needs to be incorporated.

The pie chart illustrates average budget allocations for key exhibition development categories.

Gallery One at the Cleveland Museum of Art

In January 2013, the Cleveland Museum of Art unveiled Gallery One, a unique and state-of-the-art space dedicated to interpreting the Museum’s permanent collection through hands-on and technology-based interactives. While the scope and sophistication of the digital technology is remarkable – the gallery currently features the largest multi-touch micro tile screen in the United States – the success of the gallery lies in how these technologies have fostered new ways for visitors to engage with the collection and with each other.

Photo: The Collection Wall in Gallery One, Cleveland Museum of Art. © Cleveland Museum of Art.