The Manual of Museum Exhibitions

EDITED BY BARRY LORD AND GAIL DEXTER LORD

PRESS A Division of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.

Walnut Creek Lanham New York Oxford

Contents
List of figures List of tables List of contributors Foreword, with acknowledgements Barry Lord and Gail Dexter Lord
CHAPTER
XI

xin xvi

xxiv

INTRODUCTION: THE EXHIBITION PLANNING PROCESS

Gail Dexter Lord

PARTI
CHAPTER 2

WHY?
THE PURPOSE OF MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS 11

2.1 2.2 2.3

Barry Lord Exhibitions as a Function of Museums Museum Exhibitions as the Communication of Meaning Modes of Exhibition Apprehension Case Study 2.1:
Exhibitions at the Corning Museum of Glass: Combining Modes of Visitor Apprehension David Whitehouse

12 15 19 23

CHAPTER 3

WHERE DO EXHIBITION IDEAS COME FROM?

27

3.1 3.2 3.3

Research-based and Market-driven Exhibitions Barry Lord Planning for Exhibition Research Barry Lord Exhibition Ideas: Integrating the Voices of Communities and Audiences Margaret May
Case Study 3.1:
HuupuKwanunrTupaat Out of the Mist,Treasures of the Nuu<hah-nu\th Chiefs Royal British Columbia Museum.Victoria Martha Black -

27 29 32
35

CONTENTS

III

CHAPTER 4

4.1 4.2

HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN WE GETTHERE? EXHIBITION EVALUATION The Role of Market Analysis Kate Sellers Before, During and After: Front-end, Formative and Summative Evaluation Duncan Grewcock Case Study 4.1:
Evaluation for a permanent exhibition about the work of conservators Caught inTime at National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside
Anne Pennington

39 39

44
54

4.3

Qualitative and Quantitative Audience Research Barbara Soren

58

PART II

WHERE?
Space and Facilities for Exhibitions
67
69

CHAPTER 5

PLANNING A N D DESIGNING EXHIBITION FACILITIES

5.1

Developing Design Criteria for Exhibition Space Heather Maximea

Case Study 5.1: " Design Criteria:The International Glass Museum.Tacoma,Washington Heather Maximea

73
74

5.2

Projecting Display Space Requirements Heather Maximea Case Study 5.2:

Visible Storage at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Heather Maximea

76 86

5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7

Behind the Scenes: Support Activities and Facilities Heather Maximea Access, Adjacency and Circulation Heather Maximea Preserving Collections in Exhibitions Murray Frost Security and Public Safety in Exhibitions Peter Osborne Exhibition Accessibility Kristin Johnson

90 98 110 124 134

IV

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 6

EXHIBITION GALLERIES

143

6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5

Heather Maximea Galleries for Art or Archives Galleries for Artefacts or Specimens Children's Museum and Science Centre Galleries Study Spaces Multi-purpose Public Spaces Case Study 6.1:
One New Kind of Gallery: Discovery Libraries at the Denver A r t Museum Patterson B Williams

144 148 153 158 159 160

Case Study 6.2:

Alaska Native Heritage Center: 'A Gathering of Traditions', Anchorage, Alaska Heather Maximea

164

6.6 6.7 6.8

CHAPTER 7

Light and Colour in the Galleries Gallery Structure Materials and Finishes GALLERY FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT Display Cases Till Hahn Lighting Kevan Shaw Audio-Visual Hardware Barry Crean Multimedia: Enhancing the Experience Maria Piacente Advanced Media in Museum Exhibitions Hugh A D Spencer Case Study 7.1: Multimedia Investment Strategies at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts: Preparing for the Inevitable Tomorrows'
Scott Sayre

166 172 185 197 198 207 214 222 234 236

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5

Case Study 7.2:

The Feast of a Thousand Years at the Ename Provincial Museum, Belgium Marie-Claire Van der Donckt and Dirk Callebaut

247

CONTENTS

PART III

HOW?
The Exhibition Development Process 259
261

CHAPTER 8

PLANNING AND MANAGING AN EXHIBITION PROGRAMME

8.1

Permanent Collection Display Barry Lord

Case Study 8.1:
Odyssey: A Journey intoWorldArt at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts William Phippen

262
268

8.2

Planning and Managing Temporary Exhibitions Barry Lord

Case Study 8.2: African Zion: From Temporary to Permanent at the Walters A r t Gallery, Baltimore GaryVikan

276
288

8.3

Travelling Exhibitions Barry Lord

Case Study 8.3: The Treasures to Go Travelling ExhibitionsTour, Smithsonian American A r t Museum,Washington, DC
Elizabeth Broun

290
293

8.4
CHAPTER 9

Educational and Other Public Programmes for Exhibitions Kathleen Brown

FINANCIAL PLANNING A N D MANAGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

297
317

9.1 9.2

Developing an Exhibition Budget Template Martha Morris Financial Planning and Management of a Temporary Exhibition Programme Robert Scott
CURATORSHIP IN THE EXHIBITION PLANNING PROCESS

318

338
345

CHAPTER

10

John Nicks 10.1 Formulating the Exhibition Concept 10.2 Curatorial Research Case Study 10.1:
Making and Meaning: Turner's The FightingTemeraire at the National Gallery, London Michael Wilson

346 346 348

10.3 Collection Evaluation, Selection and Development

353

vi

CONTENTS

10.4 Documentation 10.5 Conservation 10.6 Preparation of the Exhibition Brief

CHAPTER 11 INTERPRETATIVE PLANNING

354 355 356

373

Hugh A D Spencer 11.1 The Communication Process 11.2 The Logistical Process 11.3 The Interpretative Planning Process Case Study 11.1:
Making the Earth Move for You: the Earth Galleries at the Natural History Museum, London
Robert M Bloomfield

373 376 377 387

CHAPTER 12

EXHIBITION TEXT

393

12.1 Balancing Perspectives in Exhibition Text Hugh A D Spencer 12.2 Exhibition Text Guidelines Hugh A D Spencer 12.3 Including Text in the Exhibition Process Hugh A D Spencer 12.4 The Language of Multimedia
Maria Piacente CHAPTER 13 THE ROLE OF THE EXHIBITION DESIGNER

394 398 400 402

405

13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4

Yves Mayrand Criteria for Effective Museum Exhibition Design Designing the Space for a Museum Exhibition Designing Exhibitions for the Whole Sensorium The Exhibition Design Process Case Study 13.1:
A Walk Past Time: Architecture, Evolution and the Tree of Life: the renovation and re-interpretation of the American Museum of Natural History Fossil Halls
Ralph Appelbaum

405 409 411 412 421

CHAPTER 14

CONSTRUCTION A N D INSTALLATION

425

Chuck Sutyla 14.1 Organising the Museum for Exhibition Construction and Installation 14.2 Contracting the Construction and Installation

426 426

CONTENTS

vii

Case Study 14.1:

Testing Exhibits During Construction for the Kirby Science Discovery Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Erich Zuern

433

CHAPTER 15

LIGHTING THE SHOW

437 440

Kevan Shaw
Case Study 15.1: Lighting the Scotland in History Exhibition at the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
Kevan Shaw CHAPTER

16

THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER

443

16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5

Chuck Sutyla Project Management Tools Documentation Attributes of a Successful Exhibition Project Manager Commissioning and Completing the Exhibition Project Warranty Period: Operation and Maintenance Case Study 16.1:
The Roald Dahl Children's Gallery: Project Management at Buckinghamshire County Museum
Colin Dawes and David Erskine

444 445 447 447 448 450

CHAPTER 17

EXHIBITION RETAIL

455

17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4

Susan Dunlop Retail Research Merchandise Mix Beyond the Museum Shop Products Related to Temporary Exhibitions Case Study 17.1:
Van Gogh: Face to Face at the Detroit Institute of Art: Planning the Exhibition Shop
Susan Dunlop

455 457 459 461 465

PART IV
CHAPTER

W H A T NOW?
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

467 469

18

Kevin Gosling

VIII

CONTENTS

Case Study 18.1: Questioning Scientific Authority: A Question ofTruth at the Ontario Science Centre.Toronto, Canada Hooley Mclaughlin Case Study 18.2 The Grande Galerie de I'Evolution Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris
Patrick Blandin

475

479

Case Study 18.3: Follow the North Star at Conner Prairie, Indiana: A Case Study in Controversial Programming
Stephen L Cox

483

Case Study 18.4: Enchanted Worlds: A Presentation at the museum of Ethnology, Rotterdam for Children on Multicultural Society FredWartna Case Study 18.5: Art on Tyneside at the Laing A r t Gallery,Tyne and Wear Museums, Newcastle Upon Tyne
John Millard

487

491

GLOSSARY ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Brad King INDEX

497 511

523

CONTENTS

ix