The Manual ofMuseum Exhibitions

EDITED BY BARRY LORD

AND GAIL DEXTER LORD

P R E S SA Division of

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.Walnut Creek • Lanham • New York • Oxford

Contents

List of figures

List of tables

List of contributors

Foreword, with acknowledgementsBarry Lord and Gail Dexter Lord

XI

xin

xvi

xxiv

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE EXHIBITION PLANNING PROCESSGail Dexter Lord

PARTI WHY?

CHAPTER 2 THE PURPOSE OF MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS 11Barry Lord

2.1 Exhibitions as a Function of Museums 122.2 Museum Exhibitions as the Communication of Meaning 152.3 Modes of Exhibition Apprehension 19

Case Study 2.1: 23Exhibitions at the Corning Museum of Glass: Combining Modes ofVisitor ApprehensionDavid Whitehouse

CHAPTER 3 WHERE DO EXHIBITION IDEAS COME FROM? 27

3.1 Research-based and Market-driven Exhibitions 27Barry Lord

3.2 Planning for Exhibition Research 29Barry Lord

3.3 Exhibition Ideas: Integrating the Voices of Communities and Audiences 32Margaret MayCase Study 3.1: 35

HuupuKwanunrTupaat Out of the Mist,Treasures of the Nuu<hah-nu\th ChiefsRoyal British Columbia Museum.VictoriaMartha Black -

CONTENTS III

CHAPTER 4

4.1

4.2

4.3

HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN WE GETTHERE?EXHIBITION EVALUATION

39

39The Role of Market AnalysisKate SellersBefore, During and After: Front-end, Formative and Summative Evaluation 44Duncan Grewcock

Case Study 4.1:Evaluation for a permanent exhibition about the work of conservatorsCaught inTime at National Museums and Galleries on MerseysideAnne Pennington

Qualitative and Quantitative Audience ResearchBarbara Soren

54

58

PART II WHERE?Space and Facilities for Exhibitions 67

CHAPTER 5 PLANNING AND DESIGNING EXHIBITION FACILITIES 69

5.1 Developing Design Criteria for Exhibition Space 73Heather MaximeaCase Study 5.1: " 74

Design Criteria:The International Glass Museum.Tacoma,WashingtonHeather Maximea

5.2 Projecting Display Space Requirements 76Heather MaximeaCase Study 5.2: 86Visible Storage at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA), University of BritishColumbia, Vancouver, CanadaHeather Maximea

5.3 Behind the Scenes: Support Activities and Facilities 90Heather Maximea

5.4 Access, Adjacency and Circulation 98Heather Maximea

5.5 Preserving Collections in Exhibitions 110Murray Frost

5.6 Security and Public Safety in Exhibitions 124Peter Osborne

5.7 Exhibition Accessibility 134Kristin Johnson

IV CONTENTS

CHAPTER 6 EXHIBITION GALLERIES 143

Heather Maximea6.1 Galleries for Art or Archives 1446.2 Galleries for Artefacts or Specimens 1486.3 Children's Museum and Science Centre Galleries 1536.4 Study Spaces 1586.5 Multi-purpose Public Spaces 159

Case Study 6.1: 160One New Kind of Gallery: Discovery Libraries at the Denver Art MuseumPatterson B Williams

Case Study 6.2: 164Alaska Native Heritage Center: 'A Gathering of Traditions', Anchorage, AlaskaHeather Maximea

6.66.7

6.8

CHAPTER 7

7.1

7.2

7.3

7.4

7.5

Light and Colour in the GalleriesGallery StructureMaterials and Finishes

GALLERY FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENTDisplay CasesTill HahnLightingKevan ShawAudio-Visual HardwareBarry CreanMultimedia: Enhancing the ExperienceMaria PiacenteAdvanced Media in Museum ExhibitionsHugh A D SpencerCase Study 7.1:Multimedia Investment Strategies at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts:Preparing for the Inevitable Tomorrows'Scott Sayre

Case Study 7.2:The Feast of a Thousand Years at the Ename Provincial Museum, Belgium

Marie-Claire Van der Donckt and Dirk Callebaut

166172

185

197

198

207

214

222

234

236

247

CONTENTS

PART III HOW?The Exhibition Development Process 259

CHAPTER 8 PLANNING AND MANAGING AN EXHIBITION PROGRAMME 261

8.1 Permanent Collection Display 262Barry LordCase Study 8.1: 268

Odyssey: A Journey intoWorldArt at the Peabody Essex Museum,Salem, MassachusettsWilliam Phippen

8.2 Planning and Managing Temporary Exhibitions 276Barry LordCase Study 8.2: 288

African Zion: From Temporary to Permanent at the Walters ArtGallery, BaltimoreGaryVikan

8.3 Travelling Exhibitions 290Barry LordCase Study 8.3: 293

The Treasures to Go Travelling ExhibitionsTour, Smithsonian American ArtMuseum,Washington, DCElizabeth Broun

8.4 Educational and Other Public Programmes for Exhibitions 297Kathleen Brown

CHAPTER 9 FINANCIAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS 317

9.1 Developing an Exhibition Budget Template 318Martha Morris

9.2 Financial Planning and Management of a TemporaryExhibition Programme 338Robert Scott

CHAPTER 10 CURATORSHIP IN THE EXHIBITION PLANNING PROCESS 345John Nicks

10.1 Formulating the Exhibition Concept 34610.2 Curatorial Research 346

Case Study 10.1: 348Making and Meaning: Turner's The FightingTemeraire at the NationalGallery, LondonMichael Wilson

10.3 Collection Evaluation, Selection and Development 353

vi CONTENTS

10.4 Documentation 35410.5 Conservation 35510.6 Preparation of the Exhibition Brief 356

CHAPTER 11 INTERPRETATIVE PLANNING 373

Hugh A D Spencer11.1 The Communication Process 37311.2 The Logistical Process 37611.3 The Interpretative Planning Process 377

Case Study 11.1: 387Making the Earth Move for You: the Earth Galleriesat the Natural History Museum, LondonRobert M Bloomfield

CHAPTER 12 EXHIBITION TEXT 393

12.1 Balancing Perspectives in Exhibition Text 394Hugh A D Spencer

12.2 Exhibition Text Guidelines 398Hugh A D Spencer

12.3 Including Text in the Exhibition Process 400Hugh A D Spencer

12.4 The Language of Multimedia 402Maria Piacente

CHAPTER 13 THE ROLE OF THE EXHIBITION DESIGNER 405Yves Mayrand

13.1 Criteria for Effective Museum Exhibition Design 40513.2 Designing the Space for a Museum Exhibition 40913.3 Designing Exhibitions for the Whole Sensorium 41113.4 The Exhibition Design Process 412

Case Study 13.1: 421A Walk Past Time: Architecture, Evolution and the Tree of Life: the renovationand re-interpretation of the American Museum of Natural History Fossil HallsRalph Appelbaum

CHAPTER 14 CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION 425

Chuck Sutyla14.1 Organising the Museum for Exhibition Construction and Installation 42614.2 Contracting the Construction and Installation 426

CONTENTS vii

Case Study 14.1:Testing Exhibits During Construction for the Kirby Science Discovery Center,Sioux Falls, South DakotaErich Zuern

433

CHAPTER 15 LIGHTING THE SHOW 437Kevan ShawCase Study 15.1: 440

Lighting the Scotland in History Exhibition at the Museum of Scotland, EdinburghKevan Shaw

CHAPTER 16 THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER 443Chuck Sutyla

16.1 Project Management Tools 44416.2 Documentation 44516.3 Attributes of a Successful Exhibition Project Manager 44716.4 Commissioning and Completing the Exhibition Project 44716.5 Warranty Period: Operation and Maintenance 448

Case Study 16.1: 450The Roald Dahl Children's Gallery: Project Management at BuckinghamshireCounty MuseumColin Dawes and David Erskine

CHAPTER 17 EXHIBITION RETAIL 455

Susan Dunlop17.1 Retail Research 45517.2 Merchandise Mix 45717.3 Beyond the Museum Shop 45917.4 Products Related to Temporary Exhibitions 461

Case Study 17.1: 465Van Gogh: Face to Face at the Detroit Institute of Art: Planning the ExhibitionShopSusan Dunlop

PART IV WHAT NOW? 467

CHAPTER 18 MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURYKevin Gosling

469

VIII CONTENTS

Case Study 18.1: 475

Questioning Scientific Authority: A Question ofTruth at the Ontario ScienceCentre.Toronto, CanadaHooley Mclaughlin

Case Study 18.2 479

The Grande Galerie de I'Evolution Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, ParisPatrick Blandin

Case Study 18.3: 483

Follow the North Star at Conner Prairie, Indiana: A Case Study in ControversialProgrammingStephen L Cox

Case Study 18.4: 487

Enchanted Worlds: A Presentation at the museum of Ethnology, Rotterdam forChildren on Multicultural SocietyFredWartna

Case Study 18.5: 491

Art on Tyneside at the Laing Ar t Gallery,Tyne and Wear Museums, Newcastle

Upon TyneJohn Millard

GLOSSARY 497

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 511Brad King

INDEX 523

CONTENTS ix