Top 20 Tips for Curating Exhibitions, Collections and Displays

After being in the museum and art world for over twenty years, the lines have become a little blurred between exhibition designer and curator of an exhibition or collection. With this in mind, we thought it might be useful to give some points on how and what is involved in curating collections or exhibitions and how to display them.

Curating a collection and then exhibiting it involves several key considerations and thought processes, some of which we have listed below as a top 20 list to keep in account:

1. Collection: This might already exist and be provided to you, or you are an expert in a certain area. If this isn’t the case, you will have to decide the principal theme or concept for the collection. This could be based on a specific art movement, a particular historical time period, a certain artist, or any other unifying factor. The rarer and universally interesting the subject, the better, unless it is a show-stopper subject like Ancient Egypt or dinosaurs, which are the most popular of all visited exhibits.

2. Research: Conduct comprehensive research to find art, materials or objects that align with the theme of your collection. This might be by attending talks, visiting galleries and fairs, whilst networking with dealers and other specialist collectors. Only procure materials that are appropriate and within your collections constraints. The stories you can unfold about the items in the collection make it interesting and important.

3. Conservation and Preservation: It is paramount that measures are in place to safeguard and preserve the long-term condition of the collection. This might comprise protection from the harmful effects of sunlight, proper storage solutions, racking, framing, climate control, and set periodic maintenance, to name but a few.

4. Documentation: When curating exhibitions, it is essential to maintain accurate, detailed and up-to-date records of individual items in your collection, including provenance, dimensions, condition reports, cost, medium, artistic information and any further appropriate specifics. Good documentation is crucial for managing, tracking and preserving the collection. For medium to larger collections, this is far easier to achieve with content management system software (CMS).

5. Networking and Collaboration: Forming good working relationships with other collectors, institutions, and scholars is always a good idea. This increases one’s understanding and knowledge of the subject and fosters openings for your collection.

6. Education and Outreach: Part of the enjoyment of building any collection is the ability to share it and evoke a love for learning in others, where it might educate, excite, inspire and encourage a similar passion. This might comprise organising travelling exhibitions, events, public tours and talks, or engaging workshops associated with the collection’s theme.

7. Longevity: Curating a collection is a time-consuming and ongoing process that requires thoughtful and careful long-term planning combined with a passion for the stories and items that make it a collection.

8. Display: You should decide where and how to display the collection. For example, this might include arranging a single or travelling exhibition, loaning items from the collection to museums or galleries, or creating a permanent space for it to be displayed.

9. Conceptualisation and Feasibility: Outline the theme, concept, storylines or message you want to deliver with the exhibition. Does the cost of creating an exhibition stand up to the level of visitors who will attend?

10. Audience: Consider your target audience and the general goals of the exhibition.

11. Accessibility: It’s important to make the exhibition suitable for visitors with disabilities.

12. Selection: Choose a diverse range of materials and works that align with your theme. Deliberate on its visual and academic appeal, quality, and relevance to the theme and design concept.

13. Layout and Design: Designing an exhibition is not as easy as you might think and using a professional for this is better. However, if there is a limited budget and you want to try then make sure the layout is cohesive, engaging and has a good visitor flow. Think about the placement of works, lighting, and any additional elements such as graphic panels, showcases, interactives AV displays etc.

14. Interpretation: Cultivate interpretive information and materials that are eye-catching, easy to digest, provide context and help the audience understand and connect with the exhibition’s narratives. This may include low and high technologies; for example; immersive experiences, virtual reality, wall text, physical actions, audio guides and digital content. Inter

15. Security: Ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the objects on display, visitors and staff.

16. Promotion: It is essential, when curating exhibitions or displays, to promote the exhibition using as many channels as possible, for example; social media platforms, press releases, partnerships and other like-minded organisations.

17. Installation: This part is all-important to ensure everything goes smoothly you need a timeline for each contractor to carry out their specific task on time, to the agreed quality and within budget. Always leave a little wiggle room for the time between activities as they will never run perfectly to time and will help iron out any problems.

18. Opening: It’s important to have an opening event to generate excitement and draw in both VIPs which will also help promote the curated exhibition further. It is also a good opportunity for exhibition sponsors to see what their funding has created and the benefits to its audience. Other events that will keep giving the exhibition a shot in the arm for visitor numbers are curator and expert talks and other special programming events.

19. Feedback: It is crucial to evaluate the exhibitions you are curating from visitors’ and stakeholders’ points of view. This will allow you to understand any areas that need improvement or success that could be built on further. This is particularly important for travelling exhibitions where improvements might be implemented before the next venue.

20. Flexibility: It’s important to remember that each exhibition venue is unique, so what works for one venue might not work for another. Therefore flexibility must be designed into the exhibition layout and delivery method to deliver the same goals.