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Physical Exhibits

Introduction

Ideas and Curation

Text and Labels

Construction and Design

Handling and Displaying Artifacts

Additional Resources

Introduction

This guide is a collection of resources to give you inspiration and help you get started on creating a physical exhibit. 

 

Please Note: Exhibit practices and technology are constantly changing. This guide is meant to be a starting point, not a definitive authority.

Ideas and Curation

Basics

  • There is no right or wrong way to create an exhibit, as long as you are respectful towards your audience and the people whose stories you are telling.
  • Ask yourself:
  • Who is your audience? 
  • What story do you want to tell? 
  • What experience do you want visitors to your exhibit to have?
  • Are there experts or community members you can ask to be part of the development process to ensure your exhibit is sensitive to the communities it represents?
  • It may help to develop a concrete focus and central theme for your exhibit.
  • You may also further divide this central theme into sub-themes.
  • See this Worksheet on Planning an Exhibit for help with brainstorming. 
  • Try looking up pictures of other exhibits on similar topics for inspiration.

 

Resources

Text and Labels

Basics

  • Make your text readable for a general audience.
  • Have a variety of people with different backgrounds, levels of education, etc. look over your text and captions.
  • Use Hemingway Editor [https://hemingwayapp.com/] to test readability. Aim for around a grade 7 or 8 reading level.
  • Please Note: This program may increase your reading level based on place names or the repeated use of some words. Oftentimes you will need to balance the flow of the text with the overall reading level score to create text that is enjoyable to read. While the reading level score is important for ensuring your text is understable to a wide range of individuals, it is a guideline and you may need to have a higher grade reading level (9 or 10) so that the text reflects your intent for the exhibit.
  • Think carefully about your choice of words and how it may affect others.
  • Always refer to others using the words they prefer.
  • Do not be afraid to do a bit of research to find the most respectful and up-to-date ways of referring to people and groups.
  • Be mindful of Colonialism when talking about Canada’s history.
  • See this Disability Language Style Guide [https://ncdj.org/style-guide/] (also available in Italian) for guidance on writing about disability and people with disabilities.

Resources

Construction and Design

Basics

Feature Examples 

  • Below are some examples of features beyond just artifacts and labels that can be used in physical exhibits.
  • Videos: These can be played on small screens or projected on walls. Small watching stations which allow visitors to sit down and/or use headphones can also be created for longer videos.

Video of Alabama residents reciting Walt Whitman poems in the Whitman, Alabama exhibit. Source: https://whyy.org/articles/in-whitman-alabama-the-bard-from-long-island-goes-down-south/  

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s exhibit Whitman, Alabama [https://philamuseum.org/calendar/exhibition/whitman-alabama] featured a film projected on the gallery wall. The film showed people from Alabama reciting lines from Walt Whitman poems.

  • Flip Up or Sliding Panels: These allow visitors to interact with an exhibit by lifting up or sliding a panel to reveal more information beneath it. 

Flip Up Panels in Refuge Canada Mini traveling exhibit by Grant Murray for the Canadian Immigration Museum. Source: https://www.grantmurraydesign.ca/netukulimk-gallery-renewal-1 

The Refuge Canada Mini traveling exhibit [https://www.grantmurraydesign.ca/netukulimk-gallery-renewal-1] by Grant Murray and the Canadian Immigration Museum featured Flip Up panels that engaged visitors by asking them questions and having them lift up panels to reveal the answers.

  • Visitor Opinions and Stories: Exhibits can include interactive elements for visitors by allowing them to share their opinions by, for example, writing them on sticky notes or a chalkboard or voting on a question.

Visitor’s opinions written on sticky notes and posted on the wall at the 30 Americans exhibit. Source: https://blog.mam.org/2013/10/15/recap-30-americans-sticky-notes/ 

The 30 Americans exhibit [https://mam.org/exhibitions/details/30-americans/] at theMilwaukee Art Museum allowed visitors to write their responses to the exhibit’s artwork on sticky notes and post them on the wall. 

Visitors vote on exhibit labels with pom poms in the Hidden Treasures: An Experiment exhibit. Source: https://flutterwow.com/portfolio/hidden-treasures-experiment-museum-visitors-vote-exhibit-interpretation/   

The exhibit Hidden Treasures: An Experiment [https://flutterwow.com/portfolio/hidden-treasures-experiment-museum-visitors-vote-exhibit-interpretation/] at the Detroit Institute of Art had visitors use small pom poms to vote on which painting label they preferred. 

  • Get Creative! These are just a few of the features physical exhibits can use to engage audiences and tell their stories. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Handling and Displaying Artifacts

Additional Resources

Online Resources

Books

Hughes, Philip. Exhibition Design

Serrell, Beverly. Exhibit Labels

Museum Suppliers

Exhibit Concept Brainstorming Worksheet