Manual of Museum Exhibitions

477 Pages·2022·19.415 MB·English

by  Maria Piacente

MANUAL OF
MUSEUM
EXHIBITIONS
THIRD EDITION
MARIA PIACENTE
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
A Lord Cultural Resources Book
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
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Copyright © 2022 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
Cover image courtesy of Smithsonian National Museum of African American
History and Culture
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Piacente, Maria, author.
Title: Manual of museum exhibitions / Maria Piacente.
Description: Third edition. | Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2022] | “A
Lord cultural resources book.” | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021034056 (print) | LCCN 2021034057 (ebook) | ISBN
9781538152805 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538152812 (paperback) | ISBN
9781538152829 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Museum exhibits—Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Museum
exhibits—Planning—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC AM151 .M34 2022 (print) | LCC AM151 (ebook) | DDC
069/.5—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021034056
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021034057
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
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Contents
Foreword ix
 Gail Dexter Lord
Preface xi
 Maria Piacente
Acknowledgments xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction: The Exhibition Development Process 1
Maria Piacente
PART I: WHY?
Chapter 2 Museums and Their Exhibitions 7
Brad King
2.1. The Trust Factor 8
2.2. Exhibitions as Agents of Transformation 8
2.3. Museums as Activist Institutions 10
2.4. Corporate Sponsorship: How Close is Too Close? 12
2.5. The Way Forward 13
Chapter 3 Where Do Exhibition Ideas Come From? 17
Barry Lord (updated by Maria Piacente)
3.1. Research-Based and Market-Driven Exhibitions 18
3.2. Planning for Exhibition Research 18
iii
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PART II: WHERE?
Chapter 4 Exhibition Facilities 25
Sean Stanwick and Heather Maximea
4.1. A World of Exhibition Spaces 26
4.2. Developing Design Criteria for Exhibition Spaces 27
4.3. Exhibition Space Characteristics 37
4.4. Exhibition Gallery Security 51
4.5. Accessibility, Adjacency, and Circulation 55
PART III: WHAT?
Chapter 5 Permanent Collection Exhibitions 61
Katherine Molineux
5.1. Planning for Permanent Collection Exhibitions 61
5.2. Changing Permanent Collection Displays 63
5.3. Interpreting Collections 64
5.4. Modes of Display 66
Chapter 6 It’s Not Always about Collections 73
Katherine Molineux
6.1. Idea Exhibitions 73
6.2. Children’s Exhibitions 76
6.3. Living History Exhibitions 79
6.4. Science Exhibitions 81
6.5. Digital Immersive Exhibitions 83
Case Study: Weston Family Innovation Learning Centre, Terms of
Engagement at the Ontario Science Centre, by Lesley Lewis and
Kevin von Apen 85
Chapter 7 Virtual Exhibitions 89
Sarah Hill
7.1. What is a Virtual Exhibition? 89
7.2. Why Develop a Virtual Exhibition? 90
7.3. Thinking About Digital Audiences 95
7.4. Virtual Exhibition Considerations 99
7.5. Virtual Exhibition Development Process 111
7.6. Tips for Smaller Museums that Want to go Digital 112
Case Study: Extending the Life of a Traveling Exhibition,
Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, United States 113
iv Contents
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Chapter 8 Temporary Exhibitions 119
Maria Piacente and Katherine Molineux
8.1 Types of Exhibitions in a Temporary Exhibition Program 120
8.2 Managing a Temporary Exhibition Program 125
8.3 Making Space for Temporary Exhibitions 127
8.4 Public and Educational Programming 129
8.5 Marketing and Public Relations 129
8.6 Funding and Resourcing a Temporary Exhibition Program 130
8.7 Generating Revenue 131
Chapter 9 Traveling Exhibitions 133
Maria Piacente
9.1 Why Create a Traveling Exhibition Program? 134
9.2 Strategize for Success 135
9.3 Staff and Professional Resources 137
9.4 Loan Agreements 138
9.5 Designing and Preparing an Exhibition for Travel 139
9.6 Managing the Tour 141
9.7 Borrowers and Organizers 144
Case Study: Natural History Museum London’s Touring Exhibition
Program, An Interview with Jan English, Head of Touring Exhibitions 145
Interview: Traveling Exhibitions in a Changing World, with Antonio
Rodriguez, Chairman of the Board, International Committee for
Exhibition Exchange (ICOM, ICEE) 148
PART IV: WHO?
Chapter 10 Exhibitions and Diversity, Equality, Accessibility, and Inclusion 153
Maria Piacente and Karen Carter
10.1 Implications for Exhibitions 154
10.2 Reflections: Fulfillment of Our Promise 157
Case Study: Activating Change: DEAI, Community, and Evaluation,
An Interview with Cheryl Blackman, Director of Museums and
Heritage Services for the City of Toronto, Canada 160
Chapter 11 Curiosity and Motivation 165
Shiralee Hudson Hill and Barbara Soren
11.1 Cultivating Curiosity 165
11.2 Learning and Exhibitions 169
11.3 Understanding Audience Experiences, Motivations,
and Preferences in Exhibitions 171
Contents v
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Chapter 12 Evaluation 177
Gail Lord, Duncan Grewcock, Barbara Soren, and Jackie Armstrong
12.1 Measuring Success by Gail Lord 177
12.2 Before, During, and After: Front-End, Formative, Remedial,
and Summative Evaluation by Duncan Grewcock 179
12.3 Qualitative and Quantitative Audience by Barbara Soren
and Jackie Armstrong 187
Case Study: University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Front-End
and Formative Visitor Study Using Multiple Methods by Barbara Soren 201
PART V: HOW?
Chapter 13 Roles and Responsibilities 211
Maria Piacente
13.1 Who’s Involved in the Exhibition Process? 211
13.2 Teams and Committees 215
13.3 Contracting Expertise 217
13.4 Making Decisions 217
Case Study: Oakland Museum of California Exhibition Process
with Valerie Huaco, Deputy Director and Chief Content Officer 218
Case Study: Roles and Responsibilities in a Small Museum:
The Central Bank Museum of Trinidad and Tobago 221
Chapter 14 Preparing the Exhibition Brief 223
Maria Piacente and John Nicks
14.1 Formulating the Exhibition Concept 223
14.2 Exhibition Brief 226
Case Study: Canada Day 1 Traveling Exhibition 231
Chapter 15 Interpretive Planning 233
Maria Piacente
15.1 Preplanning, Research, and Visioning 236
15.2 Interpretive Strategy 237
15.3 Organizational and Thematic Frameworks 239
15.4 Organizational and Thematic Frameworks from around the World 241
15.5 Communication Objectives/Visitor Outcomes 248
15.6 Interpretive Plan 249
Case Study: University of Michigan Museum of Natural History,
Exploring Michigan 250
Case Study: Capitol Visitor Center Exhibition Hall, Washington, DC:
Excerpts from the Interpretive Plan 253
vi Contents
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Chapter 16 Content Development 257
Lisa Wright
16.1 Research Planning 258
16.2 Collections Research and Selection 260
16.3 Exhibition Text by Patchen Barss 263
16.4 Image Research and Procurement 268
16.5 Hands-On Exhibits, Models, and Dioramas 273
16.6 Multimedia Exhibits 274
16.7 Subject Matter Experts 278
Case Study: Working with Subject Matter Experts: Canadian Museum
of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax, Canada 279
16.8 Communities and Content 282
Case Study: Creating with Community The First Peoples Exhibition at
Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum, a Shared
Endeavor of Museums Victoria and the Victorian Aboriginal Community 283
Case Study: Indigenous-Led Design and Content Development:
Indigenous Peoples Garden, Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba 287
Chapter 17 Exhibition Design 289
Yvonne Tang and James Bruer
17.1 The Design Process 290
17.2 Exhibition Display Cases by Mike Chaplin 301
17.3 Lighting Design by Kevin Shaw 308
17.4 Green Design 314
Case Study: Exhibitions and Museums in India:
Challenges and Opportunities by Uttiyo Bhattacharya 317
Chapter 18 Graphic Design 319
Mary Yacob and Jacqueline Tang
18.1 Semiotics in Design 319
18.2 Graphic Design Phases 321
18.3 Graphic Design Elements 323
18.4 Color 330
18.5 Imagery 333
18.6 Design Essentials 333
Chapter 19 Multimedia 335
Cory Timpson
19.1 Strategic Role 336
19.2 Types of Multimedia 337
19.3 Operationalizing Multimedia 351
Contents vii
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Case Study: Rights of Passage Exhibition at Canadian Museum
for Human Rights 356
Case Study: Mandela: Struggle for Freedom Traveling Exhibition 360
Chapter 20 Fabrication and Installation 363
Erich Zuern
20.1 Who Will Produce the Exhibition? 363
20.2 Design-Bid-Build or Design-Build: What’s the Difference? 364
20.3 Contracting 366
20.4 The Production Process 368
20.5 Tracking and Scheduling 375
20.6 Warranty 376
Case Study: Creative Contracting by the North Dakota Heritage Center &
State Museum by Erich Zuern and Genia Hesser 377
Chapter 21 Financial Planning 379
Erich Zuern
21.1 Creating an Exhibition Budget 379
21.2 Direct Exhibition Costs 384
21.3 Related Exhibition Costs 386
21.4 Managing the Budget 387
Case Study: Budget Stretching with In-Kind Contributions 389
Chapter 22. Effective Exhibition Project Management 391
Robert LaMarre
22.1 The Role of Project Management and Why it is Needed 392
22.2 A Team Effort 392
22.3 Applying Project Management Methodology 394
22.4 Certifications and Continuous Learning 403
22.5 Completing the Tasks 403
Chapter 23 Conclusion: The Future of Exhibition-Making 405
Gail Dexter Lord
Glossary 411
Select Bibliography 425
Index 437
About the Editor 457
About the Contributors 459
viii Contents
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Foreword
Gail Dexter Lord
The foreword to the third edition of the Manual of Museum Exhibitions was written during Lord
Cultural Resources’ fortieth anniversary. While writing Planning our Museums,1 which turned out
to be the first book on museum planning, Barry Lord and I founded Lord Cultural Resources. The
premise of that book was simple but new: “Museums are for people.” This idea quickly found
support around the world because a new generation of museum workers, managers, leaders, and
supporters had already decided that museums were for people and wanted to find systematic
ways of implementing the idea through planning. And so, the idea grew into a series of museum
manuals2 on planning, management, exhibitions, learning, and strategic planning.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce this third edition of the Manual of Museum Exhibitions,
which ushers in a new generation of museum leaders through the visionary and capable edito-
rial direction of Maria Piacente, who has directed exhibitions and event projects for more than
a quarter century. Maria has realized exhibitions in museums around the world, bringing an
exceptional experience to this volume as reflected in the breadth of its contributors, range of
topics, and level of practical detail. Above all, Maria brings a respect for cultural diversity, which
is essential to the success of the museum exhibition as a communication medium.
Thank you to Maria Piacente and the contributors to this new edition of the Manual of Museum
Exhibitions, which is destined to be a classic.
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