Preparing an exhibition involves curatorial, technical, legal, financial, and accessibility decisions. This page outlines the process and directs you to specialised resources; it does not repeat their procedures.
Define the project
Establish the purpose, works, audience, institution, space, dates, responsibilities, and constraints. Distinguish between the exhibition, catalogue, website, activities, and communication: they do not necessarily share the same rights or deadlines.
Verify feasibility
Review availability, condition, dimensions, installation, conservation, electricity, network, security, accessibility, personnel, and schedule.
Budgeting
Include fees, production, loans, rights, transport, insurance, installation, equipment, accessibility, communication, documentation, deinstallation, and contingencies.
Rights and loans
Exhibiting an object does not necessarily authorise its reproduction. Identify rights holders, terms, duration, territory, and credits. Formalise the loan, condition, insurance, transport, imagery, cancellation, and return.
- Authorising reproduction
- Lending your work to an exhibition: the loan agreement
- How to insure a work of art
Transport and condition
Record the condition before packing, upon receipt, during installation, and upon return. Coordinate handling, routes, responsibilities, and contingencies.
- Photographing a work
- How to ship or transport a work
- How to read a condition report for a work of art
Hanging and mounting
Translate the project into floor plans, sequences, supports, lighting, sound, electricity, network, and circulation. For digital works, prepare copies, equipment, accounts, and offline behaviour.
Information and accessibility
Prepare labels, texts, and resources based on the design and budget. Consult the guides on comprehensible labels, easy-to-read and plain language, and accessibility for digital or interactive works.
Public, data, and AI
If registration, imagery, sensors, or AI are involved, define the information, legal basis, retention, and output.
Communication and catalogue
Distinguish between press, editorial reproduction, documentation, and social media. Verify credits, licences, and legal deposit or ISBN where applicable.
Opening and maintenance
Use the checklist of works, floor plan, responsibilities, tests, and condition reports. During the exhibition, record faults, replacements, and decisions. Do not alter a work without authorisation.
Deinstallation and return
Plan for shutdown, copies, packing, condition, return, data deletion or preservation, and account closure.
Evaluation and archiving
Retain the final list, plans, authorised photographs, incidents, publications, and versions. Evaluate the objectives defined at the outset, not merely attendance figures.
Checklist
- Scope, responsibilities, and schedule defined.
- Budget and contingency.
- Rights and loans formalised.
- Transport, insurance, and condition coordinated.
- Installation, accessibility, and security tested.
- Data and communication reviewed.
- Deinstallation, return, and archiving planned.