Planning an Exhibition

What is the purpose of your exhibition?

Check out what the story is that you want to tell in your exhibition:

Why is it important to tell it?
What is the objective?
How does it link with research/departmental/University objectives and strategies?
What is the benefit to your research/the University?

Who is the audience?

Knowing your target audience will help define the style and content of the exhibition, as well as the venue, publicity and marketing strategy and the exhibition’s associated activities. Also, it’s really important to check that there is an audience – organising an exhibition takes time and resources, so thinking early on in the process about who it’s meant for, will help you decide whether to proceed and how.

What's the title?

What themes will it cover?

What are the exhibition dates?

What's the timetable for delivery?

What budget do you have?

Budget available will determine size/look of exhibition, venue and what additional activities can be organised to accompany the exhibition. Subject headings for the budget could include (not exhaustive):

Cost of transporting objects/pictures
Setting up and dismantling the exhibition
Insurance
Exhibition build, eg plinths, framing, paint, making good the space afterwards
Hire of resources (eg display cabinets, exhibition boards etc)
Cost of invigilation/security during exhibition
Licence fees to image copyright holders
Private view

Expenses of people involved in exhibition and any associated events
Design and printing of exhibition boards and captions
Printing publicity material
Cost of advertising
Hire of Curator/co-ordinator of the exhibition
Hire of technician to install and take down the exhibition
Cost of any other planned events – including paying speakers, artists, activity leaders etc

Download a sample budget spreadsheet

If you are staff or a student of the University of Exeter you can access and download a sample exhibition budget spreadsheet via Sharepoint here.

Please note you will need your university login details to do this.

Any partners?

Working with partners can increase the perspectives and diversity of thought in putting the exhibition together. When it comes to publicity, you can also use the publicity resources of partners – thus reaching a potential wider audience. If you work with partners – set out clearly the roles of each partner – will there be a lead – eg who takes ultimate responsibility for delivery and publicity etc Don’t forget to include logos of exhibition partners and funders on all publicity.

Where's it happening?

Consider a venue which is appropriate to the content of the exhibition and is in the right place to reach the defined audience(s). It should also meet security needs of exhibition content, environmental conditions and also safety.

Any events?

From a private view to workshops, from expert speakers to guided tours, there are many ways you can enhance the audience’s understanding and enjoyment of the exhibition content.

How will people find out about the exhibition?

Agree publicity images as soon as possible, so that you can start promoting your exhibition, even if you haven’t decided all the content/layout etc. Consider the target audiences you have defined above, in creating publicity – in style and method. Some audiences are more likely to find out information via social media, others prefer conventional posters, flyers and leaflets, or check events listings in the paper or on websites.

Choose a maximum of 2-3 publicity images – to pique interest. People won’t visit the exhibition if they have seen the majority of the content beforehand. Consider emailing e-posters and e-flyers to specific target audiences by researching publicly available email addresses to individuals. NB: If you send out publicity to groups of people on email, ensure they are sent as blind copies (BCC).

When considering images to use for publicity, make sure you get the correct permissions from copyright holders of images, artworks and documents. Let them know how you are proposing to use the images and check they approve, before you use them. Check how they would like to be credited on publicity material. If you are unsure about copyright rules, seek advice before using images.

More information about publicising events and exhibitions can be found in our online Communications and Engagement guides.

What will you say and how will you say it?

Themes

How will the exhibition be themed? How will it flow?

Design

What colours and fonts will you use for designed elements of the exhibition?

Access

Is interpretation accessible to all the audiences who will be visiting the exhibition?

Think Copyright

Include credits for all copyrighted material displayed

Acknowledgments

Acknowledge your partners and funders by thanking them and including their logos on your introduction display board.

What are the technical elements?

Will you need exhibition boards, lighting, plinths, lockable display cases, interactive elements etc? Will you need to hire a technician to set up the physical exhibition?

Read our guide on 'Technical Help with Exhibitions' at the University for more information.

Any legal stuff needed?

Use a written agreement if borrowing items for the exhibition. See a sample exhibition loan agreement here (accessible to University of Exeter staff and students only).

Obtain written agreement from the copyright holder if using copyrighted images for the exhibition (to include how works should be credited, what purpose they can be used for etc).

If you need any specific legal advice, contact the University’s legal department legalservices@exeter.ac.uk.

Do you need insurance cover?

Objects to be displayed in an exhibition should be insured, to cover the moment you take possession of them, to the moment they leave your possession.

Contact the University Insurance office for guidance about how to set up your insurance cover.

What did you learn?

Don’t forget to think about evaluation and feedback. Find out more in our 'Evaluation' guides.

What information do you need to gather, to show your exhibition has achieved its objectives?
Who do you need to report to, what do they want to know and in what format?
Think about evaluation from the beginning of the project, right through to the end.
You might want to gather quantitative data and/or or qualitative feedback.
Is there any particular information you want to collect for research purposes?
How will you get diverse feedback?

Still have questions?

If you need additional guidance about planning and organising exhibitions at the University of Exeter please contact the Arts and Culture team artsandculture@exeter.ac.uk