The Herbert’s main social history exhibition for this year, From Highfield Road to Wembley Way, was launched at the end of my third week. The exhibition celebrates the 25th anniversary of Coventry City FC’s FA Cup win.This is the first time I have worked on the installation of a large exhibition, and I’ve discovered that it really is all hands to the pump!
Installing showcases
Various different teams have been involved in the development and the installation of the exhibition:
- Technicians building false walls and painting the gallery
- Designers developing the visual look of the space, including designing text panels, choosing images for the walls and sticking up printed vinyl panels
- The media team producing and editing films and digital and audio content (e.g oral history snippets, interactive information stands), and wiring up the exhibition space
- Curators selecting objects from the collections and sourcing loan items from the public, writing the text panels which introduce different sections of the exhibition and labels for objects, and arranging items in cases
- The Exhibitions Officer co-ordinating this work, keeping everyone to schedule and building some last minute flat-pack furniture
- The Events Officer planning the launch event, booking speakers and attendees
- The marketing and publications team promoting the exhibition and launch event
This also entails quite a lot of dogsbody work – and this is where I came in! I covered with fabric plinths and back boards for display cases, sewed loops of tape to home-made banners so that they could be hung from the ceiling, stuck a vinyl timeline of events to the floor and mounted photographs of the players in a grid on the wall. However, top of my list for tasks I did not expect a job in museums to involve, has to be ironing Subbuteo pitches for lining display cases.
Ironing - a crucial curatorial skill
The Launch
The launch event was on the last evening before the Easter break. Following a slightly frantic final few hours’ preparation, it was a really fun evening. The exhibition was declared open by the Man of the Match from the Cup-winning side, and a host of VIPs enjoyed a glass of wine and a preview of the exhibition. The event then opened to the public, with lots of other activities to keep people entertained. The match was shown in the cafe, there was a high-score tournament on football games on the X-Box Kinnect, and the film made by the museum to document the exhibition and anniversary was previewed.
It was wonderful to see so many people at an exhibition launch, and great that this included lots of people who might not otherwise visit the museum.
It was lovely to share a sense of achievement with colleagues, even though I was only involved right at the end. This shared endeavour is something which appeals to me very much about a career in this area.
The Life Curatorial 