Exhibition at Chateau Impney

BRIEF

We were recently approached by one of our clients to assist them in the curation and production of an exhibition, displaying their collection of artefacts with historical significance to their organisation.

The exhibition was to exist as a fringe feature of their annual conference, attended by over 700 of their key stakeholders, members and employees.

 

PROCESS

The time line was tight as the event was due to go live one week after we received the enquiry, so after a quick briefing call with the client we sprang into action! With display solutions needed for over 50 items needed, we decided on a combination of easels, clear acrylic table top display stands, and lockable glass display cases for particularly valuable or delicate items.

From antique ledger books to large format framed photographs, each item was unique in scale and size and required individual identification labels. The attendees were encouraged to touch some of the items, in particular the books, however the provision of white gloves reminded people to handle them with care. Black table cloths helped the artefacts, gloves and labels stand out.

 

EQUIPMENT USED

It was important to us that each of the artefacts were treated with sensitivity as we wanted the significance of each piece to shine. We used a mixture of custom built and stocked equipment to help us achieve appropriate display and lighting solutions for this build.

16 ‘source 4 jr’ high powered spot lights were mounted on eight custom made lighting supports. The supports were comprised of vertical poles cut to down to ceiling height and power coated in matt black and slotted into weighted bases and black custom fabricated base covers to hide the weights and cabling. This ensured that the rigging and the lighting would be as discreet as possible and ensure that the focus was on the exhibits themselves rather than the lighting equipment.

Dimmer packs hidden in the bases of the lighting supports enabled us to set just the right lighting level to create an exhibition style atmosphere where the room as a whole is at a lower light level, with the exhibited items highlighted to make them the centre of attention.

Battery powered miniature spot lights were placed on the floor to uplight the pull-up banners. Using battery powered lights ensured that no cabling would be on show in front of the exhibits, creating a more seamless presentation. The ‘AX3’ lights we used can create a wide range of colours and a ‘warm white’ was selected to match the colour temperature of the main spotlights.

An angled white plinth was custom designed and fabricated to hold one particularly interesting artefact, an engraved marble tablet. The plinth was designed with internal bracing to ensure that it could take the weight of the item and it’s minimalistic appearance was in keeping with museum aesthetic required. A single high powered spot light shining down onto the tablet and plinth from above further highlighted the item to ensure that it stood out as an historically significant item in the collection.

 

FEEDBACK

“The room looked very professional and we had fantastic feedback from both attendees and senior management.

Given the tight timescale and “can you help” brief I am especially and personally pleased!”