Exhibition Types
Curator's Corner
Display Decisions
Exhibition Design
Audience Experience
100
This type of exhibition presents artworks by one artist only.
What is a solo exhibition?
100
This person selects, organises and interprets artworks for an exhibition.
Who is a curator?
100
This raised platform is commonly used to display three-dimensional artworks such as sculpture or ceramics.
What is a plinth?
100
This overhead drawing shows the layout of a gallery, including walls, entrances, exits and the placement of artworks.
What is a floor plan?
100
This term refers to the people who view, experience and engage with an exhibition.
What is the audience?
200
This type of exhibition brings together artworks by two or more artists.
What is a group exhibition?
200
This short piece of text sits beside an artwork and usually includes the artist’s name, artwork title, date and medium.
What is an exhibition label / artwork label?
200
This term describes the empty area left around an artwork so it can be viewed clearly without competing with nearby works.
What is spacing / negative space?
200
These points in an exhibition space can influence where visitors begin and finish their viewing experience.
What are entrances and exits?
200
Audio guides, videos and digital screens can provide visitors with extra information about artworks. What aspect of the audience experience do these support?
What is interpretation?
300
This type of exhibition brings together artworks connected by a common idea, subject or concept, rather than by one particular artist.
What is a thematic exhibition?
300
This larger piece of gallery text introduces the exhibition and explains its main ideas, themes or context.
What is a didactic panel?
300
Paintings are commonly hung so that the centre of the artwork is positioned around the viewer’s natural line of sight. What display consideration is this?
What is eye level / viewing height?
300
This term describes a clear line of vision between a viewer and an artwork, or between different areas of an exhibition.
What is a sightline?
300
A curator considers how visitors travel through the gallery and move between different artworks and spaces. What are they considering?
What is the movement of audiences?
400
This type of exhibition looks back over an artist’s career, often presenting artworks from a number of different periods.
What is a retrospective exhibition?
400
A curator places two contrasting artworks beside one another so viewers can compare their ideas, styles or meanings. What curatorial strategy is this?
What is juxtaposition?
400
A curator uses a freestanding wall to separate one group of artworks from another. What exhibition design feature are they using?
What is a partition wall / temporary wall?
400
What aspect of exhibition design do the arrows represent?
What is visitor flow / circulation?
400
An exhibition includes artworks that visitors are encouraged to touch, activate or physically engage with. What type of exhibition display is this?
What is an interactive display?
500
This large-scale exhibition takes place at regular intervals and presents work by many artists, often from different countries. Its name commonly refers to an event held every two years.
What is a biennial?
500
This written explanation outlines the curator’s reasons for selecting, grouping and presenting artworks in a particular way.
What is a curatorial rationale?
500
A curator positions a freestanding sculpture away from the walls so visitors can move around it and view it from multiple angles. What display consideration is being prioritised?
What is audience access / multiple viewpoints?
500
Wide pathways, step-free access and enough room for wheelchair users are all examples of this exhibition design consideration.
What is accessibility?
500
These signs or visual cues are positioned throughout an exhibition to help visitors navigate between spaces, entrances, exits or facilities.
What are way-finding signs?