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Exhibitions as Public Scholarship
Exhibitions as Public Scholarship
Traditionally, exhibitions provide an opportunity to showcase research as well as archival and special collections. A typical exhibition adheres to a theme but great exhibits also have a story to tell and invite visitors to participate in an enriching meaning-making process over seemingly disparate objects, ideas, and/or histories. In this sense, exhibitions function very much like academic projects in the humanities, tapping into our ready and practiced skills in research, analysis, writing, and teaching (to name only a few!). Exhibitions, like other types of public humanities projects can deepen not just the impact, but also the insight of our ongoing academic work by challenging us to shape, interpret, and communicate it in new and creative ways. As public-facing projects, they are enriched and shaped by the visitors and public who engage with the exhibit. Behind the scenes, they also present opportunities for knowledge exchange through collaborative work between academics and curators; archivists and librarians; and communities.
In this toolkit, you will find:
Examples of exhibitions produced by other Humanities scholars as well as some aspirational ones by industry and community professionals to inspire you.
Examples of digital exhibitions and the difference between digital and physical installations.
Resources, programs, and courses on curating exhibitions at UBC and beyond.
Where exhibitions are displayed at UBC.
Potential project funding and grants for exhibitions.
A list of tools and software you can use to build digital exhibits or digital supplementary materials for your physical exhibits.
Recommended reading on exhibition research, writing, design, and pedagogy.
"Working intensely with collections, testing ideas out in a physical environment, and relating more or less directly to a lay audience does not only tell us something new about how to make exhibitions, but may also provide us with more insight into the subject matter of the exhibition. That is, the exhibition has the potential to create a research surplus; through the making of exhibitions we are liable to learn more about the topic of the exhibition."
"Working intensely with collections, testing ideas out in a physical environment, and relating more or less directly to a lay audience does not only tell us something new about how to make exhibitions, but may also provide us with more insight into the subject matter of the exhibition. That is, the exhibition has the potential to create a research surplus; through the making of exhibitions we are liable to learn more about the topic of the exhibition."
Peter Bjerregaard, Exhibitions as Research
Peter Bjerregaard, Exhibitions as Research
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