They also need to know about the legal status of each item, determine who holds copyright and be aware of any inherent hazards (such as poisons, lead, asbestos and more) to ensure staff and public safety. Museum collections are complex, and we have real experts to ensure they are cared for now and into the future.
Exhibitions come with a new set of skills required. The exhibition committee considers exhibition proposals and determines the most appropriate subject matters or themes to be programmed. Curators then develop these further, undertaking research on the subject, artist(s) or themes, write text, and select objects to best achieve the goal of an exhibition.
Object lists can be solely from our collection, or they can involve loans - in comes the collection team again to manage loan negotiations, logistics and prepare objects for display.
From here the exhibition team creates an overall design for the exhibition, including layout, colours and graphics. They create mounts for objects, frame artworks, prepare display cases, install (or create) walls, and so much more.
For each new exhibition our education team develops programmes for schools, involving yet more research, text development, creation of activities and pre and post information for school visits.
We also develop public programmes where appropriate – these can be wide ranging from an activity in the drop-in-zone, to film screenings, lecture series, workshops and more – all requiring planning and coordination.
Our customer service team redevelop the children’s activity trail as exhibitions change throughout the building, consider any new shop product that supports a current exhibition or theme, and ensure any activities within exhibition spaces are maintained and stocked.
Other public programmes might not be specifically linked to an exhibition but rather connect to cultural events, for example Matariki, Nuit Blanche, film festivals, Diwali and so on.
The same people who pull together all our public programmes also manage venue hire, ensuring users have all the information they need, that the event space is appropriately set-up, sufficient staffing is in place, high standards of customer service are delivered, and that our hirers have a smooth experience.
If that wasn’t enough, all these activities – collections, exhibitions, public programmes, events, venue hire, and all the other things we do, need to be marketed and communicated. So, marketing collateral needs to be written, designed and shared across multiple mediums and platforms. Phew – I’m tired just writing all this. It ‘takes a village’ to run a museum and art gallery and so, again, I’m incredibly grateful for the talented and dedicated people I have the pleasure to work with.
On Saturday October 5 from 6-10pm, is Nuit Blanche and, with activities throughout the building, why not come in and see some of what this talented team do.
