STORYTELLING EXHIBITIONS Philip HughesBLOOMSBURY VISUAL ARTS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC18 3DP UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA 29 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY VISUAL ARTS and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2021 Copyright © Philip Hughes, 2021 Philip Hughes has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on pp. 166-167 constitute an extension of this copyright page. Cover design by Louise Dugdale Cover image © thenatchdl/iStock All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without Prior permission in writing from the publishers Bloomsbury Publishing Ple does not have any Control over, or responsibility for, any third-p: or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time publisher arty websites referred to regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have ch of going to press. The author and 's have ceased to exist, but can act ranged or si No responsibility for any such changes A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hughes, Philip, 1964- author. Title: Storytelling exhibitions / Philip Hughes Description: London ; New York : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 120211 | Includes bibliographical references and index | Summary: " Storytelling Exhibitions describes the colo and Practice of modern ‘spatial storytellers’ and looks at the potential of exhibitions to shape our understanding of the world. It explains how curators, designers, artists and scientists combine to tell powerful stories through exhibition design, Exhibition designer and educator Philip Hughes shows how contemporary tools and technologies - Gigital reconstruction, 3D scanning and digital archives — interweave with traditional forms of inforrm Ng, displaying and spaces. Wh Promoting to create powerful narrative ether telling stories of politics, trends, society, war inspiration and guidance on designing inst: Science or history, Storytelling Exhibitions provides ‘allations which change the way we think: —Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020086972 (print) | LCCN 2020056973 (ebook) | ISBN 9781350105935 (paperback) | ISBN 9781360105942 (epub) | ISBN 9781350105959 (pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Museum exhibits—Social aspeots | Museums—Philosophy. Classification: LCC AM151 .H84.2021 (print) ILCC AM151 (ebook) | DDC 069/.5—de23 UC record available at https://icen loc ‘gov/2020056972 LC ebook record available at htips:/fecn loo gov/2020056973 ISBN: PB: 978-1-3501-0593-5 PDF: 978-1-3501-0595.9 eBook: 978-1-3501-0594.2 ‘Typeset by Lachina Creative, inc Printed and bound in India To find out more about our authors and books visit \www-bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters Dedicated to VanessaIntroduction ‘The future of exhibitions Introduction This book describes the role and practice of modern ‘spatial storytellers’. It describes how curators, ibiti interpretive planners, designers, artists, scientists, fabricators and others combine to tell powerful The future of exhibitions stories. It argues that wonder is integral to the exhibition experience, and that exhibitions help us to ponder the role of humans in the world at a time of deep concern allow us to admire human achievement, but also to ask questions of human behaviour in the past and Mie ieee ® interrogate evidence, and to ask, ‘what is true?’ This rosy picture of museums today has a flip side, however. Many exhibition makers and museum most trustworthy source oftsfornat a an ees are generally trusted. They are considered the staff are not happy with the world as it has become, and find themselves increasingly in opposition to researchers, the US government, or academic neat naher than local papers, non-profits, corporations, governments, vested interests and museum leadership. Museums also face considerable soufes dfhitnrcal Serene or teaaemic ees Museums are considered a more reliable external criticism. Difficult though itis to speak so generally about such a diverse sector, we see that Significance ofthis eon than books, teachers or even personal accounts by relatives. The initiatives to combat climate change, increase bio-diversity, address hostility to immigration, increase ofopinon in tenet ten pouconsier the remarkable divisions in politics and the polarization accessibility and decolonisation are top of the agenda at museum conferences. As MoMA curator Paola have the puorhintoe ren ees i itions and museums have a unique role in public life and Antonelli said recently, ‘The future is terrifying.’ No longer willing to sit back and observe the harm io cintnet eee ee audiences and to share stories that have credibility. Theres being caused in society, exhibition makers have embraced activism with exhibitions that powerfully experiences are formation nest people do have profound experiences in museums.” Exhibition address fundamental debates. Antonelli encapsulated the mood when she stated that the future just UK, muscume are credited ne tors can trace back career choices to childhood museum vst. Inthe needs to be made better. Rather than angst, I wished we used anger.’ She went on to say, ‘Greta is credited with helping to create community cohesion and improved mental health. angry at the older generation, and that’s fine,’ referring to Swedish environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg. ‘I think that sense of action is what is needed.’ So why are museums addressing difficult subjects debated in the public realm? Following a moment's consideration, itis easy to understand how many of these issues erode the very basis of museums. Natural history museums were set up to record the Earth’s species. It is with horror that they see destruction of the habitats that gave birth to early collections. The concept of public exhibitions largely developed in the 19th century, a world of greater biodiversity and richness. Comparative studies now show unprecedented levels of extinctions and destruction of habitat. Prof Andy Purvis, a Research Leader at the Natural History Museum in London issued a call to action: ‘All the warning lights are flashing: hottest years on record, coral bleaching, rising sea levels, loss of tropical forests, wild populations dectining, and a million species threatened with extinction. We would be failing in our duty to society if we didn’t pass these warnings on.’* Museums and museum collecting has been foundational to our understanding of the planets species. Basic scientific terms such as evolution, biodiversity and sustainability are uniquely interpreted and evidenced in museums. The lack of awareness and disregard surrounding them is an affront to the principles of science that have been championed in museums since they began. Similarly, museums are uniquely linked to cultures abroad. Their remit, particularly for history and ethnographic museums, is often to bring the stories of foreign cultures to the public. They are alarmed to see these cultures despised by populist politicians. Political nationalism has sparked opposition amongst the mainly liberal, educated staff of museums and a feeling that museums and the values which define many museums are under attack. The Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg in Sweden has activism and change at its heart. Their exhibitions address issues such as human trafficking, the harm caused by missionary activity in Africa during the reign of King Leopold in the Congo in the 1890s, and the power dynamics of the people buying, collecting and stealing artefacts from other countries.¢ But there are many other initiatives. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology instigated a programme of hiring refugees and immigrants as guides in defiance of the Od Trump administration’s public moves to limit migration into the United States,’ while the David Museum slaves. Ralph Appelbaum Ase at Wellesley College, also in the US, withdrew or obscured from view artwork on their walls that had about the environment. They stands in front of an install i lation of bri lark ri f ‘ociates, National Museum of African hiner reeset maa, 2016 n History and Culture (NMAAHC), 2016Introduction either been created by an immigrant artist or donated by an immigrant donor. Twenty per cent of the collection was finally removed, leaving many walls entirely blank. Facing pressure and protest Exhibition makers also face considerable external pressure. Protests at museums are now fairly commonplace, and exhibition makers find themselves the target of sharp criticism. In the eyes of many, museums are tainted by dubious sponsorship, colonizing narratives and collections obtained by dubious means. Their educational offer is compromised by the origins of the wealth that endo many of the largest collecting institutions. The debate is rarely a nuanced one. In museum conferences around the world, this normally sedate club has become frustrated by the ubiquity of ‘artwashing’ sponsorship, where museums have become the conduit of choice for Corporate PR sponsorship intended to polish the reputations of polluters and sellers of harmful Opiates. Artists too have taken up this struggle. In 2019, th i i si 1e National Portrait Gallery in London was rocked by the refusal of artist Nan Goldin to display her photographs in the museum. Goldin, herself a former addict, declared she [ de will refuse a prestigious retrospective of her work at Britain’s National Portrait Gallery ifit accepts a gift of £1 million from the Sacklers everyuhere, which are taking Sackler money,’ said Goldin. ‘They are not going [to be able to] continue to operate “business as usual”. People are pushing back and, if they want to maintain their standing as cultural institutions and educational instituti rs Hl ions, they have to listen to the peo; le and they have to do the right thing. They have to make a decision,”® — wed ‘My message is for all institutions Photographer Nan Goldin rotests 1e VBA, for the museum ler name and stop accepting iin with protester i i Protesters at the V&A, calling for luseum to drop the Sackler name an Pp The future of exhibitions In this book, Laim to highlight the work of exhibition makers, many of whom work in museums, but others who do not. These are the people who, working in teams, make exhibitions that address today’s burning issues. They are not content to sit back. These are the people who, working with the material of exhibitions, enrich our sense of the possible. They move us outside of the normal and give us the freedom to imagine different realities. This book aims to look more widely at the ‘how’ of exhibition storytelling and the exhibition storytellers themselves and highlight exciting areas of practice. How are these teams of exhibition makers constituted? As with film, where the production of stories is no longer centralized in a few locations, the ‘production studios’ of exhibitions are scattered in many places. Most are in museums, but as this book goes on to show, the ability to make exhibitions resides in many places. There are known centres of excellence in major institutions, but there are many specialists who work collaboratively with multiple partners in design firms or individually. As ina film studio, these specialities are brought together through project managers and work collaboratively to bring exhibitions to a wide audience. Taim to show how exhibition makers are addressing important debates about the role of museums. For decades, museums have been under attack because of collections acquired in dubious circumstances and in ways that we now understand to be cruel and unfair. While exhibition makers seek to show how a world can change for good, there area number of inconvenient truths lurking in museum stores. Although human remains collected over the last century and a half have largely been repatriated, a persistent suspicion hovers over many historic museums that they have acquired by an asymmetry of power objects of vast importance to many cultures and they hold those collections hostage." The chapters of this book Asa designer, my focus is on the design of the process that enables new exhibitions, but also to highlight that the specialist practices of exhibition are interdependent. There are no good exhibitions that are brilliantly designed but have poor storytelling or poor curation, or good exhibitions that do not properly address their audiences. Exhibition specialists work together, and the production teams who make exhibitions are necessarily collaborative, I set out the role of non-subject experts, interpretive planners, engagement specialists and ‘interpretive designers in making a better system. How do you make a sustainable future for exhibitions that will enable dialogue and discussion about critical societal issues such as climate change, biodiversity, migration, identity and history? How can the mission of museums, the storehouses of evidence, be relevant to today’s challenges? How can we ensure that all sections of society are represented in these new museums? The following —_—_—_—_—_——— chapters address these issues. 03 u Masquerade interactive film made with a cast of 40 volunt Story (1) asks why stories are central to the making ; Cea of new exhibitions and specialists work together to build from three community groups. Clay Interactive Ltd, Europe 1600 1815 galleries, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2016Introduction complex stories that engage audiences. It asks why storytelling has become a significant mode of making exhibitions. The roles of different exhibition makers are explored. It ends with a discussion about audiences and a conversation about the unique difficulties of discussing ‘calls to action’ in the exhibition space. Authorship (2), the second chapter, asks who can ‘author’ an exhibition idea. It describes how individuals and communities can generate exhibition ideas with examples of how exhibition ideas have emerged. It also discusses co-creation ~ how exhibition makers seek Partnerships outside of museums to make exhibitions and who can have a voice in determining the content of an exhibition. Exhibits (3), the third chapter, asks what the ingredients of an activist exhibition are, How should exhibits be chosen to maximize the effectiveness and how discusses how exhibition makers can maximize their ability to reach audiences through exhibits, Identity (4), the ‘who’ of exhibitions, is a critical part of exhibition making. This chapter takes some examples to show how stories in exhibitions are used to represent communities. It also discusses how some exhibitions involve working with communities to interpret gives examples of the impact of expropriated artefacts and discusses critical artefacts. Wonder (5) is about the role of the museum societal issues. It talks about the need to create and fascination to change how the world works, are these ‘ingredients’ changing? It and represent stories. It also Current attempts to repatriate to inspire, involve and bring about action on important e experiences that engage and create the stimulation / Particularly in engaging with climate change. Digitally recreated under \dpinted fax he ‘ground caves with handpint f rn, Lacaux Intemational Cente for aint facsimiles ofthe prehistoric cave Paintings, ave Art, 2019 Design by Casson ‘The future of exhibitions Truth (6) is about the current war on truth and ways to explore truth in the exhibition environment. It shows how exhibition makers are gathering and displaying evidence and how exhibitions can ask the audience to re-examine their own ideas about what is true and what is fake. This chapter also explores new media and how ‘superpowers’ will change how people and places are portrayed in exhibitions. Virtual (7) is a personal account of an exhibition staged during the Covid-19 pandemic which could only be experienced virtually. This chapter explores some of the benefits of the virtual exhibition and some of the opportunities it offers. It also offers some thoughts about involving and engaging experiences generated through social media and with limited resources. Future (8) takes a brief look at the past in exhibitions and extrapolates a new future for museums using key projects as a guide. It discusses the impact of a rapidly changing climate, destruction of biodiversity, migration and other factors and how they might play a role in the museum of the future. A note about the intended scope of this book Many exhibition books are practical handbooks, things you should know and which will endanger, compromise or risk the wellbeing of visitors to exhibitions if you didn’t learn them. There is a powerful. incentive to buy books like that for practitioners because there are really are things you should not do in exhibitions, some of which — for designers particularly in terms of the design of circulation - can be embarrassing if wrong. I have highlighted some of those aspects in previous books, Exhibition Design (1st and 2nd Edition). Yet it is also a little tedious to hear only about what you should know and can be punished for not knowing. I wanted to avoid that in this volume and to try to highlight some of the things I learned which are worth knowing or may be useful to look into. Some of the insights are my own, but largely they are the product of conversations with people who make exhibitions that I admire, and who have stimulating views about their own practice and the exhibitions of the future. There are lots of unfinished thoughts here. Not every conversation leads to a firm conclusion; most, I hope, open up new avenues for exploration. The stimulus for much of the discussion is partly a response to wider societal concerns. Running through the book there are some themes which pop up on TV or in newspapers. There is a deep- seated concern about the divisions and opposing communities of public knowledge; a dislike of science in particular, and polarization in politics, that even the Covid-19 pandemic has been unable to ameliorate. One group believes one thing, one group believes another. Those groups are aware of each other, but they don’t cross over or interact significantly or meaningfully. For this reason, I have included insights about reception of exhibitions as well as the intentions of the exhibition makers. The exhibition format has limitations as well as opportunities, and itis useful to talk about them. Iam much indebted to the interpretive planner and audience researcher, Ben Gammon, for his considerable insights in this area. Of course, no blame attaches to him for any errors in my interpretation of his perceptive comments. Implicit in much of the discussion also is an awareness that facts on their own are insufficient to make an argument or to cross the many divisions. There is a genuine desire for each camp to be blind to the arguments of the other. There is a real sense lurking deep beneath the conversations that exhibitions, like good journalism or documentaries, need to find ways to bring stories to attention that underlie polarized current debate and shed light on our debates. Also implicit in the discussions is the ongoing revolution in approaches to sources of information and storytelling. People communicate differently, rely on different types of information and regard the knowledge that is shown in exhibitions differently from year to year. What we are doing this year won't be what we areIntroduction | doing tomorrow or the year after. There are lots of commonalities, but changes in forms and formats of public dialogue are continuous. : You may well be asking, why are these issues being considered in a book that features design, and is written by a designer? For the purposes of this book, I have tried to wrap up design with other aspects of exhibition making practice and to put them together. There are significant skillsets which are in the domain of the exhibition designers and for which they alone are responsible. Yet I betieve it is useful to consider the designer's output in the context of the final output and not to completely separate out design tasks. I have used the term exhibition maker more often and have tended to talk less about the individual specialities within larger teams than the work of the whole. There is an assumption amongst some that design is an activity which is essentially without values; that its role is to make things look attractive and to respond to the task of making something (anything?) more interesting. This is a misperception. Exhibition design is about making experiences that have real value. The content, the design and the interpretation go hand-in-hand. There are specialist skills, but to achieve the overall task design is more than just good presentation. The role is about creating real involvement: provoking, asking questions, engaging audiences in ideas and debates and creating context, or a ‘space’ for the re-evaluations, thoughtfulness and engagements that make exhibitions special. This book deals with a kind of storytelling exhibition, a type of communication, experience, dialogue, discussion that is already happening in many cities and towns. However, not all exhibitions i are storytelling exhibitions. There are many exhibitions which do not use this methodology and which rely on other ways of bringing topics, works of art or indeed anything to light, but storytelling isa feature of a large Percentage of major exhibition practice and for that reason I believe it deserves the attention I have given it in this book. Storytelling exhibitions are often a conversation with the visiting public, drawing attention to Perspectives, hidden truths and little-known areas of knowledge. As such, exhibitions are ‘dynamic,’ speaking to audiences about the things they know and about which they are forming ideas and opinions, and as such can be Important to the way we think,Dynamic area of practice Storyteller is a title that has been adopted by a generation of people who make exhibitions: designers, curators, interpretation specialists, museum educators and other museum staff. This chapter aims to show how storytelling is used to make vibrant and exciting exhibitions. It sets out how storytelling harnesses the creative energy of multi-faceted teams to bring stories, ideas, methods, inventions, concepts and new phenomena to greater attention. It also discusses how stories are developed to resonate with audiences and refined to exclude distracting detail. It discusses how use of language in exhibitions can cause misunderstanding and lack of comprehension. As ever, the exhibition and museum scene is diverse and with many strands, but the storytelling idea is an established part of the museum landscape. It is an idea that continues to develop in its sophistication and depth through experience and better understanding of audience response.\ MM NA, //////// Story Breaking with convention Why is storytelling in exhibitions important today? The excitement of contemporary practiceis generated by the energy and drive of storytellers to chart new territory in rethinking traditional narratives and practices. They take on the essential stories of our day: such as fake news, climate change, marginalization, religion, biodiversity, migration, identity, the data revolution, Poverty and political violence. Het Nieuwe Instituut in the Netherlands is an example of : an institution willing to use storytelling to highlight new narratives. Once an institution committed to monographic exhibitions dedicated to (usually white and male) sought instead to tell the story of those who wanted to subvert the systems exhibition, Architecture of Appropriation, tells the stories of the ‘Krakers’ or illegally occupied empty housin in Lenzburg in Switzerland stag architects, they of ownership. Their r squatters who gn Amsterdam in the 1980s. More recently, the Stapferhaus " jed FAKE. The Whole Truth, an exhibition that asks ‘What's true? What's a lie?’ Or another exhibition in Lenzburg, Home. An ntertonan Eoerince oe Questions the meaning of home in an age where migration is a norm : The excitement of exhibitions is not just the story, f f ollectio , a venerable old instit cdgiest exhibitor in a typically staid arena, bringing climate change to the fore. Ni Director Sergei Eisenstein innovated in the Use of storyboards to orchestrate lighting, music and photography to build dramatic tension and has inspired many exhibition designers. Why story? Itis in that context that we can see the importance of the storytelting method. So what is the storytelling method? Simply put, itis the organization of exhibition content as if told bya storyteller. Taking any subject — it could be space exploration in the 20th century or Persian art of the 8th century - the initial aim is to render the subject as simply as possible as if told like a story. That is what forms the basis of the exhibition organization and structure. In the act of turning exhibitions into stories, something magical happens. The scene is set, the place, the time, the main characters and a situation are described. The story develops, there are twists, turns and finally, an outcome. Good storytelling tells us how a topic should be conveyed. Too much detail and we are lost, too little development of the story and we are bored and unsatisfied. The story that intrigues you and that plays back in your head is the one that shows a good organization of its material and may have surprise, intrigue and food for thought. Memorable stories The strengths of this method are many. Ifthe story is memorable, all team members can recall it. The telling of the story becomes a common goal, a kind of overriding purpose that unites. More significantly, almost anyone can be the storyteller. In a large museum exhibition, the storyteller is the usually the curator. But the storyteller does not need to be academically trained, they simply need to know the story. Their standing and the quality of the exhibition depends on it. The facts of the story can be checked later, but at the beginning at least, a narrator's storytelling ability is paramount. For this reason, exhibitions have the power to truly express the stories of people regardless of who they are. If.am telling a story, and itis my story, and I am reasonably capable of conveying that story, then that story can form the main basis of the exhibition as long as I have the assistance of people who can help in transforming that story into a designed and completed exhibition. The impact of the storytelling approach can be therefore be radical. It can an open up new topics, new ideas and convey stories from every angle. Not just top-down histories, but bottom-up stories which invert, question and interrogate, It is a common misconception that all stories need to be chronological. Most often they are, but sometimes they are told backward (Botticelli Re-imagined, V&A) and they can be playful and use cinematic techniques (the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library, Ekaterinburg). Also, people pinball around exhibitions in unexpected ways. The story is therefore rarely experienced ina strict and predetermined sequence.MAAN MEEBO D ‘Sr, / / /// / /// Story EEK 1.2 This superb exhibition has the distinction of being one of the very few ‘reverse chronology’ exhibitions, beginning with Botticeli’s death. Botticelli Reimagined, V&A, UK, 2016 Joint storytelling The small miracle and excitement of this method is th a day and between them develop a story together. As for some topics, the storytelling method is flexible. 1 narratives to be told alongside each other. That is no but project lat a group of people can go into a room for difficult as it often is to get wide agreement tt accommodates competing ideas and allows t to say that there will always be agreement, relies on the skill of a good facilitator, able exhibition format is able to convey f the story to map across the physicals to individual rooms. che, if storytelling is not innately remarkable dialogue and understanding , to work with People from widely differing No technique will resolve truly flawed thoroughly. Yet, the story format provides a human characteri ‘istic, itis general enough to allow S possible, in most circumstances Some stories stick in the mind more than others Exhibition makers look for stories that are simple and succinct and highly memorable. Did Newton discover gravity when an apple fell on his head? Or did Archimedes leap out of the bath naked shouting Eureka! when he realized that volume could be measured by the displacement of water? We will probably never know the exact truth, but these stories have stuck in the minds of generations of schoolchildren. Interpretive planner Ben Gammon uses in his workshops Made to Stick, a book which describes a set of six rules devised by authors Chip and Dan Heath to describe the best way to devise memorable stories. Application of the storytelling approach Perhaps the most dramatic and exciting example of the storytelling museum to emerge in the last decade is the National Museum of African American History and Culture. A new museum discussed and planned for over a century finally opened in 2016 to great acclaim. After six months, 1.2 million people had visited the NMAAHC, making it one of the most visited Smithsonian museums. Years after opening, the NMAAHC remains one of the busiest museums on the Mall in Washington, DC, and one for which demand for tickets often outstrips supply. Until September 2016, the African American experience, although present in the National Museum of American History, remained largely untold. The Museums story is one that was developed over nearly a decade by Director Lonnie Bunch IIL, who guided the project since his appointment in 2005. The responsibility must have been daunting. How do you tell the story of a people and nation over so many years? It’s a task that very little could prepare you for, and required the collaboration of a many historians, curators and other contributors who gave their time freely. Visitors to the NMAAHC continue to pay the most handsome compliment a museum can be paid, by staying for an average of six hours on their visit, a duration which is exceptional. And the critics largely agree with the visitors, as the museum has won awards for its interpretation, design and architecture. Soon after the opening, Bunch described how the story came together. [The core team] would meet daily in a conference room lined with large sheets of yellow paper where we wrote down every idea, every hope and every challenge we had to overcome.’ It is significant that the story came before the team had collected a significant list of artefacts. Artefacts were sought only after the story of the exhibition was determined. ‘We could not finalize the specific interpretations and directions until we obtained collections that carried the stories we felt were important.’ Bunch also had a feel for the kind of displays he required: ‘I also wanted the exhibitions to have a cinematic feel. As someone who revels in the history of film, I needed the visitor to find presentations that were rich with drama, cinematicjuxtapositions, with storylines that elicited emotional responses and interconnectivity so that the whole museum experience was a shared journey of discovery, memory and learning.’ ! But having ideas about the stories of African Americans was simply not enough to anchor the content. Bunch knew that he needed to ground the content in the expertise and knowledge of scholars; he undertook a comprehensive review of the ideas with scholars from universities across the States. The outcome of his discussions with historians, literary scholars, folklorists and political scientists guided the project's story, taking on significant lessons and new ideas. Bunch learned ‘how we needed to broaden our definition of culture; how central the use of literature would be to give voice to the history.’?WD, f/f // | // Story Developing the story The makers of exhibitions work in teams. They work together to transform ideas, topics and exhibition assets such as objects into an exhibition. Similar to the development of ideas for film production, you need people who understand the story and can develop the story into a given format with drama, surprise and intrigue. Interpretive planners are skilled in working with the people who understand the facts and the story. It is their job to create a workshop environment in which the story emerges. They run this process like a showrunner who works with television eerie script and can provide the alchemy that turns the base metal of facts into Interpretive planners are, to some extent, the heroes of this book because it is their contribution that provides the layers of argument, interrogation and narrative ener that drives a good exhibition. More than any other professional, itis the increased ” professionalization of interpretive planning that raises the standard of exhibitions and turn an exhibition from a dutiful organization of objects into an ex ressive medi No du thes of interpretive planning will continue to evolve and be increasingly recoil a an not, the interpretive planner’s skill is to pare down extraneous material. Interpretive specialist Ben Gammon uses Michelangelo's description 1g, chipping away the excess ? : M description of ‘sculpting, chipp iy Most interpretive planners insist on the importance of face-to-f key people in one place and all of their attention on the taskin ha opens up a space for debate, wi and value placed on the con Here is a descri ‘ace workshops. With the id, the interpretive planner , dialogue and storytelling, with no sug tribution of everyone in th: < i fe room. The in Ption by professional interpretive planner Kate Hulh The first thing is that there are me. She goes on to say, You can show people how to tell a story really w ronological, like y really well without being chronological, li not writ i * that strengthens ee rite ina formulaic way, but they tell a story in a way poet has a confides eins: Tt doesn’t feel bewildering for a reader when the most important thing first, or set the nd then work back to find out why it - You can tell the t exciting part, a Scene by starting with the mos: happened. Are exhibitions experienced in a linear way? Paul Bowers, interpretive planner, makes the case that even if we plan museums as a linear story, they are rarely experienced ina linear fashion: ‘There is a vast body of research describing exhibitions as “free choice learning environments” ~ they are experienced as non- linear, experiential spaces in which social and emotional outcomes are of primary importance.’ With this in mind, a typical workshop might start with a description of the story. It can start simply with the question, ‘what happened?’ The storyteller or storytellers will start the story and key parts of the story of the exhibition are recorded by the interpretive planner. The story is typically written on a whiteboard or screen, at least somewhere where everyone can see. Whatever form that takes, shorthand notes, or even titles of stories, a process of drawing out the story begins in a free, open and uncensored way. As Kate Hulme points out, in the context of a workshop, itis important to ‘get the whole story out first and work to refine it later. Once the story is out of the minds of the storytellers and is written up, the story is ready to begin a process of development. The interpretive planner asks themselves and the group, how will this play with your audience? What will a child think? How would your family react? What aspects of the story can be added to or even subtracted to make the story coherent? The storyteller is encouraged to think about how they would address the story to diverse audiences; what is it that might grip a 50-year-old builder? What might appeal to a 20-year-old marketing assistant? What would appeal to a schoolchild of 12 years old? The response to this is often instructive. Many different aspects of the story are revealed. Gap analysis and ‘killing your darlings’ The first flurry of activity is nearly always a revelatory moment in this process. But once the first iterations are made, the interpretive planner encourages another look. Here is Kate Hulme agai At first ideally, I do a bit of a gap analysis first in terms of what you're already doing well, what you haven't addressed? What are you not delivering that they need?? The results of concept workshops will often need to be refined until it becomes a really successful concept. The process of refinement also means that you have to lose elements that do not fit. One of my own clients explained to me once, ‘this is the hardest part . . . in every project there was always a pet or cherished idea that we cling on to.’ But if it does not work, you have to be prepared to delete it, or as he said, ‘killing your darlings is a necessary part of the process.’ Refining exhibitions often requires thinning out surplus material. As one commentator says, ‘The instinct of most curators is to pack as much into an exhibition as you possibly can’ - often to the detriment of the visitor experience. Developing the storyrrr ////// / Expressing the ‘big idea’ Not every exhibition has to be a ‘big idea’, but for many exhibition developers it’s worth exploring whether your exhibition concept is really worth its place in the world. Doesit express anything new, does it simply duplicate similar experiences in other institutions, oris the story explored better in in film or online? Alex Burch at the Natural History Museum in London explains, ‘museums no longer need to be encyclopaedias . .. if you want information, then you can look at Wikipedia . . . what you are trying to do is to create (an experience) that is compelling, surprising and thought-provoking.’ You have to ask yourself, what is your big idea?” For exhibition developers, the ‘big idea’ is not necessarily about information, or some great breakthrough in knowledge. A profound Piece of new knowledge js important, but itis only significant when it can be successfully experienced and imparted to the visitor. What the visitor wants to do, how they imagine spending a couple of hours of the , highly significant. Can you offer the visitor an experience that wi inform that they can encounter on their own terms? In the context of exhibitions, asin other media, communication is not a one-way street. The exhibition encounters an audience who have their own preoccupations, theories and heir ow 7 ideas; the key to ope: 2 visitors is to take that into account. " opening 2 Successful ac ir precious leisure time is also ill thrill, delight, transport and the audience should know. The new and better appr " oach e; exhibition For the audience to bring their own thoughts, feelin eo ae thin the ights, feelings and Preoccupations to the Tso that they can see themselves within engage in differing ways, A set of cues are proffered to en Those cues take them beyond imme interpretive planner Ben Gammon s. Pause, reflect, suspend judgement, r the realm ofa story. As ‘ays, ‘a great exhibition is one 7 Who is it for? How will the story appeal to different people? Children, adults, senior citizens? How will it be experienced by people with learning or physical disabilities? The opportunity exists here to open up the storytelling process to think how ideas will have wide appeal. Engaging audiences is the special skill of ‘audience advocates’ or ‘engagement’ staff. Ideally, exhibition teams consult their audiences before planning the exhibition, and all of the exhibition development team become aware of the outcomes of the consultation, including curators. There is an onus on the whole team to think insightfully about the audience needs. Engagement specialists look at studies carried out by exhibition makers on other exhibitions and, where there are gaps, they frequently commission new studies to ask not only who will come to their exhibitions, but also ask critical questions about typical behavior of their audiences, their existing views and knowledge. Engagement specialists work with every type of audience, and they test ideas on these audiences, both through formal evaluations and less formally through personal comment and online feedback. How do we imagine our audience? When making anything, particularly an exhibition, exhibition teams think about who the visitors might be. You are designing for a ‘phantom public’? people who are not real but whom you imagine to be real. Perhaps they are like you, or perhaps not. This is inevitably cultural. Ican more easily imagine an exhibition for my own white British children than an exhibition that might appeal to my Bangladeshi British neighbour's children for example - one powerful reason why exhibition makers need to be more diverse. There are studies which help here, but Thave spenta lifetime working out what my wider social group like and what they don’t like. A few studies are hardly a substitute. But one tool that many exhibition makers have found helpful is a matrix of motivations similar to that set out by John Falk on the next page. It describes how audiences are motivated in different ways and the kinds of experience that they might be looking for. It helps exhibition makers think about the types of experience that they can make to address a varied audience. Who is it for?Story Visitor motivations Explorers: Visitors who are curiosity driven with a generic interest in the content ofthe museum. They expect to find something that will grab their attention and fuel their learning, 1 remember thinking I wanted to learn my science basics again, like biology and that stuff. .1 thought [before coming], you're not going to pick up everything, you know, but you ae going to learn some things.” Facilitators: Visitors who are socially motivated. Their vist is focused on primarily enabling the experience and learning of others in their accompanying social group, ‘[Icame] to give [my] kids a chance to see what early life was like . .. it’s a good way to spend time with the family in a non-commercial way. They always learn so much.’ _Professional/Hobbyists: Visitors who feel a close tie between the museum content and their professional or hobbyist passions. Their visits are typically motivated by a desire to satisfy a specific content-related objective. ‘I’m starting to put together a saltwater reef tank, sol havea lot of interest in marine life. I'm hoping to pick up some ideas {here at the aquarium.” Experience seekers: Visitors who are motivated to visit because they perceive the museum o an important destination. Their satisfaction primarily derives from the mere fact of having pe there and done that’. ‘We were visiting from out-of-town, looking for something fun to that wouldn't take al day. This seemed like a good idea; afterall, we're in Los Angeles and Someone told us this place just opened up and it’s really neat,’ Rechargers: Visitors who are primarily or restorative experience. They see the m confirmation of their religious beliefs, seeking to have a contemplative, spiritual and/ museum as a refuge from the work-a-day world orasa like art museums. They are so very quiet and relaxing, Challenges for agenda-setting exhibitions and visitor engagement Looking further into visitor studies, it becomes apparent how creating an agenda-setting exhibition can be challenging. An enthusiastic exhibition team absorbed by new information about an exhibition topic can simply forget how little people know or care about a particular topic. This is perhaps the biggest challenge to the ‘activist’ exhibition and the use of exhibitions or perhaps any form of communication in addressing issues of critical importance. Itis too easy to assume that others think like you do. The following section is particularly relevant to climate change. First ofall, it might be assumed that the vast majority of citizens of the UK believed in fundamental principles of science. But studies show that a significant minority of the population do not. A poll (Ipsos Mori, 2014) in 2014 found that while 41 per cent of people in the UK believe in evolution, one fifth of the population of the UK hold a creationist viewpoint.* A report by the Natural History Museum stated that ‘there is evidence of many misconceptions among public audiences about what evolution is and how it works, e.g., that evolution applies to other species but not humans.” The majority response, borne out by a number of studies, is not that most people reject evolution, but that they want other perspectives such as creationism taught alongside natural selection.* The outcome is that people in this poll want the evidence- based science of evolution to be taught alongside creationist ideas for which there is no evidence. The ever brilliant John Dewey has a nice line on effective learning He describes a vital part of any effective learning as the need to suspend judgement and Whois t for? so different than the noise and clutter of the fest ortho ct? reflect, Learning occurs at a sweet spot between absolute certainty - which closes down ty reflection; and absolute befuddlement - which stops it before it’s even begun. Likewise a great i exhibition experience is one which encourages visitors to pause, reflect, suspend judgement, ! Falk, 3. "Understanding Museum Visitors’ Motivations and Learning’ question others gee ine ed as }en Gammon, Interpretive Planner The ‘big idea’ For some exhibitors, the ston ition i i i it isveryi i ‘activist’ ‘ s, 'y exhibition is a necessa Audience studies also show something else which is very interesting for makers of ‘activist Fenevations of audiences as their habits change. For a, development to engage new exhibitions, There is a basic misunderstanding between the museum community and people at high levels of public engagement a storyteller committed to maintaining large in the world about the nature of theory and fact. People are looking for facts, which are certain and ‘true’. They are not engaged in the type of typical debate where ‘true’ and ‘false’ are constantly debated in a context where there is also consensus about greater realities. The debate about climate change particularly is confusing for many and has sown seeds of doubt in the public mind. Itis hard for visitors to imagine that scientists can examine, dispute and reinterpret individual pieces of evidence amongst the backdrop of an overwhelming consensus. Ifa factis ‘true’, how can it also still be questioned? This is a fault that lies partly outside of the remit of museums, but which is a real challenge for exhibition makers. Scientists workin a context in which it is fundamentally important to admit the limits to their knowledge. The working hypothesis is ‘the best we have for now’. The willingness to evaluate and question is part-and-parcel of scientific research. Yet admission of the tentative nature of science can appear to be indecision to a public not versed in science. nd visitor targets, t As Alex Burch of the Natural History M i oa ence en a exhibitions to confirm factual questioStory ES 13 Most storytelling exhibitions use linear 1 2 3 4 5 chronology. A step forward in space isa step forward in time. There are some (few) exceptions where the last events are at the beginning and the earliest events are retold at the end. a le 14 Exhibitions are very e e rarely experienced ina completely linear way. Visitors routinely miss out parts of the story, and sometimes go back to see things they may have missed. aa 15 ‘Star’ exhibits draw i visitors’ attention ' first. Visitors often see them before looking for interpretation or other subordinate exhibits/ experiences, See 1.6 Stories can be told through different media: film, objects, graphics, illustrations, web material, interactivity, immersive experience ete. —— oy Emotional rollercoaster: stories have moments of drama, calm, anticipation and resolution. ——— 18 Sculptor Lorado Taft's ‘Dream Machine’ zimed to show copies of the world’s most important sculpture and architecture, organized in seven aisles, one for each of the world’s ‘most important cultures’, each arranged chronologically. This comparative study would reveal ‘the meaning of life.” Whois it for?Story Itis interesting to note that to achieve real change in perceptions of issues of huge public concern such as climate change or species extinction, exhibition makers will need to address critical skills as well as lack of knowledge.’ We will all need to learn to decode scientific language. But meanwhile, scientists and interpretive planners need to understand how their statements are received. Given the persistent misinterpretation of science, the makers of activist exhibitions must take care how they communicate. Strident messages that assume a common understanding of global challenges can alienate visitors. The process of making exhibitions is a process of opening up dialogue through storytelling. Visitors are, after all, trying to enjoy a day out. Their motivations vary; some might say, ‘we always wanted to come,’ or they may simply may have been nearby and have decided to drop in. A family who finds themselves at an exhibition while ducking out of the rain are unlikely to overturn deeply held beliefs. It is critical to understand audience motivation and level of interest in understanding how to engage audiences best in exhibition topics and stories. Communicating messages about science Studies show that the climate deniers, the creationists and the flat earthers stay away from science museums and museums of natural history. Museums are already to some extent singing to the choir. Climate-deniers, creationists and flat-earthers are unlikely to visit exhibitions ' that may contradict their beliefs. The real target of the ‘activist’ exhibition is the agnostic, the Person who is willing to believe in multiple truths, but who can be persuaded along a continuum from faith-based ideas to evidence-based ideas." : While visitors are generally turned off by i i y hectoring and didact i i shows that schools trips are also negatively r idons that a hea ies Secipine. © Studies show that customizable experiences, based on exploration and tiscovery a unique features and opportunities or the site itself, are valuable. The potential of arming from a museum visit may only be realized later in the classroom. How can exhibition makers Speak in a way that can be understood? Studie i i Suis veto oxerts and ordinary visitors to museums often speak a different language. istainability mean different things to different People. Whereas for many Every oil company has a sustainabili Policy, and tal tain: in relation to i . : ne » licy, and talks about sustai ability i i example, ‘sustainable business models’ vince ably are Fes pron sed to rere Baet connection to climate ee ‘er to companies making money and have no mlrs tase bare ean ee ae nderstand? If th i sustainability, they have to ask th Toinvee id t0 use words suchas ; emsel i sce and not the meaning in hewevtda ey can reinvest the word with their meaning ves how th rge. Who is itfor? Wording is also very important. Terms such as ‘theory’, ‘model’ and ‘proof’ are used far differently in common usage than in science. A theory for most people is a guess, while for a scientist a theory is ‘an explanation for a set of facts, that has been well-supported and never disproved by observation and experiment.” Itis easy to see how the public could doubt scientific knowledge about global warming or natural selection when the word ‘theory’ is used. It seems like a guess — certainly nothing for which you would want to change your life.”? Enabling change For many ‘activist’ exhibitions, the hope is that the outcome will be change. But how do visitors help achieve change? Can a brief moment of enthusiasm at the end of an exhibition cause a visitor to take up important societal campaigns? Audience studies are critical here, not only to gauge public understanding and motivations, but also to understand how people can turn engagement into action. A biodiversity study in the UK showed that the people surveyed first of all were not aware of the level of species extinction in the UK, but also a substantial minority felt powerlessness to make change. Almost a third (30 per cent) of the UK public feel ‘there is nothing I can do personally to help protect the UK's biodiversity.’ This is something that ‘activist’ exhibition makers have responded to in a substantial way. As this book aims to show, action has become an integral part of the ‘activist’ exhibition. Studies also show that negative messages can make people feel powerless to make change. If you want to shock people into understanding an issue, you have to tell them they are going to lose something that they care about, or which will affect them materially, like a coral reef that they might go to as a tourist, or a beautiful landscape that will disappear forever. Only when they are emotionally engaged can you address them with intellectual arguments, information about threats and what can be done to change the situation. The order in which the public encounters these messages is important. The public needs to emotionally engage with biodiversity to personally value it before they intellectually engage with the reasons to care about the environment, understand how it is threatened and take action to help conserve it.’ Other approaches also show how we should think about portraying topics. Mark Earls isa writer and consultant on marketing, communications and behaviour change. His approach focuses on communicating who is doing something, not just what is required to change minds. Here is a quote from a radio programme: It plays much stronger to people in our culture if we say other people are doing this thing. Rather than you should. It’s a much simpler heuristic, much simpler to understand. People I know and I like, people like me are doing this ... Don’t say what the benefit of it is, don’t say what you are going to lose, just focus on other people who also think this way, or also are doing this thing. It’s much easier to communicate. Don’t give me a rational argument, just tell me my best mate is doing it. It’s nota simple, easy, one-time only play, you have to do it repeatedly, again and again. . . ike all behaviour change . . . this is what campaigners who care about rational argument forget, there never was a political discussion where people say, ‘you've changed my mind’, ‘you have laid out the facts of the case.’ It doesn’t work like that. And so we should stop trying to change people’s minds. There is a big body of evidence that people change their minds after they have changed their behaviour. If you think about it, post-rationalization is a very human thing."Story Can tech provide ‘superpowers’ for the future exhibition? Exhibition professionals are often divided in their opinion of the value of technology. D interpretation is no longer seen as ‘disneyfication’ but the danger of seeming to aband rigour, or at least traditional practice, is still there. What is the need to embrace new technologies? Or find new modes of representing complex topics? Is the traditional t and study collection role of the museum being undermined? With any new adventure The argument I will make throughout this book is that new echnologies that are being to break new ground in research are being repurposed to make exciting and popular storyt! exhibitions, 3D scanning, digitized biodynamics and other new technologies are researc and a key part of scientific enquiry. Their repurposing as tools for immersive digital experts isa practical use of existing hard data to reach audiences. The point remains that many the technologies used for making history ie and science accessible are the same tools used for scientific enquiry. The adoption of new technologies for interpretation and storytellingis recognizably linked to new research. Digital tools used by researchers to interpret com plex phenomena are also valuable as explanatory devices for ex hibition visitors. ‘fundamental part of exhibitions A fundamental part of exhibit’ Storytelling is an established part of exhibition making, and practitioners have adopted storytelling as a means of bringing stories to public attention. Its practice has evolved and become an effective tool for highlighting topics of urgent public interest. It can provide the ground to a discourse where audiences become effectively engaged in the issues of today. For practitioners and storytelling professionals, the results of their planning are evidenced in finished exhibitions. How often does an exhibition visitor come away from the exhibition and exclaim about the quality of storytelling? By all accounts, that is rare. High quality storytelling underlies a process which becomes apparent through experience of objects, labels, script, films, interactives, images and other media. Nevertheless, storytelling remains a relatively unacknowledged but important part of exhibition making. In the following chapters, we look at examples of storytelling exhibitions and practices which may set the course for future evolutions. rmeeeseesr 19 This exhibition has one big idea’, asking visitors to explore lying and deception in their everyday lives. Kossman de Jong, Fake. The Whole Truth, Stapferhaus, Switzerland, 2018Authorship Who can make an exhibition? Can anyone make an exhibition? They can. Exhibitions are not necessarily the preserve of big institutions with huge budgets and sponsorship of big corporations or even government backing. Do you need a PhD., a bureaucracy and vast warehouses of stored objects? Well, not really. While sophisticated research skills and objects are always useful, to start the ball rolling these are not actually required. Exhibition projects start and are maintained by powerful ideas and stories and by people with the commitment to make them heard. Money and backing are important once an idea is up and running, but in the germination of an idea, money is arguably secondary to the quality of the idea and its potential to draw an audience. This chapter illustrates the stories of people working inside and outside of the museum sector to bring exhibitions to their audiences. —— 2a Seun Oduwole, architect and project champion for the John K Randle Centre for Yoruba History and Culture, Lagos, Nigeria | i 4