TRADE SECRETS: The Box
What can we expect at The Box during August / September?
You can expect a really great series of events including talks, tours, live acoustic music and plenty of creative family fun – as well as our fantastic permanent galleries and four different exhibitions that showcase fashion and textiles, local history and culture, contemporary art and painting.
What does it take to establish an exhibition?
It really depends on the scale of the exhibition, but a large-scale show can take about 2-3 years to come to fruition. If it’s a show we’re developing ourselves we’ll start with a theme or subject that needs to be researched and set up an internal team and budget to support whoever is leading on the project. If it’s a show produced by another gallery and which is touring we’ll try and start a conversation with them as early as we can to make sure we secure it for the best possible slot or time of the year.
What work goes on behind the scenes for these to take place?
Producing an exhibition requires a wide range of skill sets and a great deal of work takes place behind the scenes before a show opens to the public. Research, curation, conservation work, project management, budget control, administration, marketing and PR, event planning, community engagement, spatial design, copywriting, proof reading, graphic design and printing are some of the most obvious ones that come to mind.
People’s responses to exhibitions so far?
We’ve had a really varied exhibition programme since we’ve opened which people seem to have really enjoyed. We’ve had some great feedback and in some cases people have had quite an emotional reaction to some of the things they’ve seen. We’ve been working really hard to bring high quality work to the city, showcase our collections effectively and present different voices and viewpoints. There’s no right or wrong way to experience an exhibition, but if we’ve done our jobs well, every show will make our visitors feel something. When I’m walking around our building it’s always great to see this in action and hear people chatting to each other or our volunteers about what’s on display.
With thanks to Jo Clarke, Marketing and Communications Officer at The Box