Behind the Scenes: The Art of Installing Exhibitions
Installation of the exhibition Kan Azuma: A Matter of Place, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1 March to 24 June 2024. © Kan Azuma Photo: NGC
Art exhibitions have been admired by visitors since the late 19th century, and large blockbuster exhibitions have drawn art lovers since the 1970s. Each year, the National Gallery of Canada welcomes thousands of visitors, many of whom are eager to see the latest exhibitions. But what happens behind the scenes and who are the people that bring these exhibitions to life? While the Gallery’s visitors are busy enjoying these unique pieces of art – after having taken in the Gallery's cathedral-like approach to the Great Hall – there are many technicians, designers and conservators who, alongside the curators, play a vital role in making this experience impactful for audiences.
Beyond the exhibition spaces, away from the visitors' eyes, there is constant movement behind the scenes. The Gallery's Exhibition Services department has three sub-teams: Design, Installation and Fabrication. The Installation team is responsible for the positioning of works in exhibitions and for the placement of all art at the Gallery. Overall, there are thirty people in the department: designers, installation technicians, a lighting technician, along with packing and fabrication teams.
In charge of coordinating the installation team, Alexis Rodrigue-Lafleur comments on the process: “Every show is quite different. Depending on the artwork, it can change from simple to very complex.” Each project involves many stages: planning, design, preparation of the galleries, moving works of art and display cases (some works of art can weigh up to 3,500 kg), creating crates and platforms, and much else. It also involves receiving loans from other institutions – depending on shipment schedules, works of art can arrive anytime, even in the early morning hours.
The Technical Services team receiving a crate with a work of art, National Gallery of Canada, 2023. Photo: NGC
Every exhibition begins with a curatorial concept, then a proposal, then consideration of how it will all unfold. "It is a long process. Some challenges come, sometimes you can’t get the artwork you want, or sometimes the work can be problematic," says Andrea Kunard, the Gallery's Senior Curator, Photographs. "Working through to the opening can be long, but exciting at the same time. You are depending on a lot of people. Everyone gives it 300 percent.” Each exhibition is assigned a Project Manager, who oversees the entire project. Once the curators have selected the works to be exhibited, the Design team creates the concept and layout of the exhibition. The nature of the works of art – paintings, photographs, sculptures, installation work, video, as well as their dimensions, their condition – determines the look and feel of the exhibition. The various teams review and work together to ensure it can be accomplished.
Depending on the exhibition, it can include works from the Gallery's own collection, enabling them to be shown in a different context. This requires bringing works out of the storage vaults or coordinating their removal from the permanent galleries (and their replacement with alternate works). Often, works are loans from other public or private collections, giving visitors an opportunity to see new works or ones not previously seen. The borrowed works or art are usually placed in storage in order to acclimatize, as rapid fluctuation in temperature can cause damage to these delicate works. They are then moved to the Restoration and Conservation Laboratory for assessment, where they are assessed, then returned to storage to await the final transfer to the exhibition space.
The Exhibition Services team works with the Research and Conservation Laboratory on incoming and outgoing works of art, 2023. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo: NGC
At this stage, the exhibition installation begins. This intensive part of the process can take three weeks or more, depending on the size of the show and the nature of the art. Paintings are easier to place than sculpture installations. The Riopelle: Crossroads in Time exhibition took the technicians less than two weeks to complete, as some of the displays of the sculptures were already prepared earlier. The exhibition included photographs, paintings, sculptures and audiovisual material by Jean Paul Riopelle, as well as by a number of contemporary artists. Three artists came to the Gallery to see their work being installed in the spaces. The design and execution of this exhibition also required a special partition wall, customized display platforms, a special white floor (which needed to be kept pristine for the opening and thus could not be walked on), a subtle partition to show Brian Jungen's Vienna safely at a lower height, just to name a few. Some of the Gallery’s staff are artists themselves and understand how much time and effort goes into the creation of an artwork. Every team member has a deep appreciation and respect for the pieces that are put on view.
Installation of the exhibition Kan Azuma: A Matter of Place, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1 March to 24 June 2024. © Kan Azuma Photo: NGC
After installation is complete and the works are safely on display, ongoing maintenance is required. In collaboration with the Conservation department, the works of art are regularly checked, videos and sound devices are serviced, and the team ensures that none of the art has shifted. Fingerprints – and even noseprints – are cleaned from protective cases. “Even on a quiet day at the Gallery, there is always something happening,” says Rodrigue-Lafleur. “We occasionally reopen display cases to work on smaller pieces in situ; some works briefly come into the lab and are replaced before opening hours. Everything keeps moving behind the scenes.” Every work of art is different and requires different maintenance. All this is done to ensure the works are protected, while giving the public a memorable experience.
Installation view of Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 21 June to 25 August, 2024. © Shelley Niro Photo: NGC
Since April this year, the departments have been working hard on preparing works and spaces for this year's two summer exhibitions: Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch and Radical Stitch. The summer months focus more on rotations in the permanent galleries, before work starts once again on the next round of exhibitions, including Woven Histories, the 2024 Sobey Art Award exhibition and Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts interventions.
The Gallery’s teams work hard day and night to bring visitors a special experience when they set foot in the institution. The final displays of works and exhibitions are just a small piece of the puzzle, bringing together the entire Gallery to work on an exhibition for the public to enjoy.
Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch, organized and toured by the Art Gallery of Hamilton with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), with curatorial support from the National Gallery of Canada, is on view at the National Gallery of Canada until August 25, 2024. Radical Stitch, organized and circulated by MacKenzie Art Gallery, is on view at the until September 30, 2024. Share this article and subscribe to our newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest articles, Gallery exhibitions, news and events, and to learn more about art in Canada.
