8 Principles of Traveling Exhibitions, with Carol Bossert

Making the Museum

What is this thing we call a traveling exhibition?
Do they make money? Are traveling exhibitions the same as temporary ones? How can anyone plan a project for a space they’ll never see?
Carol Bossert (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service / Smithsonian Affiliations) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to reveal the “8 Principles of Traveling Exhibitions”.
Along the way: thinking in whole truckloads, how to get to square two, and what happens when you have a 16-foot narwhal.

Talking Points:

1. Traveling exhibitions aren't temporary exhibitions.
2. Match the exhibition to the realities of the host sites.
3. Traveling exhibitions aren't all the same.
4. Traveling exhibitions are stage sets.
5. Size constraints matter.
6. Weight constraints matter.
7. Traveling exhibitions cannot rely on linear storytelling.
8. Traveling exhibitions must consider staffing at host sites.
9. [BONUS] Do traveling exhibitions make money?

Guest Bio:

Carol Bossert is an interpretive planner, writer and exhibition developer. She began her museum career at the Newark Museum and spent twenty years as an independent museum professional, having been involved in over 80 projects in five countries. Her 2014-2017 podcast Museum Life attracted over 2,000 monthly listeners. In 2017, she accepted a position with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and is currently serving as the program manager for science. Carol holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Texas at Dallas and a B.A. in zoology from DePauw University. She is a graduate of the J. Paul Getty Museum Management Institute.

About:

Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger.

A project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture.

Learn about the firm's creative work at: https://www.cgpartnersllc.com

Show Links:

SITES exhibition offerings: https://www.sites.si.edu/s/

The Museum on Mainstreet: https://museumonmainstreet.org/

Smithsonian Affiliations: https://affiliations.si.edu/

Reach Carol Bossert at: [email protected] or 202-633-2601

Show Contact:

https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger

[email protected]

https://www.cgpartnersllc.com

Newsletter:

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