Exhibition Matters

‘The artwork is no longer the integral part of the exhibition; to curate an exhibition is to curate an experience.’

Bridging the gap between curatorial practices and spatial display methods, this book considers the impact of exhibition design not only on the material structure of the exhibition but also on its narrative potential.

Exhibition Matters—an international collection of writings from academics and practitioners—explores this relationship between materiality and narrative, considering the contradictions inherent in exhibition design as strengths rather than limitations of a hybrid discipline.

Exploring various devices and approaches to spatial dramaturgy (including exhibiting nature and the more-than-human, the multi-disciplinarity of the design process, and pioneering decolonial narratives) alongside innovative ways of studying them, each chapter shows how to move beyond traditional boundaries of exhibition design and elevate the discipline to an art form in itself.

With case studies from Brazil to Italy, Turkey to the USA, this volume provides real-life examples and theoretical reflections on art, architecture and design, thus providing an interdisciplinary and accessible work – ideal for exhibition designers and curators, interior architects, and all those looking to construct spatial narratives beyond the sum of their parts.

Author Biography

Pamela Bianchi is Lecturer in Art History and Exhibition Design at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Belleville (ENSAPB) in Paris, France. An art historian specialising in the relationship between art and architecture and the history of exhibitions and display practices, she obtained her PhD in Art History at the Paris 8 University in 2015. She is the author of The Origins of the Exhibition Space (2023), Dressing Up Spaces (2021) and Espaces de l’œuvre, espaces de l’exposition (2016).

Wesley Meuris is a visual artist based in Antwerp, Belgium. He studied Fine Arts at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and attended a post-academic programme HISK in Antwerp. In 2017, he obtained a PhD in the arts at Sint Lucas Antwerpen and the University of Antwerp. Currently, he conducts postdoctoral research and is a tutor at the Advanced Master in Sint Lucas Antwerpen.