Blockbuster exhibitions road-tested
Design Week
Most museums have trouble coping with the crowds generated by blockbuster exhibitions. John Stones road tests three current shows and concludes that the signage could be much improved
Picture the scene: you're in a crowd, being jostled around and struggling to see where you should go. But you're not trying to get on a rush-hour Tube, or worse still, shopping at Ikea on the weekend. Instead you have paid handsomely for the privilege of attending a blockbuster exhibition.
London is currently home to the global travels of three such beasts: From Russia, a politically sensitive show of early 20th-century paintings at the Royal Academy, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at The O2 dome, and The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army at the British Museum. In each case, the exhibits are stunning enough to draw crowds, but how well does the design and signage of each manage to deal with them?
See the above page for the full story.
- London In The Grip Of Archaeological Fever
Times Online (Dalya Alberge and Yepoka Yeebo) It is really good to see that archaeology, even in the form of blockbuster exhibitions, still has the power to move people. At the moment London has two archaeological exhibitions which are drawing people...
- The Rise Of Blockbuster Art Shows
BBC News (Ray Furlong) An interesting behind the scenes look at the world of blockbuster art shows. When the Tutankhamun exhibition opens at London's O2 arena on 15 November, it will face much more competition than it did the last time it came to...
- Exhibition: More Re Tutankhamun In London + New Dvd
The Telegraph The organisers said they were confident that the nine-month exhibition which opens in November at the Millennium Dome - now known as the O2 - will break the two million visitor mark. This would smash the modern record of 1.7 million visitors...
- Exhibition: More Re Tutankhamun In London
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article01.asp?id=616"The Tutankhamun exhibition opening at the Dome (now renamed the O2) on 15 November could transform the UK exhibition scene. Over 2m visitors are expected for the Egyptian treasures which will remain...
- In Defense Of The Art Museum `blockbuster'
http://tinyurl.com/dcu5g In response to criticism from, amongst others, Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight, Thomas Hoving launches a defense of exhbitions like the Tutankhamun blockbuster currently touring the U.S.. Hoving is the former director...