Image: Powerhouse 'Photo of the Day' blogYesterday Robin mentioned the Powerhouse exhibition, The Odditoreum so I thought you might be interested in finding out a little more about it. The Odditoreum began life as an idea for a small school holiday program but became a popular exhibition, book and limited edition print. The project had many constraints including a budget of only $7000 (excluding staff time) and was conceived as a 'low-tech' way of engaging visitors with the permanent collection.
The show was 'curated' by children's book author Shaun Tan. Tan chose 10 objects from a long list he was sent by the Public Programs Producer who had compiled and refined the list in consultation with curators, registrars and conservators. He then wrote fictitious labels of approx. 100 words for each object. Visitors were also invited to write their own labels. The 'real' label information was also included but only at the end of the exhibition.
The show was a big hit with audiences of all ages and is a good reminder that you don't always need a million bucks to pull off a good idea. It is also a good 'real-life' example of a the type of engagement people are also seeking online.
Caz,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for bringing my attendtion to this article... What a joy to have interesting/follow-up information spoon fed to my desk! I enjoyed the curators open and articulate account of this exhibition's collaborative development, within limitations. A great way to bring authors and collections to life - and together. And I just love the 'up from the basement' feel to Chan's curation and writing for this exhibition. It is certainly something I would want to take my yourn nephews to. And I would love a licorice all sort to appear at my work place to test my focus! Very inspiring given the animal plans ahead... Cheers, Jemma