Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler
Exhibits Director
George A. Smathers Libraries
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
Email: l.s.wheeler@ufl.edu

Resources for Curators


Documents

Smathers Libraries Exhibits Policy
Exhibit Timeline
Exhibit Proposal
Exhibit Style Guide
Exhibit Procedure Guide
Condition Report Form
Outgoing Loan Checklist
Outgoing Loan Item Details

 

General Exhibit Tips

  • An exhibit is a story. What story do you want to tell?
  • Every exhibit needs one big idea, which can be summarized into one sentence, to guide it.
  • Everyone leaving the exhibit should be able to easily explain what it was about.
Indicators of Excellence in Exhibitions (from the National Association for Museum Exhibition)
  • An aspect of the exhibition is innovative.
  • The exhibition offers a new perspective or new insight on a topic.
  • The exhibition presents new information.
  • The exhibition synthesizes and presents existing knowledge and/or collection materials in a provocative way.
  • The exhibition includes innovative uses of media, materials, and other design elements.
  • The exhibition is particularly beautiful, exceptionally capable of engendering a personal, emotional response, and/or profoundly memorable in a constructive way.
  • The exhibition evokes responses from viewers that are evidence of a transforming experience. Such experiences are often characterized in these ways: It was haunting. The exhibition was an absolute eye-opener. I'll never see [that] in the same way again. I was filled with excitement. It knocked my socks off It sent shivers down my spine. I finally got it!

If you have any questions about the exhibits program or planning an exhibit, please contact the Exhibits Director, Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler.