The painstaking art of putting an exhibition together

How hard is it to mount a successful art exhibition? Gallery bosses and show designers tell Anna Seaman about the process that goes into making a show a success for artists, galleries and visitors

A visitor spins inside the Dot Obsessions installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at Sharjah Art Foundation in January. Christopher Pike / The National

In July 2012, during a visit to Tokyo, Sharjah Art Foundation president Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi met Japanese superstar artist Yayoi Kusama. She posted on her Facebook page a picture of the artist at the opening of the city’s Dover Street Market.

Last July, she reposted it. She wrote in the caption: “On this day, four years ago, we started planning Yayoi Kusama’s show in Sharjah, which will open on October 1. Save the date.”

To those in the industry, a four-year lead time will come as no great surprise, but for those not involved in the lengthy and arduous process of planning an exhibition, it is an indicator of just how much work goes on behind the scenes.

For an exhibition of that size, which included several items loaned from institutions all over the world, coordinating schedules and securing permissions is just the first stage of the lengthy process.

Then there is in-house planning, which includes finding a suitable time slot for an exhibition.

In an emirate with a massive biennial that takes up four months of every second year, and a searing hot summer during which no major events can take place, the available dates on the calendar fill quickly.

There are other factors to take into consideration, too. In the case of an artist of Kusama’s standing, other international institutions are probably planning or actively working to put on exhibitions of her work.

Conversations about all of these things have to happen before any dates are decided upon.

Then, there are several months of logistics, including shipping the works to the UAE and getting them through customs; planning and designing the exhibition; producing a catalogue, wall text and labels; promotion; installing the work; and planning the opening night.

Thinking ahead

Although it does not usually take four years for a regular commercial gallery to plan and mount a show, it is not a swift process.

“Most exhibitions are planned 12 to 18 months in advance as that really is how long you need to ensure a successful exhibition,” says Meagan Kelly-Horsman, the business development director at Meem Gallery in Dubai. “Of course there are times where it can be completed in less time, but when considering a proper gallery schedule, international art fairs and an artist starting a new project, having plenty of time is really in your favour.”

Meem hosts between four and eight shows a year, and being prepared for every eventuality is essential.

“Shipping works of art internationally takes a lot of time and patience,” says Kelly-Horsman. “Ideally we like to have the works in the UAE two-to-three months before the exhibition, so they can be cleared through customs, checked over, photographed, and viewed by the team and writers contributing the catalogue.

“Frequently this deadline is stretched. We recently had to cancel an exhibition due to a shipping issue, so it is useful to have an extra exhibition, so to speak, up your sleeve.”

Careful consideration of the time of year in which the exhibition will take place is also important. March is the busiest month art-wise in the UAE, and during that time many international buyers fly in for the annual art fair in Dubai, as well as the Sharjah Biennial. As a result, many galleries save their best, most prestigious shows for this time.

How much does it all cost?

Putting a price tag on any exhibition means weighing up all of the above challenges and compiling a tailor-made budget for each element.

There are also additional elements such as insurance, which in some cases is taken out on a project-by-project basis, and in others as an annual package.

With so many variables, there is no way to estimate an average figure for how much an exhibition costs.

For commercial entities, usually the artist and the gallery are equal financial partners, meaning the artist covers the cost of producing the artworks and the gallery is responsible for all exhibition expenses. After a sale, the profits, after expenses, are split.

However, even this is not universal. Within non-profit institutions, things are handled differently. With funding usually secured separately for each project, it is the role of the institution to accurately estimate expected costs and have budgets signed off for each project.

Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah is owned and funded by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

It hosts three exhibitions a year in its gallery space, and an additional three in 1971, its sister design space. The centre’s curator, Laura Metzler, has worked in the arts in the region for six years, and was the associate director at Sfeir-Semler Gallery in Beirut and The Third Line in Dubai before moving to Sharjah.

She has learnt from experience that one of the most important elements of planning an exhibition is managing the logistical side so that it does not get in the way of the creative.

“If you don’t display a work the way it is supposed to be, it can totally change how it looks and how it is read so it is important to get it right,” she says. “You can do a lot of disservice if you don’t think things through fully – but when it is done well, that is when you get a magical experience.”

Enter the audience

The best exhibitions are the ones that immediately engage the viewer. A visitor will leave a well-executed art show with only memories about the work, without ever thinking about the orchestration behind it.

A lot of work goes into achieving this result. Every space has its limitations. Fire escapes and extinguishers, air-conditioning pipes and wires must be cleverly hidden by the exhibition design.

The framing or presentation of every artwork and caption must also be carefully considered, so that the visitor has a smooth experience and focuses only on the art.

“My first concern is about the circulation of the people – the relationship between the space and the life inside that space,” says Paolomaria Giannotti, the exhibition designer at Maraya Art Centre.

In fact, this job title doesn’t really fully encompass what he does. Most of the exhibitions Maraya hosts consist of commissioned works, meaning the centre funds the production of the art as well as making sure it is properly exhibited in the best possible environment. Giannotti oversees all of this.

“My job starts from a sketch on a piece of paper and ends when I fix the last caption on the wall,” he says. “I am one of the rare people who follow the process from zero to 10. I work with the artist or designer, I go to the supplier, check the standard of the work and cover all the details. Installation inside the gallery is less than 30 per cent of the work that I do.”

Dream-makers

It is fair to say that the people behind the scenes of the art world are the unsung heroes. They can be pivotal in realising the ambitions of an artist or designer, which, says Giannotti, is the best part of his job.

“We are sort of dream-makers,” he says. “We meet people who are not able to achieve their dreams in terms of creativity and we give them technical, conceptual and emotional support to believe in what they want to do.

“I am as passionate about doing that as they are for their project and that is what makes my job not feel like work.”