Open Forum

Hi all,

I am working on the travel packet for our museum's next traveling exhibition panel and was hoping to get some advice from others.  Our institution travels both artifact-based exhibition that travel to other museums for which we send a courier to oversee installation and condition reports.  The venues that host those exhibitions have trained staff used to doing condition reports and the other tasks related to installing an exhibition and we've never had a issue with condition reports or documenting any issues with the exhibition. We also travel panel/"pop-up" exhibitions that travel to smaller institutions that may not have dedicated exhibition staff. For those exhibitions, we ask hosts to fill out incoming and outgoing condition reports on the crates and panels so we can keep track of the exhibition, especially since one of our staff members isn't there to check conditions in person.  We have not been successful in getting those venues to always fill out the reports or to send them back to us.

How does your institution document the condition of traveling panel exhibitions?  Are there certain procedures you've found that work best with non-museum staff? 

Thank you!

Shira

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Shira Goldstein
Exhibitions Manager
National Museum of American Jewish History
Philadelphia PA
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Do you have signed loan agreements for these pop-up exhibits?    And do you include a provision that the borrower must sign and return the condition reports?   Would you be willing to not lend again to a venue that violates your signed loan agreement?  (Hint: a "yes" answer to all those questions would help you to get the condition reports signed).

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Janice Klein
Executive Director
Museum Association of Arizona
Tempe AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2018 01:57 PM
From: Shira Goldstein
Subject: Panel exhibition condition reports

Hi all,

I am working on the travel packet for our museum's next traveling exhibition panel and was hoping to get some advice from others.  Our institution travels both artifact-based exhibition that travel to other museums for which we send a courier to oversee installation and condition reports.  The venues that host those exhibitions have trained staff used to doing condition reports and the other tasks related to installing an exhibition and we've never had a issue with condition reports or documenting any issues with the exhibition. We also travel panel/"pop-up" exhibitions that travel to smaller institutions that may not have dedicated exhibition staff. For those exhibitions, we ask hosts to fill out incoming and outgoing condition reports on the crates and panels so we can keep track of the exhibition, especially since one of our staff members isn't there to check conditions in person.  We have not been successful in getting those venues to always fill out the reports or to send them back to us.

How does your institution document the condition of traveling panel exhibitions?  Are there certain procedures you've found that work best with non-museum staff?

Thank you!

Shira

------------------------------
Shira Goldstein
Exhibitions Manager
National Museum of American Jewish History
Philadelphia PA
------------------------------