Now that I have a few possible exhibition spaces in mind, I started thinking more seriously about what it would actually mean to present my photographs in a room. The more I read and plan, the more I realize how many decisions are involved and how strongly these decisions influence the meaning of the work.
Right now, I’m thinking more consciously about the curatorial idea behind the show. I don’t want it to become a random wall of images. If I exhibit my everyday installation photographs, I need to decide what story I’m actually telling: Is it about urban loneliness? About consumption? About visual coincidence? And I also need to think about the relationship between text and image. Do I want short captions? Longer explanations? Or no text at all, to keep the “found” feeling intact? Setting a clear theme and a guiding idea seems like the first real step into exhibition design.
Wissenschaftliche Sammlungen. Handreichung: Ausstellungen in der Lehre. Accessed December 10th, 2026. https://wissenschaftliche-sammlungen.de/files/3814/0023/0529/Handreichung_Ausstellungen_in_der_Lehre.pdf.
Another thing one shouldn’t underestimated is how much the room itself influences the reading. Visitors should be guided intuitively through the exhibition, even if there are no arrows. That includes the architecture of the space, the entry point, where people naturally pause, how light falls through windows, and what the room “suggests” as a path. With our Overlays exhibition I already got a bit of a feeling what is important while doing the floorplan.
Kemsies, Martina. Ausstellungen barrierefrei planen und gestalten. Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR). Accessed December 19th, 2026. https://www.lvr.de/media/wwwlvrde/kultur/berdasdezernat_1/publizieren_und_informieren/dokumente_44/15_1332_barrierefreiePDF_Kemsies_3.pdf.
When it comes to the hanging itself, I’m trying to stay practical. I like the idea of grouping photographs either thematically or through visual connections, because everyday installations work a lot through rhythm: similar shapes, similar object types, similar absurdity levels. I also researched that there are basic standards for hanging height (around eye level, roughly 155 cm). That sounds obvious, but I for example did not know the exact number. The more you know, right?
Museum Victoria. “Exhibition Basics.” Accessed December 16th, 2026. https://museumsvictoria.com.au/education/small-object-big-story/5-exhibition-basics/.
Text is another sensitive point. I know from my interviews and from my own experience that text can completely dominate the reading of an image. I don’t want the exhibition to become a lecture. So I’m currently leaning toward short, accessible texts that support the photographs without explaining them to death.
Museumskulturen. “10 Tipps für publikumsorientierte Ausstellungstexte.” October 15, 2022. https://www.museumskulturen.de/blog/2022/10/15/10-tipps-fr-publikumsorientierte-ausstellungstexte.
Lighting is also something I can’t ignore. Light changes everything. It can make photographs feel expensive, intimate, cold or dramatic. How I want to proceed with this I am not sure. Will find out during the process.
Kemsies, Martina. Ausstellungen barrierefrei planen und gestalten. Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR). Accessed December 19th, 2026. https://www.lvr.de/media/wwwlvrde/kultur/berdasdezernat_1/publizieren_und_informieren/dokumente_44/15_1332_barrierefreiePDF_Kemsies_3.pdf.
Finally, I keep coming back to the question of audience. One of the main themes of my thesis is how different people interpret everyday installations differently (insiders vs outsiders, design students vs random passersby). So it would be a missed opportunity if I designed an exhibition that only works for people who already speak “art language.” I want the texts to be understandable, and I want the exhibition to feel welcoming to everyone
Museumskulturen. “10 Tipps für publikumsorientierte Ausstellungstexte.” October 15, 2022. https://www.museumskulturen.de/blog/2022/10/15/10-tipps-fr-publikumsorientierte-ausstellungstexte.
Right now I’m still at the beginning of this process. But I already see how much exhibition planning connects back to my thesis topic. Because an exhibition is not just a place where photos hang. It becomes part of the work. It becomes the frame.
