In a message dated 01-03-01 12:00:25 EST, Eugene Dillenburg wrote:

<< The distinction you are asked to make ("exhibit" referring to a single
 component; "exhibition" referring to the entire gallery), while potentially
 useful, is IMHO even more potentially confusing.  The vast majority of
 people, both in the profession and out, use the terms fairly
 interchangeably; only a few make a point of the distinction.  (For every VP
 of Exhibition, I'm sure we'd have no trouble finding one or more VP of
 Exhibits.)  It has been in my experience far more common to use "exhibit" to
 refer to an entire gallery; "element" or "component," or sometimes "display"
 or "section," to refer to a piece of the gallery; and "exhibition" to refer
 more broadly to the profession. >>

Since the words "exhibit" and "exhibition" are indeed used pretty
interchangeably, I suspect that the emphasis may differ slightly from one
museum to another.  The norms and customs will vary, depending upon the
frequency with which each word is used in memos, the titles you give your
exhibit(ion)s offices, committees, etc.  The dictionaries I checked weren't
much help in making a distinction, although they tend to suggest that since
an "exhibit" often denotes a single displayed object (as in a courtroom), all
the objects you display might collectively be called "exhibits".  Just to add
further confusion or complexity, I'd say that in my museum an "exhibition"
tends to denote a special, short-term or temporary show.  Everything else,
such as the more permanent exhibit halls, is called, collectively and
individually, exhibits.  We talk about exhibit design, production, teams,
etc.  A single display case or other unit is an exhibit also, whereas a
special temporary show is usually called an exhibition.  But these are just
tendencies; I'm sure we have people whose individual usage would be just the
opposite.  For all practical purposes, they're generally considered
interchangeable.

David Haberstich

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