Ray wrote:
>hmm...this variety of needs/approaches to
>problem-solving is why a website devoted to
>exhibition planning would be perfect

I agree. I went to a session at the ASTC conference in St Louis in October
on working in teams to develop exhibitions and the thing that really struck
me was that whilst there are things we can all share and learn from each
other in the way we work, this will always need customising. The speakers
in the session all came from a democratic team approach to start with. I
work in a more traditional museum where we have curatorial subject
specialists who, until recently, have headed exhibition development teams
and we're still working towards a democratic team model. What struck me was
the aspects of democratic working which they were complaining about (too
many cooks spoiling the broth, indecision, design by committee, compromise
leading to blandness) we have so far avoided by keeping some vestige of our
hierarchy and having clear decision making responsibility tied to
accountability (and budget holding) reflected in our job descriptions/team
roles.

Our dilemnas have been more about how to plan exhibitions that are visitor
centred and, in my case, what the role of an audience advocate should be in
that. There are now 3 aas working on our project (covering the three main
project teams: each devoted to an exhibition or floor) and we work
primarily inside the teams as integral team members This has helped to
ensure that the visitor centred advice we offer is not seen as a tension
pulling against the team's development of contnet ideas but as part of the
development process.

We have had to work hard at getting this approach to work and it would be
great to have a web site where we could share some of the ideas we have
come up with. Has anyone found one yet?

Jo Graham
Audience Advocate (Early Years)

Jo Graham
Audience Advocate (Early Years)
Wellcome Wing Exhibition Development Team
Science Museum
Exhibition Road
LONDON SW7 2DD
Tel: 0171 938 8128
Fax: 0171 938 8079