Our museum has used Mila walls for at least the past ten years, and while they are flexible in arrangement, thin in profile and decidedly “classy,” there are certain things you should consider before purchase.

 

1. It will take at least 3 strong individuals to move them around, so be aware of the help available at the institution.
2. They can be “tippy,” so be POSITIVE that you have appropriate “T” ends at every juncture. We had an entire wall tip over when a VERY large gentleman grasped on to the end wall (it was a Y, not a T) to stand up after bending over to examine a print on display at a slightly lower level. The wall fell away from him so he was fine, but I shudder to think what could have happened if one of our many school groups had been on the other side of the wall.
3. If you put any sort of a screw or nail hole into the vinyl wall, the walls will quickly look damaged. (You can cover up the holes with small vinyl circles, but the substrate dimples out, and they lose the “new” look quickly without recovering in new vinyl.) I suspect they would be more useful with hangers from the top of the panels, but we have not yet managed to figure out a way to do that in a fashion that meets our security needs.
4. The Mila walls are Metric, so it takes a bit of getting used to in terms of design layout. The panels are 39 3/8 Inches wide before the end pieces are used, which vary in size.
5. The vertical adjustment levelers are a bit counter intuitive, and you need to reach up underneath the panel to raise & lower them by the nut, rather than the leveler itself.

 

I still miss the oak walls that we fashioned in house & used for at least 15 years prior to this. These had 1” x 6” Oak Frames, into which we could insert 4’ x 8’ panels of different colors & materials, including Plexiglas viewing windows for period rooms. We could screw them together at various angles, and the panels were not “tippy” due to their width. (And I could move them around!) These were sent to other local museums to use after we got the Mila walls, and last I knew, were still being used. We still use these Plexiglas walls with the Mila walls to create small viewing rooms in our temporary exhibit space.

 

Susan E. Cooper, West Michigan Pike Exhibit Coordinator
Exhibit Designer/Graphic Artist
Michigan Historical Museum
702 West Kalamazoo Street
P.O. Box 30740
Lansing, MI 48909-8240

phone: (517) 373-4859
FAX: (517) 373-7597
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

Michigan Historical Center
Communications Division
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment

Fill your summer with good times and Pure Michigan heritage. Discover the Michigan Historical Museum System at www.michigan.gov/michiganhistory

 

Date:    Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:55:59 -0400

From:    "Deupi, Jill" <[log in to unmask]>

Subject: Re: Movable Gallery walls

 

We recently invested in 8 MILA walls for precisely this purpose.  Though we haven't used them yet, we have had an extensive "tutorial" with their rep. and the panels seem pretty fantastic: durable, flexible, etc.  The only downside is that they truly are an investment so if you're looking for an inexpensive solution this is probably not the way to go.  Their official website is also frustratingly inscrutable.  Better to call one of their US reps. directly and have them come discuss your needs and their products face-to-face.

 

Good luck, Jill

 

Jill Deupi, J.D., Ph.D., FAAR '04

Director, Bellarmine Museum

Assistant Professor of Art History

Dept. of Visual and Performing Arts

Fairfield University

1073 N. Benson Road

Fairfield, CT 06824-5195

(203)254-4000, x2215

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Museum discussion list on behalf of Larry List

Sent: Tue 9/21/2010 10:51 AM

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Movable Gallery walls

 

 

  I am helping to organize a new exhibition space and would like to

consider using some type of movable gallery walls in order to give us

maximum flexibility in subdividing the spaces without doing construction

and demolition for each exhibition. Can anyone suggest a wall system

that has worked well?

 

Thanks.

 

Larry List

Independent Curator

303 Park Avenue South

New York, New York

#315            10010

646-761-7489

 

 

 

.