I’ve also struggled with this issue of changing out labels and the damage it does to walls.  A few years ago I tried a new approach and it seems to work well.  I produce the labels in house, printing them on heavy card stock.  This is nice because you easily change the color of paper to compliment a new exhibit.  After printing the labels, I take them to a local framing store.  They mount the labels on scraps of matboard, bevel the edge and send back to me.  Cost  = $1.00 per label.  We hang these on the wall using an extremely small amount of double sided tape at the corners.  When taking down, it is easy enough to slide a putty knife underneath the label and carefully work it off the wall.  Usually means no damage to the paint if you are very careful. 

 

Your idea below of a magnetic paint sounds interesting, but means a certain amount of flexibility is lost in where you can hang the labels.

 

Mary Helen Dellinger

Manassas Museum

 

 

Dear Museum-L listserv members,

 

My museum is working to change the way we do our exhibit labels.  Currently, we use printed labels mounted on foam core and nailed into the wall.  As the exhibitions for our entire museum change every three months (we don’t currently have a permanent exhibition, but are working in that direction), it involves a large amount of painting and patchwork for the preparators between exhibits. 

 

Our current plan is to paint a strip of white magnetic paint around the galleries at the level where we hang all labels and use thin sheets of plexiglass with super magnets.  We plan to print the labels on clear label paper and adhere it to the plexiglass so that the plex can be reused, but the labels make a minimal visual impact (All of our gallery walls are white or a very light beige or grey). 

 

Does anyone have any experience with a label display system like this?  I would like to get some advice if I can about what has been successful and what hasn’t so that we do not go through a great deal of cost to determine how well this plan will work. 

 

Thank you,

 

Megan Valentine

Curator/Registrar

Alexandria Museum of Art

933 Second Street, Alexandria, LA 71301

(318) 443-3458

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www.themuseum.org

 

 

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