My institution has spent the past year in the early stages of developing
a major new museum. 

We're now beginning to think about choosing a firm to help us in the
exhibit planning stages. Though I've met with a number of exhibit design
firms and seen portfolios and actual exhibitions, I've been hesitant to
get serious about someone before now. I've been worried that our museum
committee hadn't developed a clear enough vision of its own, and that an
opinionated and charismatic exhibition designer might unduly sway our
choices. (My nightmare is hearing board members say "I never really
agreed with that"  three years from now, when change is more
expensive.)

My current plan is to assess a rather long list of potential firms
based on a number of relevant attributes: 
Where are they located? 
What have they done that's related in spirit? 
Did they complete their work on time? 
On budget? 
How did they handle complicated content?
What do their clients say?
What have critics said? 
Can they work with an opinionated committee? 
Can they share the work with other firms or other professionals?
etc..

From there, I expect to get to a shorter list of potential firms that
we might interview in depth. 

My questions for the museum folks on this list are:
What attributes you have found most important in working with exhibit
designers/planners?
What questions have you learned to ask? 
How would your ideal exhibition firm work with your institutional
staff? 
As well, I'm interested in both recommendations and warnings (off-list,
please. I'll keep all references confidential.)

I have learned so much from this list (and am keeping hundreds of
emails as reference materials I'm sure to use down the road). If other
people are interested in hearing the responses, I'll be happy to compile
what I learn and pass it along.

Thanks in advance,
Heather Cochran

Museum Project Administrator
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Beverly Hills, California

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