Hello Heather,

Our museum has used the firm of Andre & Knowlton which is based in 
Victoria, BC but are renowned for their work in the international arena. 
You may wish to add them to your list. Their website may be found at 
http://www.andreknowlton.com/beta/

They do superb work.

NickAt 10:24 AM 5/13/2005 -0700, you wrote:
>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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Nick Tuele (ph. 652 1455)
Board Member
Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame
http://www.gvshof.ca/

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).