Exhibitions Don’t Matter (But This Does)

Exhibitions don’t matter.

Wait. Hear me out.

Look, we all spend countless hours on schedules, budgets, narratives, design and getting something physical installed. We love that stuff. And we want to open on time, on budget, to rave reviews.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Our projects don’t succeed or fail on the show floor. The space itself doesn’t actually matter.

Exhibitions are primarily a medium for communication. (In fact, that’s the One Rule of Exhibitions, as some guy once declared.)

In any communication, the medium itself is fleeting. It’s not the fiber optics, it’s the data. It’s not the string between the cans, it’s the whisper. Success means the message is received and retained. That’s communication.

Does the visitor now know something about Syria? Are they more likely to support a ban on fossil fuels? Will they purchase at the gift shop?

No? Then what did we just do?

Here’s the thing:
In a sense, exhibitions don’t matter. As a medium of communication, the exhibition is less important than whether the visitors are getting the message.

Are they?

Warmly,
Jonathan