Behind the Scenes...

Have you ever wondered how an exhibition comes together? Over the years the staff at the (PHC) Peel Heritage Complex has worked together on some high profile exhibitions ranging from a 1998 exhibition of photographer, Diane Arbus. How do they pull it all together and make it look effortless?

Exhibition planning and design is a team effort at the PHC. With only nine full-time staff members, they all wear a number of hats. The whole process starts with the Exhibition Team who brainstorms and plans while the Collections Team provides details on specific artifacts and artwork and the Education Team suggests programming and hands-on ideas to compliment the exhibitions.

Planning for some of the larger exhibitions starts years in advance of the show’s opening. Curator David Somers meets with artists and other art galleries and museums to arrange for exhibitions to be shown at the PHC. As Curator, David also interviews and visits artists to select works to showcase at the Art Gallery. With such a small staff, the PHC staff is sometimes called upon to literally “pick up” exhibitions themselves. David and Assistant Curator Judy Daley remember their road trip to Leamington to “pick up” the Titanic exhibition with fondness and sore backs.

Over the years, the PHC has amassed a collection of more than 4,500 works of art, 11,000 artifacts and tens of thousands of archival documents. Two staff are responsible for ensuring that these valuable collections are preserved. Diane Allengame and David Farrell undertake the documentation, identification, storage and meticulous attention to detail that help to preserve the collections entrusted to the PHC. The collections staff also ensures that proper environmental conditions are maintained to ensure humidity levels stay balanced. Fluctuations in humidity can cause swelling of wooden frames and can damage canvas and paint compositions. The Art Gallery, Museum and Archives storage all have hygrothermographs that measure and record humidity and temperature to help staff determine if preventive measures are necessary.

In the Archives, archival documents are protected from damage by the many safeguards built into the storage area. The area is climate controlled and when not in use, remains in the dark to prevent light damage. The fire suppression system in the archives storage is a state-of-the-art system that uses chemicals to smother fire, rather than water which would damage or destroy documents.

Unlike the art and museum collections, the archives collection is available for research. Reference Archivist Brian Gilchrist ensures that researchers find the information they are looking for while ensuring the safety of the documents. You may see staff and patrons wearing gloves in the archives when handling documents. The oils in our hands contain acids that can damage artifacts. White cotton gloves provide a buffer and help ensure the longevity of delicate documents.

Putting the exhibition together is the responsibility of Curatorial Assistant Maureen Couse who does everything from arrange for delivery, unpack exhibitions, hang works, display artifacts, create backdrops, paint and move cases, create the labels, light the exhibition and so much more. Lighting is of the utmost importance when installing an exhibition and special attention is given to ensure each work is lit properly to showcase the works to their best advantage. Light can also damage works on paper. For this reason, light levels on watercolours, drawings and prints are closely monitored.

Maybe the next time you visit the PHC you will think about all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into bringing an exhibition to life. There is definiley more to discover than meets the eye.