Overview

‘The artwork is no longer the integral part of the exhibition; to curate an exhibition is to curate an experience.’ Bridging the gap between curatorial practices and spatial display methods, this book considers the impact of exhibition design not only on the material structure of the exhibition but also on its narrative potential. Exhibition Matters—an international collection of writings from academics and practitioners—explores this relationship between materiality and narrative, considering the contradictions inherent in exhibition design as strengths rather than limitations of a hybrid discipline. Exploring various devices and approaches to spatial dramaturgy (including exhibiting nature and the more-than-human, the multi-disciplinarity of the design process, and pioneering decolonial narratives) alongside innovative ways of studying them, each chapter shows how to move beyond traditional boundaries of exhibition design and elevate the discipline to an art form in itself. With case studies from Brazil to Italy, Turkey to the USA, this volume provides real-life examples and theoretical reflections on art, architecture and design, thus providing an interdisciplinary and accessible work – ideal for exhibition designers and curators, interior architects, and all those looking to construct spatial narratives beyond the sum of their parts.

Full Product Details

Author:   Prof Pamela Bianchi (École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Belleville (ENSAPB), France) ,  Dr Wesley Meuris (Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Belgium)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.580kg
ISBN:  

9781350575547

ISBN 10:   1350575542
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   05 February 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   To order  

Table of Contents

1. Displays Matter(s) - Pamela Bianchi (École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Belleville, France) 2. The Illusions of Levitation in Museum Displays - Melynda McVay (University Of Texas, USA) 3. Sense and Sensibility: Jermayne MacAgy’s Poetics of the Exhibition - Beatriz Martinez Sosa (Université De Pau Et Des Pays De L'adour, France) 4. In and Out of the Cabinet: The Art of Exhibiting Nature and the Post-Anthropocene - Jacopo Leveratto & Alessandra Bruno (both Polytechnic of Milan, Italy) 5. Exhibition Adaptations: Multimodal Narratives in Curatorial Practices - Vincenzo di Rosa (Iulm University, Italy) 6. Reinventing Contemporary Exhibition Space: Novels, Domestic Space and Cinematic Cartography - Keni Li (University Of Glasgow, UK) 7. Designing an Encounter: Between the “Materialities” of Exhibition Design, Architecture and Curating - Marina Khémis (École Boulle, France) 8. The Interrelationship Between Architecture and Exhibition - Dominik Lengyel (BTU Cottbus, Germany) & Catherine Toulouse (Lengyel Toulouse Architects, Germany) 9. Curating Adventure Spaces - Simon Withers (University Of Greenwich, UK) 10. Exhibition Designs as a Sculptural Practice - Wesley Meuris (Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Belgium) 11. Weaving Space, Choreographing the Gaze - Adrien Gardère (Studio Adrien Gardère, France) Index

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Author Information

Pamela Bianchi is Lecturer in Art History and Exhibition Design at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Belleville (ENSAPB) in Paris, France. An art historian specialising in the relationship between art and architecture and the history of exhibitions and display practices, she obtained her PhD in Art History at the Paris 8 University in 2015. She is the author of The Origins of the Exhibition Space (2023), Dressing Up Spaces (2021) and Espaces de l’œuvre, espaces de l’exposition (2016). Wesley Meuris is a visual artist based in Antwerp, Belgium. He studied Fine Arts at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and attended a post-academic programme HISK in Antwerp. In 2017, he obtained a PhD in the arts at Sint Lucas Antwerpen and the University of Antwerp. Currently, he conducts postdoctoral research and is a tutor at the Advanced Master in Sint Lucas Antwerpen.

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