Exhibition Planning and Design: Writing with Thread

Exhibition Planning and Design: Writing with Thread
(Educational DVD, 60 minutes, 2010)
Lecture by Tom Klobe
Producer: Karen Kosasa
Director and Camera: Clinton Uyehara

Tom Klobe, former director of the University of Hawaii Art Gallery (1977-2006), introduces crucial elements of a successfully designed exhibition. For his case study, he uses the development of Writing with Thread, an exhibition of traditional textiles from ethnic minorities in southwest China. Mr. Klobe begins by describing his collaborative research with Huang Yin Feng, director of the Evergrand Art Museum in Taiwan, and a team of scholars and exhibition specialists, and their travels to several Chinese villages. As he walks us through the conceptual and physical development of the exhibition, Mr. Klobe discusses thematic concepts, spatial arrangements of objects, color choices, lighting effects, selection of mannequins, construction of specialized stands and bases, and the writing of signage and labels. Viewers will enjoy a rare glimpse of the "behind the scenes" process and the students and volunteers who helped create this stunning exhibition of embroidered clothing and silver jewelry from Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi Autonomous Region, and Hainan Island. This lecture is an invaluable resource for designing exhibitions on a range of topics.