I want to start this post with something light hearted, recently whilst being given a tour around (behind the scenes) of the Baltic in Gateshead I was typing notes on my phone and just now reading through them I found a note to myself just asking ‘Can I be rich?’ This is a good question, will I be?
Anyway, it would probably be more interesting if I shared some of what I have gained from the experience of seeing these large exhibition spaces in transition. Chris Osborne, the Technical Manager, who showed us around was very honest which was very helpful, he has been involved at every show in the Baltic and he said that there are always different challenges when creating an exhibition of an size. The critical problems are hard to deal with and you may want to leave them to sort themselves out or wait until the end but should be dealt with as and when they arise.
Have a floor plan! Before we can start we need to know how the spaces flows and if people want installations etc. where would they fit into the dynamic. This brings me around to wether or not some of the work could be interactive, are people doing video? Are they having objects under their work? Is their sound? Will this affect others work? I’m starting to stress out just thinking about this.
Try and avoid white walls, this is our degree show, we should be experimenting with lots of different things and exploring how to hang work.
I will continue this very soon.
Ruaridh Cameron 