The Relationship Between Touring and Sustainability

The relationship between cost saving and sustainability is clear. Below are some key areas where sustainability is a consideration for touring exhibitions and some examples of good practice.

There are significant cost savings to be made if transport is taken into account as part of sustainable exhibitions planning. By consolidating object collection and dispersals, working with other organisations to team up, and sharing transportation, just a few simple steps can lead to big savings. Ensuring you have a good relationship with your transport agent is paramount to a mutual understanding of your aims and to make savings where possible.

Case Study 1: Natural History Museum

“We hired in the ‘Mammoths’ touring exhibition from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The National Museum of Scotland hired the exhibition before us so we worked with them to share the cost of shipping, which meant a transfer by road from Scotland. When it came to sending back the additional specimens that we loaned from the National Museum of Scotland, we stored them until we were able to put them on a truck with some other loans going to Scotland. This way we saved on petrol and transport.”

• Overall shipping costs Chicago-Edinburgh- London-Chicago were split between venues including the host venue.
• Shipping costs for additional objects Edinburgh- London were split between the two venues.
• Overall shipping costs for NHM were halved, saving approximately £70,000.
• Reduced staff time as each venue could pick up the others’ work where possible.
• Environmental savings from having two UK venues instead of just one.
• Shared resources – e.g. NHM interpretation and editorial departments changed text from American to English, then shared with Edinburgh, which saved time. NHM also managed the tender and printing costs for the new graphics and shared the costs with Edinburgh.

Case Study 2: Wellcome Collection

“We have designed a small plug-in-and-play pop up touring exhibition unit showing content from the Wellcome Collection’s ‘Thinking with the Body’ exhibition. Commissioned films are housed and displayed within a wheeled flight case for ease of set up and transportation. The unit is managed Atomos’. It is set up in theatre foyers for audiences to interact with. It has travelled to several destinations in the UK and Europe and is still on tour.”
Luke Currall, Senior Project Manager

Case Study 3: Manchester Art Gallery

“We have worked with other organisations in Manchester to combine transport – one example that springs to mind is a joint exhibition we held with the Whitworth in 2012 – the exhibition was split over both our sites, but we appointed a joint agent to transport loans to both venues. The Whitworth have also collected items on our behalf when they’ve been to London in their van, and we have tried to work together with them to combine transport for exhibitions.”
Phillippa Milner, Senior Galleries Registrar

Case Study 4: National Galleries Scotland

‘’Our location really required us to consolidate loan collections/dispersals – almost all of the overseas loans will come/go through London. We would work with the transport agents to organise London collections for instance and then possible collections en route to Edinburgh and another collection for ‘local’ collections or in and around Scotland. We would also look at how collections from overseas can be combined or consolidated on the way.”
Louise Rowlands, Registrar

Crates can be rented which reduces costs and materials. Otherwise if a custom-made crate is necessary, a sustainable option is to refit an existing crate. Packing materials including polythene and brown tape are available as recycled and recyclable material. It is also worth re-using packing material where possible. The important thing is to make sure it is unpacked and stored correctly. It is also important to take accurate packing notes to save time and materials when repacking, and as part of your duty of care to the loans.

Top tips from John Bracken, Co-Director, Patina Art Collection Care Ltd

If loans are travelling in the UK in a well-made crate, do they need to be wrapped at all?

No polythene = no barrier = least possible movement and rubbing.

• 250 gauge polythene is less green as it is thicker but it does mean that it is reusable.
• Use reusable cotton tape instead of masking tape to wrap delicate frames.
• For acid free tissue paper try Preservation Equipment Limited for a low cost yet good quality version.
• Instead of using thick brown vinyl tape, biodegradable versions are available that peel off better.
• Using tabs at the ends makes it easier to remove, meaning that you are less likely to use scissors during unpacking, and are therefore less likely to damage packaging so that it can be reused.
• Jiffy is reusable; bubble wrap is not. You can take the tape off jiffy corners and reuse again and again at only £40 per roll.
• Consider using double-ended transit frames or multi-slotted cases. These take up less space and use less materials, saving on costs during transport and production.

Case Study 2: Rijksmuseum

“We have our own plastic boxes and cushions to pack small objects, which are re-usable. They are easy to store and last for a long time. This also counts for our suitcases in which our objects from the print room travel. Just a suitcase for more objects, easy to use and no need to make new ones every time something travels.”
Wobke Hooites, Registrar

Object mounts and supports often need to be custom-made. If this is the case, then recycled and recyclable material can be used that is long- lasting. It is important to care for them correctly to ensure that they are sustainable in both design and durability. Another option is to use standard size frames that can then be used for future loans if storage is available.

Case Study 1: Wellcome Collection

“Smaller and more regularly used picture frames are currently stored in our conservation exhibitions store. Nearly all framing and mounting is carried out on site where possible.”
Luke Currall, Senior Projects Manager

Case Study 2: Victoria and Albert Museum mannequin review

“We went into the project with three main aims: to get a handle on what we had in stock; to devise a method of keeping track of stock and disposing of unwanted stock; and to improve our procurement practices.

“The main things we wanted to achieve within this were:

• reduce the amount of bespoke mannequins being kept
• use more of the space for mannequins which are very adaptable – the idea of ‘keep fewer, use more’
• reduce the number of overlaps in purchasing i.e. buying things we already had in stock but couldn’t find
• improve the safety and accessibility of the mannequin store
• promote sharing between departments
• help staff think about what was and wasn’t worth keeping
• devise a Mannequin Framework in line with EU directives on procurement
  The project was an overwhelming success and I’m very proud that we achieved everything we set out to, and more.”

Keira Miller, Senior Conservation Display Specialist

Benefits

• Mannequins tour with exhibitions, saving venues thousands of pounds in mounting costs. This also reduces the amount of time needed to install the exhibition at venues and the risk to objects.
• In the first six months (July-December 2014), £10,000 worth of mannequins were re-used (i.e. to buy new mannequins would have cost £10,000)
• Exhibitions mannequins were re-used for include ‘Savage Beauty’, ‘Disobedient Objects’ and ‘The Fabric of India’.
• Also used for gallery rotations, museums events, visual merchandising, and Learning and Interpretation events.
• The store saves the museum on average between £10,000 and £20,000 per annum by re-using the mannequins and having a clearer method of storage and usage.

Planning the design of your exhibition with sustainability in mind means that you can keep costs, energy and waste down. If your build is reusable and made from recycled and recyclable material then this will benefit you greatly. It is also important to take stock of local producers and equipment hire so that you are working with the local community, benefiting the local economy and producing a more sustainable exhibition build. If your build is easily demountable then it is worth discussing whether you can transfer the whole or parts of the build. Aim to produce a sustainable, durable build and make sure you look after it correctly so that it lasts as long as possible and is of the best quality visually and structurally.

Case Study 1: Manchester Art Gallery

“We are currently installing ‘Matthew Darbyshire: An Exhibition for Modern Living’ and have managed to do the majority of the build (mainly plinths) reusing timber and MDF from the construction from the previous show. We had lots of perspex and timber vitrines made for an exhibition last year and have kept all of these and reused them in another show this year.”
Catriona Morgan, Principal Operations Manager

Case Study 2: Patina Art Collection Care Ltd

“If you have a choice, go with plywood and then line it if you need to. When you start making holes in MDF it looks terrible and it is harder to repair than plywood. If you do a new build always remember to seal the back with a varnish/paint/ mist coat otherwise when you work on the front side this will cause swelling and cracks.”
John Bracken, Co-Director

Case Study 3: Wellcome Collection

“Knowing who we are working with at the beginning of a project means that we can design the exhibition taking into account the two gallery spaces so that display cases, structures and furniture can be reused, designed to travel and adjustability can be factored in.”
Luke Currall, Senior Projects Manager

Cases can be extremely expensive to produce and difficult to store depending on the storage space available at your organisation. It often appears easier to dispose of them and produce new ones as and when the designs for exhibitions arise. However, another option is to plan your exhibitions programme to take into account the stock of cases that you have available. You can also work with the other tour venues to share the costs of producing display cases and arrange for them to be transferred as part of the exhibition. You might also want to consider adapting cases to make them fit for purpose.

Alternatively, you can offer cases to other museums who may then be able to offer you the same in future.

Case Study 1: Wellcome Collection

Case Study 2: Museum Freecycle

“If you are in the process of dismantling your exhibition or updating your displays, spare a thought for your museum colleagues and, rather than throwing your unwanted items out, consider offering them via Museum Freecycle. The site was founded a year ago by Caroline Keppel-Palmer, former Managing Director of an architecture firm who saw how much exhibition kit was being skipped due to lack of space.”
Caroline Keppel-Palmer, Founder

Design and interpretation can be produced that is transferable between venues for touring exhibitions. It is however worth considering whether it is more sustainable to do this and save on materials but use energy to transport, or if more of a saving will be found by sharing the text (and design where appropriate) and having each venue produce their own designs and interpretation locally or in-house.

Case Study 1: Wellcome Collection

On touring exhibitions: “Supporting structure, furniture, text and graphic panels, captions, mounts, lightboxes and associated AV also travel.”
Luke Currall, Senior Projects Manager

Consider sustainable lighting options such as LED which can use 70% less energy and reduce energy bills by the same amount. Make sure the lighting is turned off overnight and whilst the exhibition space is not in use. It might also be possible to integrate renewable energy into your building or in your grounds. If you can cut down on the energy output for lighting, then this will add to the overall savings made on your exhibitions.

Case Study 1: Natural History Museum

“We reuse 100 LED light panels every year for our ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ exhibition. The photos are printed on to thin plastic sheets which then slot in front of the light panels. This means they are backlit so there is no need for track lighting. When the exhibition tours, the lightboxes go with it.”
Beca Jones, Project Manager

Despite the best intentions, temporary exhibitions can produce a lot of waste material. Much of this can be avoided by recycling and reusing materials. The main thing is to make sure you dispose of it correctly, so ensure you have a good relationship with your operations team and waste/recycling collector.

Case Study 1: Foundling Museum

“We have hosted a Quentin Blake show that was at Compton Verney before us and one of our shows did go the States. However, with our exhibitions we do try and recycle and re-use as much as possible. […] We often have temporary MDF and timber walls built for our shows and where possible we recycle this wood once it has been used. Often timber is taken by our next door neighbours – Coram (a children’s charity) and I have also used Recipro – a building recycling website – before to get someone to collect and re-use the MDF. We also try and store as much spare wood and MDF ourselves which can then be used to make plinths and shelves for the next exhibition. Storage is often an issue so it is dependent on this.”
Chris Larner, Operations and Visitor Services Manager

Case Study 2: Wellcome Collection

Our external storage facilities in north London allow for safe storage of display cases, plinths, furniture, AV object mounts, prints, reproduction, props, blocks and large picture frames. Storage, its ease of access and management is often key to our sustainability options. We are currently in the process of moving over to the Mimsy exhibition management database where our stock of available and reusable exhibition items will be managed.”
Luke Currall, Senior Projects Manager