7 - Preparing for Opening

Summary

Introduction

You have said goodbye to the build contractor, all the objects are in their cases, the site is tidy and clean and you have passed the gateway moment of getting approval that you can hand over the site to the operational team. But this isn't the end of your work. Preparing for opening starts before and continues during the build and installation work and needs to be planned for and monitored just like every other part of the exhibition process. What does getting ready for opening look like, and what tasks do you, the PM, need to plan for?

For an exhibition to be successful not only does it need to look good and be informative and relevant; it also needs to be integrated into the museum experience and communicated to the public at large. This chapter looks at some of the tasks you will need to undertake alongside and immediately following the physical construction of the space.

Communication

No matter how wonderful the exhibition is, it won't mean anything if people don't know about it. The project plan needs to include time, space and, if it is to be included in the exhibition budget, money for marketing and public relations (PR) activities. Your communication could be as simple as updating the museum's website or as complex as a full marketing and PR strategy. Whichever route the museum takes, the delivery of this work needs to be monitored and included in the project plan. Even if the museum has a separate marketing or PR department, it will still need information from the project team at key moments, and this could take your team by surprise or divert them from on-site project work at a crucial time if they are not prepared for it.

Early on in the project, when you are putting together the project plan, you should discuss the needs of project and marketing/PR teams and build in time for the curators to write or edit copy for the website, books or social content, making sure that the deadlines for these elements don't clash with key dates for writing or reviewing exhibition text.

Any marketing or press work will probably require photography of star objects and images of the exhibition in its finished but unopened state, ready for launch day.