Behind the Glass: The Craft of Exhibit Preparation

The “College of Design: 75 Years of Designing Tomorrow” exhibit recently debuted in the D.H. Jr. Hill Library exhibit gallery. This new exhibit, researched and written by graduate students Shima Hosseininasab, Kelly Arnold, and lead curator Alana Gomez, provides a thematic overview of the College's history, emphasizing the stories of faculty and students, and is illustrated by materials from the University Archive in the Special Collections Research Center. 

We'd like to offer you a glimpse behind the scenes at Preservation’s process of preparing and protecting these materials for display. Preservation's specific role is to integrate our support into the exhibit's design while safeguarding the integrity of the showcased items. 

We began by gathering the archived materials in one place. We went through each box’s folders to find the chosen objects - photographs, publications, brochures, sketches and drawings (including one on a napkin!). For this exhibit, there were close to 90 objects that needed Preservation attention. We made sure to leave a well documented trail of all items' movements - making notations of where they came from and keeping track of which exhibit cases they were going to.

Next we cut a custom archival board, sized for each item, and used a polyethylene strap to attach it to the board at the corners, keeping adhesive away from the original object. This gave the items a rigid support and would also allow us to adhere the boards to the panels of the exhibit cases without endangering the original objects.

We also created custom cradles by folding acrylic sheets for books and other 3-dimensional objects, considering how best to support the object as well as the angle needed for accessible viewing. The items were strapped to the cradles using the same poly straps, where needed.

One item required a special solution. We needed to recreate a continuous form computer printout so that it could hang as designed on the back of a panel. The original object was unwieldy and heavy, so we created a hollow box and facade with reproduced images of the front and side pages of the printout stack. Adding the wire supports from the original item completed the illusion, and we created a custom acrylic support that attached to the panel and held the facsimile at a slight angle without disrupting the view of the object underneath.

Finally the items were ready for installation, which was truly a team effort. We used double sided foam tape to adhere stabilized items to the panels, inserted angled lifts to hold the photographs displayed in the bottom of the cases, and came up with on-the-fly solutions when something wasn’t working.

Something magical happens when the items go inside the exhibit cases. Arranged in a contextual way, they take on new life, telling a broader story of the history of this campus. It's a gratifying experience to handle these artifacts, knowing that our efforts contribute to the hard work of everyone who shaped this exhibit.

“College of Design: 75 Years of Designing Tomorrow” is open now in the exhibit gallery of the D.H. Hill Jr. Library. You can visit the exhibit during Hill Library’s hours for the rest of the year. Read more in this series of posts featuring stories and photos from NC State’s College of Design, formerly School of Design.

If you have any questions or are interested in viewing Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online. The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week.