Search
That sounds like a bold statement, but from Stephen Wright's House of Dreams to the Beyond the Streets exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery to album covers and advertising hoardings, art is all around us and isn't just for the rich and privileged elite. Art can tell us a story, give us ideas, make a statement, capture a moment in time for future generations to understand us, or take us to new and unfamiliar places.
In this guide, we invite you to discover your creative side, embrace the curator within, and explore the art of crafting your own pop-up exhibition. Whether you're a seasoned artist, a local art enthusiast, or just looking to infuse your space with a burst of originality, we've got some tips and insights to inspire and guide you on your way. So, grab your (metaphorical) paintbrush, and let's dive into the world of curating your own art spectacle.
Exhibitions work best when there is a theme pulling all the work together. Think about what message you want to convey - do you want to celebrate the season or showcase the talent of the local watercolour group? Do you want to make people laugh with satirical pieces, or put on a guerilla art event? Do you want to entertain or educate? Whether you want to make a statement, display your year 5s wildlife art project, or show off your own life-inspired sketches and doodles, creating a theme or a story throughout your pop-up exhibition helps your audience understand and enjoy the show.
Use the space you have to enhance the story you are telling and the message you want to impart. Does your theme have a start and end point? Is there a clear journey that you want your guests to take, or can they start and stop at any point? Will your visitors be able to move freely, for instance, in a hall, corridor, or reception space? Or is your exhibition in a cafe or coffee shop? If so, make sure that the art is viewable and makes sense from a seated position.
Give each piece the space it needs to shine - some will work well grouped, whereas others will demand a space of its own. Some pieces will be small and you'll need to enable your audience to get close enough to see ... some will be larger and viewers will need to step back to take it all in.
You can enhance your pop-up exhibition, and your guest's enjoyment of it, by providing some context for the show - and there are loads of different ways to do this. You might like the traditional caption card with a title, artist, year, and short description of the work but this might not work in your space. How about numbering the work and providing a tabletop exhibition menu-card at each table along with your daily specials (for art in your cafe) or hair and beauty treatment list (for your salon mini-exhibition)? For the tech-savvy, QR codes or social media links can give you (cyber) space to provide an additional narrative and encourage your visitors to carry on engaging with you once they've got home.
There's no need for expensive art paper and baroque frames for your pop-up show. There are lots of options for displaying your art in a variety of ways that are cost-effective, look great, and can be reused. We have an excellent range of frames and sign holders that you can put to great use in your guerrilla exhibition.
Art can be printed and presented on a huge variety of media. What you choose for your pop-up exhibition will depend on cost, how you want to display the work, and how temporary your exhibition will be. For example, printing to foam board or canvas might be too expensive for a two-week show in your cafe, when you can print to paper and present the work in frames and poster snaps. If you are using frames, think about whether you want to add a border or not - check out our Help with Paper Sizes guide for information and an excellent visual guide.
Snap frames come in a variety of sizes and colours and are super easy to use, mount, and re-use. Choose from square-cornered or round-cornered frames in a colour to make your artwork pop. All four sides of the frame snap open and shut so setting your artwork or changing it is quick and fuss-free. The aluminium frame and poster cover sheet make sure that the work is secured and protected. With sizes ranging from A5 to A0 or even movie poster size, we're bound to have what you need - group together a collection of A5 works or display a movie poster-sized piece on its own for impact. If you are in the catering and hospitality industry, you'll be familiar with gripper bars, but did you realise you could use them for displaying art too?
Fixing a frame to a wall isn't the only way to present the pieces in your pop-up. Hanging work from the ceilings or suspending prints off walls or along windows is a great and unusual way to display work and with the right equipment, it doesn't have to be hard. We're specialists in hanging wire systems and hanging posters and have everything you need to hang the pieces you're exhibiting.
Use your ceiling! If you have a large space and want to guide visitors around, suspend your direction signs and messages. In smaller spaces, hanging art can create an Aladdin's Cave or grotto-inspired event. If you want to hang or suspend your pieces, you'll need to print the work to display boards or banners, or invest in some suspended poster frames, or use poster clamps and snaps that attach to the top and bottom edges of printed posters. Clamps and snaps can also be used to suspend off walls, just hook the suspension loops onto panel pins.
If you have a good amount of floor space, why not use some of it up by creating a pathway or art maze with easels and poster stands that come in a range of sizes? Don't forget to advertise your show with an A-board outside to guide visitors in!
We hope so! Art can be anywhere - yes in our national and regional galleries, but also our parks, high streets, and walls (think Banksy!). So why not in your salon, cafe, library, school hall, or reception area? If you do feel inspired then let us know! Share your experiences and send us some photos of your exhibition. We'd love to include them on our social media and Pinterest pages!
