Planning and Managing an Exhibition Programme

dawn of
he world.
>m Salem
immense
rgland an
leveloped
wing and
rblished a
'resenting
, including
culture in
tions that
cf art and
ridge and
useum is
r and that
Iture. The
uminating
,id change
rdent,one
cential for
s heritage
axpanding
vrney Into
; a vehicle
rudiences.
'tistic and
r a variety
travellers
' traveller.
on and is
'... I am part of all that I have meq
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and ever when I move'
Ulysses
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Odyssey was developed to simulate the experience of journeying within a familiar museum
environment. The exhibition within the galleries was designed to present unfamiliar
encounters. In this way the visitor moving within the gallery environment traversed unknown
territory much as a traveller would. On their own, in troups, or sometimes led by guides,
visitors could begin making connections with art that spans the globe and cuts across cultural
boundaries, uniting people with art, ideas and each other. The exhibit sought to elicit intrigue
with the unfamiliar; the joy of discovery and the excitement of thinking in new ways.
The exhibition was organised into five distinct but interconnected galleries, a total of over
14,000 ft2 (1,300 m2).All Odyssey galleries were completely renovated for the exhibition with
new finishes, lighting,fire protection and climate control.The renovations were part of the
museum's major overall expansion,to be completed in 2O03.Visitors to Odyssey passed from
one gallery to another in specific sequence, although within a single gallery each could choose
his or her own path and pace.
Odyssey,a large and long exhibition, did indeed cover significant territory: nearly 400 art objects
from every continent. Although the exhibition could be enjoyed superficially in about a onehour
visit, the extent to which a casual uninformed visitor could explore the galleries was
limited.The exhibition was primarily developed to attract repeat visitors from new audiences
comprised of museum-goers and world art connoisseurs from Boston's North Shore and the
Boston metropolitan area. These groups are increasingly aftracted to the Peabody Essex
Museum as it pursues its new approach to exhibitions and programming. Odyssey was designed
to be visited many times and to be a basis for expanding audiences and attracting new
memberships.
Odyssey was scheduled for a lengthy run of at least one y"".. thit was partly to accommodate
repeat visitation, but also because Odyssey was planned to be the centrepiece venue for a full
schedule of maior events and development programming in conjunction with and celebrating
the museum's bicentennial year. In addition, Odyssey provided the opportunity to completely
reorganise and revamp overall educational programming to embrace better the museumt
new more dynamic, interdisciplinary approach to interpreting its collections. The general
museum tour, docent curricula and school programming were strongly reoriented towards
Odyssey's interpretative approach.
Odyssey was conceived as a special bicentennial exhibition of ambitious scope that would
attract new audiences and engage them on many different levels. Much more importantly, it
was developed as a product of the museum's new interdisciplinary approach to presenting
art and culture. Significant regional and national marketing efforts to reposition the museum
would be based, in large measure, on the concepts and interpretative direction of Odyssep ln
order to. bring all possible resources to bear, the museum instituted a new multi-disciplinary
approach to conceptualisation, development and implementation of the exhibition. This
PLANNING AND MANAGING AN EXHIBITION PROGRAMME 269