Exhibition Visits (Part 2)

Other interesting ideas I found at these places were the incorporation of special features like wax figurines, and reaching out to other senses rather than just sight. Audio and touch was used at the Castle so you could feel certain objects whilst hearing about them, (and some history) and move others saying "pull me", giving more interactivity.




The sense of smell was used at the Natural History Museum...? Impossible...



The third location was a FirstSite exhibition of students work fromthe University of Essex. It featured a few pieces (shown below) in a contemporary setting (like a small version of the TATE modern) which had been built into a small shop in a back-street full of shops, right in the shopping centre.






Other features of the exhibitions that were taken into account were lighting and placement. The Castle had some nice pieces of artillery and weaponry with a strong white background and generous lighting, the Natural History museum had an AMAZING glass cabinet which was well lit and double-sided, and the little FirstSite shop had shelves hung from the ceiling.




Finally on the way home we took a detour to Mersea Island (I was mis-informed that the destination was in Colchester), home to the Island Art Cafe. This lovely little cafe was home to both a homey cafe serving all types of food, and a small art exhibition, which I thought was an interesting mix. Great lighting accented the pieces, and people had the option to have some food and refreshments whilst observing the work of local artists, which they could then purchase.