Proposing an Exhibition  

Image caption: Objects on loan from the National Museum of Beirut in the exhibition Daily Life in Ancient Lebanon

The Museums and Galleries team can support academic partners to create a range of exhibitions including: 

• Temporary exhibitions hosted by one of Durham University’s venues; 
• Travelling exhibitions that are designed to travel to traditional or non-traditional venues across the UK or internationally; 
• Digital exhibitions that relate to physical exhibitions or stand alone; 

Why Create an Exhibition?  

We have created successful exhibitions for academic partners that support:  

• Skills Development – Developing the knowledge and skills of undergraduate or graduate students in order to enhance employability. 
• Research Development – using the exhibition as an integral part of hypothesis testing and data gathering. 
• Research Dissemination – sharing the outputs of academic research with new and non-specialist audiences. 
• Community Engagement – promoting Durham’s role as a civic university.  
• Social Change – using our collections to highlight challenging or controversial subjects and promote discussion of these issues. 
• Partnership Building – collaboration and co-curation with a wide range of national and international partners. 
• International Advocacy – raising the profile of Durham University worldwide. 

What Do You Need to  Know? 

The best way to get started is to speak to one of our experienced curators. Please read the information below and then Email Dr Craig Barclay, Head of Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions to set up an appointment.  

• Our team of expert curators are established experts in their fields and will work with you to ensure your exhibition is both professional and accessible. 
• We can assist with developing marketing and events programmes as well as creation of the exhibition itself. 
• Most exhibitions benefit from a two to three year lead in time. 
• All exhibition proposals are considered by a Programming Panel whose role is to ensure a balanced schedule across all our venues.  You can download the Durham University Library and Collections Exhibition Proposal Form . 
• Our exhibition schedules are confirmed up two to three years in advance for all our venues, with each exhibition running for between 12 and 24 weeks. 
• Exhibitions cannot be created at short notice or for a one or two week run to coincide with a single conference or event. 
• You cannot book any of our exhibition spaces to put on your own exhibition without input from our team of curators.