Exhibition Design, V&A London

DESIGN WEEK AWARDS 2011 – Finalist

This “new media” exhibition, co-curated by the digital arts organisation Onedotzero and the V&A, was a showcase of the latest developments in digital and interactive design, from small, screen-based, graphics to large-scale interactive installations. Existing and newly commissioned works by Troika, Simon Heijdens, Daniel Brown, Golan Levin and Daniel Rozin were on display.

The design intent was to create a totally immersive environment.

The main design challenge was the allocation of 35 artworks in the space of only one gallery available.

The walls morphed into niches to create bespoke mini-contexts for each piece. This devise minimised the acoustic and visual interference between artworks.

All signage is clearly three-dimensional as opposed to the a-dimensional digital nature of the displays.

The walls guide intuitively the flow of visitors and a stark black and white contrast between areas makes the show breath.

Following outstanding visitors turnover (over 100.000 in 4 months of opening in London), the exhibition travelled to prestigious museums world-wide.

The exhibition design concept was applied to other venues including the Garage, Centre of Contemporary Culture in Moscow.

video interview about the design

Design team: Paul Thrush, Luca Mantovanelli, Rosalba Napolitano, Francesco Draisci

Design consultants: Hawaii (graphic design), studio ZNA (Lighting design)

Co-curators: V&A Contemporary Team (Louise Shannon) and onedotzero

Location: Victoria & AlbertMuseum, London

Status: Completed April 2010

Photography: courtesy of V&A and Tom Bland