Two Temple Place is a gem of a building tucked behind Temple tube station in central London.
The annual free exhibitions give partner museums from around the UK a platform to highlight the strengths of their collections and offer emerging curators a chance to curate their first solo show with a bit of guidance. Since 2011 the gallery has welcomed over 200,000 visitors, but perhaps what is most unusual about the programme is that it is part funded by the profit made on its catalogue sales.
Like the exhibitions themselves, the accompanying catalogues have specific aims, and are symbolic of each project as a whole. Produced in a handy pocket-sized A5 format, at
an easily digestible length of 100 pages, co-branded with all partners and a bargain at £7.50, the purpose behind these publications is directed to their life after the exhibition as much as to the immediate context they provide for the current show.
The main body of each catalogue is taken up by an essay by the curator, allowing them space to extend their argument around the narrative of the show and ensure the catalogue has a legacy beyond the exhibition. The writing must be engaging, informative and appealing to a visitor with no prior knowledge of the subject. Visitors are offered a battered copy to borrow as they walk around the exhibition, which also encourages them to buy a pristine version at the end.
Just as the exhibition is a collaborative project, so the catalogue itself is another platform where museum partners can address their own aims through a dedicated section. Some partners have taken a page each to focus on the history of their museums and collections; in other years they have asked a local figure to contribute an extended essay that includes a more socio- historical element.
This year’s exhibition Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion has been produced in collaboration with nine museums and galleries across Sussex, including Charleston Museum and Pallant House Gallery.
A key outcome of the partnership is to encourage visitors to Sussex Modernism to explore the county of Sussex, and in particular the collections that have been brought together for this show.
The partner contribution in the catalogue in this case draws attention to the region, and is written to entice visitors to spend more time in the county, not just visiting the venues but taking in local highlights, from bookshops to award-winning restaurants.
It is definitely the case that our most popular catalogues are those interspersed with plenty of images of the works and objects, signposting the stunning collections as well as offering a visual souvenir of the show.
Drawing all these elements together in a single publication, the catalogue serves as a strategic advocacy tool for all involved, providing documentation of collaborative working on a wholly unique project and, you may be amazed to hear, makes money too.
Hannah Jordan is the programme manager at Two Temple Place (part of The Bulldog Trust) in London. Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion is at Two Temple Place until 23 April.
The annual free exhibitions give partner museums from around the UK a platform to highlight the strengths of their collections and offer emerging curators a chance to curate their first solo show with a bit of guidance. Since 2011 the gallery has welcomed over 200,000 visitors, but perhaps what is most unusual about the programme is that it is part funded by the profit made on its catalogue sales.
Like the exhibitions themselves, the accompanying catalogues have specific aims, and are symbolic of each project as a whole. Produced in a handy pocket-sized A5 format, at
an easily digestible length of 100 pages, co-branded with all partners and a bargain at £7.50, the purpose behind these publications is directed to their life after the exhibition as much as to the immediate context they provide for the current show.
The main body of each catalogue is taken up by an essay by the curator, allowing them space to extend their argument around the narrative of the show and ensure the catalogue has a legacy beyond the exhibition. The writing must be engaging, informative and appealing to a visitor with no prior knowledge of the subject. Visitors are offered a battered copy to borrow as they walk around the exhibition, which also encourages them to buy a pristine version at the end.
Just as the exhibition is a collaborative project, so the catalogue itself is another platform where museum partners can address their own aims through a dedicated section. Some partners have taken a page each to focus on the history of their museums and collections; in other years they have asked a local figure to contribute an extended essay that includes a more socio- historical element.
This year’s exhibition Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion has been produced in collaboration with nine museums and galleries across Sussex, including Charleston Museum and Pallant House Gallery.
A key outcome of the partnership is to encourage visitors to Sussex Modernism to explore the county of Sussex, and in particular the collections that have been brought together for this show.
The partner contribution in the catalogue in this case draws attention to the region, and is written to entice visitors to spend more time in the county, not just visiting the venues but taking in local highlights, from bookshops to award-winning restaurants.
It is definitely the case that our most popular catalogues are those interspersed with plenty of images of the works and objects, signposting the stunning collections as well as offering a visual souvenir of the show.
Drawing all these elements together in a single publication, the catalogue serves as a strategic advocacy tool for all involved, providing documentation of collaborative working on a wholly unique project and, you may be amazed to hear, makes money too.
Hannah Jordan is the programme manager at Two Temple Place (part of The Bulldog Trust) in London. Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion is at Two Temple Place until 23 April.
