Digital Co-Curation in a Youth-Led Exhibition: A Case Study at Durham University Oriental Museum

Abstract

At Durham University Oriental Museum, the temporary exhibition ‘Made in China: Exports and Experiences’ launched earlier this year, coinciding directly with the arrival of the Olympic Torch to the city. From the earliest planning stages in September 2011, to its opening on 16th June, it was an unconventional exhibition. Curated by a group of approximately twenty students between the ages of 16 and 25, this exhibition combined artefacts, archives, archaeological material, and oral histories to tell its story. With the unusual combination of objects, this exhibition was in the unique position of being able to experiment with new and exciting modes of curation. When dealing with the challenges involved with curating different media, it is essential that innovative and coherent solutions can be found to problems such as display and public accessibility. From the start of the design process, the use of digital curation was always a topic of discussion when tackling the issues that arose from trying to display dissimilar collections in a single space. It was equally essential that particular methods of digital curation did not overcomplicate an already multi-layered exhibition. While it was vital that elements of digital curation were integrated into the ‘Made in China’ project, it was just as important that the digital aspect did not overwhelm the physical experience of the exhibition.