How the Davis Gallery Selects and Manages Exhibitions
Exhibition Selection
The Davis Gallery Committee selects exhibitions for the space on a quarterly basis throughout the academic year. After exhibition selection meetings, the committee members coordinate with Davis Gallery’s student employees to notify those who submitted proposals if their exhibition was selected to move forward and create an exhibition schedule for the quarter.
All communications, including the submission of exhibition proposals and coordination of selected exhibitions, are handled through the Davis Gallery email address, linked in the right orange button above. This address is overseen by Davis Gallery student employees as well as the gallery’s faculty and staff supervisors.
Exhibition Management and Coordination
Once an exhibition is selected and scheduled, Student Coordinators will create and communicate important exhibition details to exhibition organizers. Student Coordinators communicate the following information to exhibition organizers:
- Installation Dates
- Exhibition Dates
- Deadlines for needed information – like label information, technology needs, layout drafts
- Deinstallation Dates
- Their schedules so that they may coordinate meeting times
- An image of a featured work to be used for promotional marketing purposes
Communication is a two-way street! We’ll also need to hear from exhibition organizers. In the event your exhibition is selected, here is what we will need from you:
- Label information for each artwork presented
- Technology needs
- Artwork dimensions and display needs
- If exhibition organizers wish to curate the arrangement of artworks in the gallery
- Whether organizers will be available to assis and when they will be able to do so
Label Information and Text
Though labels are sometimes physical and are positioned underneath each object, the Davis Art Gallery creates gallery guides – printed and digitized via QR code. Label information, as well as exhibition statements or curatorial text, is included in this gallery guide. Label information is standardized for all exhibitions. Each label for a specific art piece is numbered. A corresponding numbered pin is attached to the wall near the artwork so that visitors can quickly and easily find information about the works on view. Gallery guides are created in coordination with faculty and staff supervisors.
See below for an example of needed information and additional information you may choose to provide us for EACH artwork. Label information and exhibition text is typically required to be sent for submission the week before an exhibition is slated to open.
- Artist Name
- Date
- Material(s)
- Class and Instructor/ DU Affiliation
- Brief explanation of artwork, the process of its creation, or other relevant information
Marketing and Promotion
Exhibition advertisements and event promotion are created by Davis Gallery staff. Our standard procedure for exhibition marketing includes:
- Submission of exhibtion to internal DU calendars and newsletters
- Email announcement to our marketing and internal mailing lists
- Poster creation and printing
- Documentation on the Davis Gallery webpage
- A social media post (Instagram)
Exhibition Receptions
We can also assist with the creation of an opening ( or closing!) reception for an exhibition, provided our gallery staff has the time and resources to accommodate you. Typically we provide soda and sparkling water, and light snacks at our opening receptions. We can supply reception supplies as well.
If exhibition organizers would like additional food or entertainment beyond what the Davis Gallery typically provides, they are welcome to supply them provided they get approval from Davis Gallery staff.