5 Strategies to Keep Your Museum Exhibition on Budget

Museum exhibits can be pricey. Whether it’s a permanent installation or a travelling exhibition, myriad influences can affect the cost. Image acquisition, AV hardware, shipping, materials, and more, can quickly throw a conservative project budget way off track, unless these aspects are carefully considered during the design process. 

Exhibition costs vary with the space, the objects, the materials and the technology involved. A useful budget needs to show what is included, what is still an estimate and which decisions could change the total. Whether your institution is flush with cash or on a shoestring budget, here are five ways to keep exhibition costs in check.

Have a Contingency

A contingency is money set aside, to be used for increases in market costs or unforeseen items and services. For an exhibit project, it’s wise to have both a design contingency and a fabrication contingency. The design contingency can cover changes that emerge during the creative process, but agree who can approve its use. A promising new idea still needs to be weighed against the scope and the remaining budget. A fabrication contingency will cover unpredictable costs related to things like travel, shipping and materials.

Reduce the Scope of Work

As the saying goes, “You can have anything, but you can’t have everything.” One of the fastest ways to get your exhibit costs in-line with your budget is to trim some of the fat. This could include implementing strategies such as reducing the project’s square footage or decreasing the number of trips or meetings.

Involve Fabricators Early

Whether you’ve hired a design-build firm or a sole exhibit design specialist, it helps to bring in a fabricator during the creative process. An exhibit fabricator can assess the physical design – from as early as the concept phase – to provide accurate cost estimates, material and finish suggestions, and coordinate ongoing museum architecture or general contracting work.

Communicate Honestly

This is a two-way street. Exhibit designers owe it to their museum clients to be frank when expectations and ideas exceed the budget. Museum teams should also speak up if a proposed solution or technology costs more than they can afford. Discuss the trade-offs early, agree what changes and update the budget together.

Avoid the Bandwagon

It’s easy to get caught up in high-tech trends, and to assume that your visitors expect theatrical immersion, multi user interactive tables, mobile apps, and AR or VR experiences. Although these things can enhance a museum exhibition and provide unique content delivery, they may not be realistic within a conservative project budget. Consider these costs at the beginning of the project and involve a media developer in the conversation so that they can share ideas and provide alternatives that fit within your budget.

It’s likely that following just one of these five strategies will help to keep your exhibit project on budget, but you may need to meld a few of them. Working with your partners, the project budget should be discussed and re-assessed from day one – from the kickoff meeting through to the project’s grand opening. Everyone must be aware of the budget, so that the entire team can be responsible for keeping it in check.

For related planning advice, see choosing museum ticketing software and fundraising for small museums.