Author:
Antonia Marino

There are so many art exhibitions around that it is essential to make your exhibition stand out from the crowd. One way to achieve this is by having a drawcard to attract visitors. An interesting and successful idea is to create an interactive art installation at the venue to entice visitors into the exhibition and to engage them with participation.

An interactive art installation is usually a large sculptural piece specifically created for the event which the audience can use, play with, interact with, influence, solve and/or manipulate in some way. Their participation allows them to experience a result of some kind. This adds an additional dimension to their exhibition experience and is particularly successful if your installation is unique, fun, challenging or enlightening in some way.

When designing your art installation consider the overall theme of your exhibition, your intended target market, and the available facilities at the exhibition venue.

Exhibition Theme

It is important to make your art installation and art exhibition theme cohesive. If your audience cannot see a logical connection between them your drawcard may not be as successful. Therefore give plenty of consideration to this aspect of your idea. For example, if your exhibition theme is “Urban Landscape”, choose an industrial type installation using inorganic materials, hard shapes and modern fittings.

Other questions to ask yourself when designing your art installation are the possible results of audience participation. Do you want them to have a unique experience, or a pre-determined answer? Are you trying to make a statement, tell a message relating to your theme, or do you want your audience to come up with their own conclusions? These questions will help you to refine your idea and create a installation that best suits your exhibition.

Target Market

Tailor-make your art installation to your target market for maximum success. This is important in all areas of business marketing and your art exhibition should be no exception. A target market is usually defined as demographics such as age, gender, geography and socio-economic group.

If your audience is predominantly young middle class college students, your installation should be young, fresh, innovative and modern. On the other hand, if your target market is mainly elderly, upper class art investors you would approach both the exhibition and your art installation in a totally different way. Ask the venue what their customer demographics are in order to give yourself the best start.

Exhibition Venue

When creating your art installation it is very important to consider the venue in every aspect of the design. Visit the exhibition space and plan out the shape and size of the area available to you. Take lots of photographs, capturing every angle. Use a long retractable tape measure to take measurements of the room, noting the dimensions of the walls, including ceiling to floor height. Measure and record the size and locations of all doorways, windows, pillars, permanent light fixtures and electrical sockets. Take particular note of the main entrance way and how the audience will move around the installation.

Finally, ask the venue what resources they have on site, such as ladders, plinths, partitions and portable lighting. These will come in handy for your installation, and may cut down construction or display costs. Whether you are using props and equipment belong to the venue, supplying your own, or hiring them, ensure they are safe to use. This is particularly important if using electrical appliances such as portable lighting. Your audience safety and well-being is paramount.

An interactive art installation can become a value asset to your next art exhibition by making it stand out from the crowd. With just a few important design considerations you can maximise its promotional potential and make your exhibition a huge success.

About the Author:

Antonia Marino is an artist and business owner with over 15 years experience in the art industry. Her current project is ArtBiz Resources, which provides downloadable art business documents and forms for artists, galleries and exhibitions at

http://www.artbizresources.com/.

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
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Interactive Art Installation for Art Exhibition Promotion