On a project such as this collaboration really is key and, especially working in second semester, I can witness how our time together (and impact from our individual roles) has helped the project to extend beyond a single limited vision to a multidimensional group perspective. Further, our collaborative journey, up until exhibition set up, has actually mimicked part of our project experiment, in that it has been a mixture of physical (meetings, workshops, discussion) and digital (productivity software, email and instant messaging). I have found that under the influence of my peers I have learnt to collaborate better, especially through digital means. For example, Google docs, which initially intimidated me, became an essential tool to collaborate and move forward together, housing the details of the whole project in one place and giving the opportunity to comment, make decisions and alter in real time with a visible record.
Our group’s first meeting back after Christmas break c. Aija Cave (2020)
Selecting potential photographs to be digitised c. The Author (2020)
Reviewing promising pages to be open in a display case c. The Author (2020)
Checking out cradles for displaying books with conservation c. The Author (2020)
A meeting with digital imaging on our selections for facsimiles c. The Author (2020)
Evaluating image choices for GA&C slides on Google docs c. GRP Group/Screenshot by Author (2020)
Reviewing wording on object captions on Google docs c. GRP Group/Screenshot by Author (2020)
When it came to set-up day, I think that the level of work that had gone into every detail, as well as the level of trust that had slowly been built between us, provided that when issues did inevitably arise we could be confident in our ability to solve and move toward a solution without loosing composure. It also spoke to a higher collaboration between us and the institution itself, in that the various staff members we had consulted and worked with along the way had each made their own significant impact to our project. Nothing encased this more than in the last half hour before the exhibition’s opening, where all the final tasks were finished equally by our group, our contractors and NLS staff, showing each person has a role to play and these roles are all equally integral to a creative project’s success!
Exhibition overview, layout and task sheets keeping us on track c. The Author (2020)
A combination of skills present in the 5 hour set-up, including us, contractors and various staff from NLS c. The Author (2020)
Exhibition boards start coming together after an initial delay of conflicting measurements c. The Author (2020)
Exhibition boards almost up and the space starts to transform c. The Author (2020)
Exhibition boards and cases set up, with collections installation still to go c. The Author (2020)
Departments coming together to finish – learning outreach and conservation c. The Author (2020)
Books complete with cradles and object labels arranged in case c. The Author (2020)
Cases being locked in order to protect collections and display c. The Author (2020)
Stickers added to plinths to finish the section ‘Can I touch it? New Media and it’s Display’ c. The Author (2020)
Exhibition executed through a brilliant collaboration! Our group representing UoE and Sheena representing NLS c. Stewart Hardy (2020)
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