CHALLENGE:
SurroundArt was chosen to provide design production and installation services for not only Anacostia’s permanent collection room Anacostia Collects, but also its opening temporary exhibition Precious Memories.

SCOPE OF WORK:
The Precious Memories exhibit flowed through six separate sections covering several generations of African American history through to the collectors of today. Precious Memories was designed to fill the Anacostia Museum’s 5,400 square-foot temporary exhibit space with custom-built exhibit furniture, new architectural features, graphics, and multimedia displays. SurroundArt was tasked with the design of the exhibition furniture, graphic elements, bracket making, and editing.

SurroundArt started by designing a floor schematic that would allow the public to flow easily through the exhibit. Special attention was given to placement of temporary walls and wall heights to keep from interfering with security and safety measures. SurroundArt designers met on numerous occasions with Smithsonian Security and Safety Services to develop a plan that was both pleasing to the eye and safe for both objects and visitors. Working closely with curators, SurroundArt designers next selected photos to be scanned for photomurals, set the word count for labeling, and object counts for cases. In the end, SurroundArt designed cases for nearly 300 objects, produced nearly a dozen photomurals and banners, built six multimedia kiosks, and bracketed and encapsulated over 130 objects.

All exhibit furniture was built to meet ADA and Smithsonian standards for safety and handicap access. In addition, all of the furniture was designed to meet Canadian Conservation Institute Standards. Particular attention was paid to the size of the cases to meet ADA standards. In some cases, SurroundArt designers used large glass faced wall cases. This allowed the designers to maintain an open, unimpeded flow through the gallery spaces.

Finally, SurroundArt installers placed the exhibit furniture, set the objects into place, and finished by putting the graphic elements into place.