Museography (and scenography)
Both terms are used differently depending on tradition, location and language. The terms have a certain bandwidth in interpretation, and their use will be succinct to some and confusing to others, depending on the project and the role we play.
Our work is centered on scenography. For us, scenography is an attitude long before it becomes a scope definition. It suggests a theatrical approach to spaces and places, to performing and visual arts, to architecture, to urbanism and to design. By using the word scenography, we indicate an envelope of work that encompasses traditional theater design and consultancy, but also the overall design and character of the spaces, their connections and circulation, extended to the setting of the building or site.
We take this approach to design spaces where stories are told, regardless of the nature of the storytelling. To us this includes theaters, concert spaces, congress facilities, auditoria, circuses, arenas, cinemas, and also museums, galleries, planetariums, parks, town-squares, trails, et cetera.
In all these instances, we provide scenography design as a facilitating canvas for others to present their work on.
Scenography for exhibitions adds a new layer. Exhibition design forms a great part, but not all of it, of “telling the story.” By designing exhibitions, we give form, shape and space to the story to be told. Sometimes this is limited to the ‘hardware’ of the exhibition elements and supports, sometimes it includes the design of the space, or even the building.
The story itself is usually written by the curators. They also select the objects and events to be put on ‘display.’ Obviously, there is interaction between the way the story is told and the object selection, as both finally relate to the most important factor: the audience. By re-telling the story, we interpret; and with that we invariably have an accent.
Our work normally stops short of selecting the objects or defining the core story, but sometimes we also do that. In the strict sense, we are not museographers or curators, but for some projects, we are…
