What goes into designing a museum exhibition like Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior?

Lauren Walker, Head of Exhibition Design at the Cincinnati Art Museum, starts by meeting with the exhibition’s curator. What story do they want to tell? What themes run through the show? How can the exhibition’s design support the story and themes through lighting, graphics, wall colors, and the placement of artwork?

“For me, the exhibition design is always in service to the artwork,” says Lauren. “Before I begin any project, I spend a lot of time looking at the compositions—the brush strokes, details, colors, and subject matter. My hope is that through the design we enhance those moments, we bring out the best attributes, and we create a lasting impression for our visitors.”

For Collective Behavior, Lauren collaborated with Ainsley M. Cameron, Curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities, on a design strategy. The Scroll, Sikander’s five-foot-long, linear painting, pushes the boundaries of contemporary “miniature” painting and provided inspiration for the design. The semi-autobiographical subject depicts an adolescent moving through a series of rooms in a Pakistani home. The multiple points of perspective and changing scales of interior and exterior spaces inspired design elements within the exhibition.

In the show, Lauren juxtaposed larger, more open spaces with smaller, more intimate ones. “Doorways” leading from one space to another frame views of highlighted artworks. Diagonal perspectives cut through multiple spaces, visually connecting visitors to specific pieces, such as the sculpture Promiscuous Intimacies, guiding them through the exhibition.

A large glass artwork—dramatically lit from behind and framed by deep purple walls—greets visitors at the exhibition’s entrance and sets the tone of the show. Visitors then move through the spaces, encountering Sikander’s various paintings, drawings, prints, digital animations, mosaics, sculptures, and glassworks along the way—each thoughtfully presented and integrated into the overall design.

“I appreciate how thoughtful Lauren is,” says Ainsley, “she brings a unique perspective to the art on display through her designs. I am truly captivated by the way she brought the architecture of The Scroll to life for our visitors, encouraging us to tumble into Sikander’s artistic language and vivid expression.”