Art exhibition
An art exhibition is a public display of artworks, usually organized around an artist, theme, collection, or historical period.
Curating: The selection, interpretation, and arrangement of artworks or other cultural objects for public presentation. Curatorial choices define an exhibition’s focus and determine which works appear together.
Exhibition checklist: A record of the artworks selected for an exhibition, often including identifying and loan information. It establishes which objects the exhibition must locate, document, and display.
Retrospective: An exhibition surveying the work of an artist across a substantial part of their career. It organizes works across time to present an account of an artist’s development.
Canon (art): The body of artworks and artists widely treated as central to art history. Repeated exhibition choices can reinforce or challenge which artists enter the recognized canon.
Art museum: An institution that collects, preserves, studies, and displays works of art. Museums provide enduring venues, collections, and professional resources for exhibitions.
Art loan: The temporary transfer of an artwork to another institution or exhibition organizer. Loans let exhibitions bring together works held in different collections.
Biennale: A large international art exhibition held every two years, often across multiple venues. Biennales use recurring exhibitions to present contemporary art across national and thematic frameworks.
Decolonization of museums: Efforts to address colonial power in museums’ collections, narratives, practices, and governance. Exhibitions can expose colonial histories or reproduce them through their framing.
Gallery (art): A space or institution devoted to displaying and often selling works of art. Commercial and nonprofit galleries host exhibitions on different scales and schedules.
Provenance: The documented history of an object's ownership and custody. Researching provenance helps establish an artwork’s history and resolve legal or ethical concerns.