Building Africa + Living Democracy exhibitions

The Living Democracy exhibition explores the work of a team of ethnographers – anthropologists, political scientists, communications scholars, filmmakers and photographers – who have been researching the work of parliaments and politicians in Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, the US and the UK. In the exhibition, fresh insights are presented into the relationship between elected politicians and those who they claim to represent.

Building Africa a collaborative exhibition explores the relationship between architecture and politics, and ‘showcases insights gleaned from a 5-year research initiative at SOAS, brought to life by design teams from Ethiopia, South Africa, and Ghana.

As is often the case with exhibition projects, we use a plethora of media and processes to produce the graphics and signage needed.

In this case, combined for both shows we produced a selection of

Cut Contour vinyl decals for lettering and signage
A series of printed self-adhesive feature walls
An 8m wall scroll artworked from 940 separate images
Printed direct-to-media eco paper-based board images and text panels
Printed eco-matt paper printed posters
Vinyl banners for exterior use at the entrance to the Brunei Gallery
Printed and wrapped canvas prints to custom-made frames

To complement the hung graphics in the Living Democracy show, and to add another element to the large graphics, we produced a host of small format flyers, cards and supporting pieces.

One of the fascinating pieces, adding an additional depth to the show came in the form of double-printed bunting. These were positioned from within the stairwell between shows and became the entrance to the Living Democracy exhibit. The bunting flags were produced by scanning a selection of international ballot papers to use within their design.

With all exhibitions, it’s really useful to keep an open dialogue with the project team, including the curator if possible. We’re responsible for adding vital information and exhibition livery to their show after all, so we want to make sure we achieve the desired look and feel.

With ongoing communication, including on-site visits, we can adapt, advise and provide samples when necessary as we progress. This might include suggestions of which sustainable materials best suit the graphics being produced, to recommendations for how to hang and install certain parts of the job.

The aim is to all work together as a cohesive and coherent team to produce the best show we can – from ideas, curation, creative production and final actualisation.