Finishing the artwork and preparing it for exhibition are related but different jobs. A careful handover protects the work and helps an installation team understand what it needs.
Describe the object as it is
Record the finished dimensions, materials and any projecting or delicate elements. Explain orientation and any display requirements. A clear overall photograph, a detail and a rear view can help where the organiser requests them. Do not assume a team can infer the right hanging method from the front image.
Agree the presentation before packing
Check whether the piece needs a frame, particular fittings or a supporting surface. Confirm who provides these and what the venue permits. If a work has a vulnerable surface, protruding material or unusual weight, raise that early. Choose packing suited to the actual object and follow any specialist advice relevant to its materials.
Build a useful handover
Keep your name, artwork title and inventory information together. Include handling instructions and unpacking notes where needed. Photograph the work’s condition before transit and retain those photographs with the shipment details. Put delivery, installation and collection dates in one place, along with the organiser’s confirmed instructions.
Think about the return journey
Keep suitable packing available and establish how the work will be collected or returned. Clarify responsibilities for transport, insurance and any customs arrangements before sending it. If the work is sold, follow the agreed process for release to the buyer. A well-prepared exhibition plan reaches beyond opening night to the moment the artwork arrives safely at its next destination.
From our artist submissions: Olga Gafita
Olga Gafita’s DRAFT combines acrylic with jute twine on canvas. Her practice explores identity and transformation through figurative and symbolic imagery. The use of a physical thread makes material description especially relevant: an installation team needs to know about the object’s surface as well as its image. This is a preparation guide illustrated by her submission, not a claim about her participation in a particular Arrival exhibition.
This work was shared through Arrival’s submissions. The exhibition photograph documents a separate past show.
