Online Exhibition Archive
Each closed exhibition becomes a Temporary Exhibition Preservation Page: for museums that want temporary exhibitions to stay online instead of disappearing.
Cultural Institutions
Schools, NGOs
HTML/CSS (Custom UI)
Claude Code
Figma
PostgreSQL
Python
☎️ Your time:
✨ My time:
3–6 weeks
~3-6 hours
15 — 30 hours
"I wish our temporary exhibitions could stay accessible online after they close."
Client's quote
Problem
When an exhibition closes, the texts, images, and curatorial work behind it usually disappear, there's no dedicated place for past exhibitions to live on.
Exhibition materials are usually prepared for the physical space: texts, images, object lists built for walls and vitrines, not for a digital layout.
At the same time, most museum websites aren't built to "grow" new sections on demand: adding a new exhibition format with its own design often means real additional cost, not just a content update.
My Role
Here, the aim is to translate the physical exhibition's visitor path into a digital one — what they see first, and what can wait until they're curious enough to look further.
On a shared call, discover the project's concept, priorities, and the nuances behind it
Review and turn the raw materials into structured metadata that maps onto the design
Build a design system based on the brand book or given design requirements
Study the object formats and propose exhibition page layouts, adapted for desktop, tablet, and mobile
Technical documentation to support the technical team
The structure also accounts for discoverability: clear titles, dates, and image alt text so past exhibitions remain findable through search.
Your Part
Provide the materials for exhibition as is: texts, images, object lists, credits — whatever you have (Word, PDF, printed sheets scanned, etc.)
Provide existing guidelines and visual style of the exhibition
Review call to confirm the structure and design examples
Result
An online exhibition archive is a structured section of the museum's website (subdomain or just a section) that preserves each temporary exhibition as a standalone, permanent, searchable section, separate from the "current exhibitions" flow.
Searchable exhibition preservation section with responsive layout
Structured metadata from raw source materials
Reusable design layout for future exhibitions
Additional digital space to engage new and existing audience
Project technical setup: all data stays within the museum's own digital environment
Existing online exhibitions can also get a design refresh to match the new structure.
Materials & guidelines → Metadata structuring → Design system → Layout design (desktop/tablet/mobile) → Database setup → Published virtual exhibition page.
Frequently asked questions:
Can this work with exhibitions we already put online, but that look outdated or inconsistent?
Yes, existing online exhibitions can be brought into the same structure and given a design refresh, rather than rebuilt from scratch.
Does the archive need its own separate site or subdomain?
Not necessarily, it's usually built as a structured section of your existing site, though a subdomain is an option if that fits your setup better.
What happens to the data? Is it stored with you or with a third party?
It stays in your own digital environment, on your own site or database, since it's your material.
Can we reuse this structure for exhibitions that are still open, not just closed ones?
Yes, the same page structure works for a current exhibition too — it just continues to exist after the show ends instead of being taken down and can be enriched afterwards.
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