The Courtauld Gallery: seeing beyond the frame

Our challenge

How might we work closely with the curatorial team to develop an audience-facing script that amplifies the unique stories and spatial qualities of the Courtauld Gallery?

Developing shared approaches

We started the process with three collaborative workshops with curators and staff across the institution to develop a shared approach towards audience-focused engagement, inclusive interpretation and strategies for writing accessible text. From these we developed an interpretive framework with principles and guidelines to support the scriptwriting.

Mapping narrative and stories across spaces

Working closely with the curators, we explored the hierarchy of narrative and thematic threads running through the collections. This work foregrounded the importance of the architectural history of the building as well as the important contributions from different voices within the Courtauld, from conservators, academics and curators to the founder, collector and philanthropist Samuel Courtauld.

Foregrounding inclusive, engaging writing

These discussions helped to plot content and  shape the tone of voice used across the exhibition galleries. In considering the visitor’s perspective and their varying levels of expertise, we introduced the idea of using stand firsts in their text so that material was clear and digestible, and hooks so the appeal was immediate. 

Building on the outcomes of our discussions, we supported the curators through an audience-focused iterative process of writing and review. All scripts were finally reviewed by Frances Button, our fantastic proofreader.

Output

Courtauld Gallery, Courtauld Connects redevelopment, scriptwriting workshops and editing, 2019