Hidden Supports: The Art and Practice of Mountmaking

Mountmaking is more than building artifact stands; it is a holistic process of protecting object safety during exhibition. During this webinar, designed for staff at small and mid-sized cultural institutions who are responsible for preparing objects for exhibition, participants will learn the basics for displaying objects — from in-house customization of standard mount blanks to working with contract mountmakers. This webinar will follow the path from object list to install, and will cover the questions to ask and standards to uphold.

At the conclusion of the program, participants will: 

• Understand the role of mountmaking in protecting objects during exhibition
• Identify when and how to customize standard mount blanks in-house
• Know how to effectively contract with outside mountmakers
• Learn the basic workflow from object selection to exhibition installation
• Develop key questions and considerations for planning safe and effective object mounts

Speakers: 

Jen Simons, Brigid Mountmaking

Erika Johnson, Brigid Mountmaking

Jen Simons and Erika Johnson, founding members of Brigid Mountmaking, have both been making mounts for nearly 20 years. Jen started out in large-scale steel construction as a structural welder, and Erika was a precision machinist and clockmaker. After 11 years of making mounts together, we are still learning from each other and from every exhibit. “There’s no crying in mountmaking” will never be true, but we hope we can make this game a little easier, because we’re all on the same team.