Your Amazing Brain, Banbury Museum & Gallery

I developed the Your Amazing Brain exhibition from concept to opening with Banbury Museum and Gallery. I wrote a feasibility study to examine options and secure funding from the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN) at the University of Oxford. The Museum and I worked with scientists at WIN and with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to develop the exhibition concept and exhibit options. I ran a series of workshops throughout the project that were central to our collaborative approach.

We established aims and objectives and I wrote learning, outcomes, messages and a storyline with a focus on a ‘Facebook Families’ audience sector. I used The Arts Council audience outcomes to ensure the project delivered a playful, inspirational, collaborative, curiosity driven and occasionally emotive learning experiences for children and adults.

I led the development of an exhibition narrative in which visitors’ brains work to illustrate the points made about brain science. This ensured that the exhibition does not simply explain aspects of brain science; visitors’ brains perform the phenomena the exhibition is exploring. Based on this work, I wrote the design brief for the project and used my experience and contacts to establish outline costs for each stage of work to give the Museum and funders confidence that the project was deliverable to the required quality with suitable contingency planning and no hidden extras. The design brief included inspirational examples not just from museums, but from public art and internet memes, helping encourage prospective designers in a playful approach rooted in popular culture. Based on the brief, the team appointed Polly Lewis and George Lewis to design the exhibition, respectively handling the 3D and graphic design. An central aspect of their proposal was an impressive, walk-in Ames Room illusion to form landmark and inspirational experience at the heart of the exhibition.

I worked closely with Polly and George as they developed the scheme concept and then the detailed designs of the exhibition. Fifex were appointed contractor for the structural build and interactive exhibits. I wrote the exhibition text aimed at a Facebook families audience, including a graphic trail which enabled adults to engage younger children.

The exhibition and events programme proved very successful at Banbury and the exhibition went on to appear at Discover Bucks Museum.