Beningbrough Hall
Beningbrough Hall, York, 2006
Beningbrough Hall is a partnership between the National Portrait Gallery and the National Trust, housing loans from the National Portrait Gallery in an 18th Century house in Yorkshire. We were asked to look both at the wayfinding within the house and the exhibition areas. Signage within the house and gardens uses 18th Century dummy boards as guides, all sampled from the paintings that are on display, so that you are likely to come across your guide in his or her original setting later on in your visit. The interpretation in the exhibition areas focusses on exploring paintings through interaction and on helping these paintings feel relevant and interesting to a modern audience. This interaction could be dressing up in masks or costumes, touching real or replica objects, writing your own version of the story behind an intriguing painting, or even creating a unique digital portrait of yourself that will hang briefly alongside the other portraits. Evaluation of the project states that while visitors hoped and expected to meet their social needs with a visit, in fact they found the visit deeply spiritually and emotionally rewarding.
Client: National Portrait Gallery & The National Trust
Size: 200 square metres (exhibition space)
Casson Mann’s role: Exhibition Space – Lead Consultant, Exhibition Designer, Creative Direction – Software
Wayfinding – Lead Consultant, Designer
Team: Ben Weaver (Graphic Design), Clay (Software Design), DHA Design (Lighting Design)