In France they did a survey of the exhibition industry. Here's what came out

An interesting study on the cultural exhibition sector has recently been published in France : theOPIIEC - Observatoire des métiers du numérique, de l’ingénierie, du conseil et de l’évènement (Observatory of digital, engineering, consulting and events professions), a body formed by several professional associations, was in charge of the research. This is an important study because it made it possible to identify for the first time the weight of cultural exhibitions in France and to study, within this ecosystem, the priority professions and skills that need to be developed by actors in the sector. Within the scope of the study(Etude sur les métiers de la conception et du suivi de réalisation d’expositions culturelles, downloadable from the OPIIEC website), a “cultural exhibition” was defined as “an intellectual and spatial device, practiced by visitors and whose objective is to encourage their encounter with human or natural works, themes (historical, sociological, scientific, etc.), heritages (tangible and intangible) or territories.” There are different types of exhibitions: permanent (those whose duration is not fixed, but it has been observed that on average they last between 5 and 10 years), temporary (average duration from 3 months to 2 years), semi-permanent (average duration between 3 and 5 years), traveling (temporary exhibitions that move to different spaces), and virtual.

The objective of the study was to enable the sector to identify actions to be put in place on employment, skills and training aspects to support the evolutions and transformations taking place on companies and workers and to propose courses of action. More specifically, the objectives of this study were as follows: to situate the supply chain within the cultural exhibition ecosystem in France; to quantify the economic impact of the ecosystem and its productions; to make an inventory of skills related to cultural exhibitions and cultural exhibition venues in France; to take stock of the skills expected by professionals in terms of cultural exhibitions for all occupations, from 3 to 5 years; to map and assess the existing initial and professional training offer in France; and to put the expected skills in perspective with the current training offer and its expected development over 3-5 years.

The study consisted ofidentifying all the actors, quantifying their weight in the sector, and assessing the evolution of the professionalism and skills of the professionals involved in the field of cultural exhibitions. To do this, OPIIEC first determined the number of cultural exhibitions in France, based on specialized databases, verified and parameterized with quality control tests, then surveyed the set of companies in the sector, also questioning the professional organizations that organize and federate companies and professionals in the cultural exhibition sector, particularly those that adhere to federations, then assessed the evolution of the professionalism and skills of the professionals involved in cultural exhibitions. After defining the list of professions for professionals, exploratory interviews were conducted with them; an online survey was then sent to companies in the sector to gather more detailed feedback.

In a nutshell, what emerged was a landscape composed of 12,300 exhibitions (the numbers are for 2019, the base year for the study), which moved 117 million visitors (67 million of them to museums), with a direct and indirect economic impact of 4.8 billion euros, or 10 percent of the economic weight of all cultural activities in France. The focus on businesses focused on 400 companies with 1,000 salaried workers, which would lead to a turnover, for the exhibitions sector alone, estimated at 100 million euros excluding taxes. Thus, this is a sector composed mainly of small facilities (an average of 2.5 employees per company). These figures, however, do not take into account museographers, set designers and other professionals who work with museums under different national contracts than those considered in the survey.

The exhibition ecosystem was then evaluated according to four different types of factors: social, economic, environmental and technological. As for the social factors, “the cultural exhibition,” reads the report’s summary, “often already has an educational role or at least arouses curiosity. Tomorrow’s exhibition must also convey the values of citizenship and solidarity and become a space par excellence for the creation of social ties. Beyond a purely objective mission that is heritage preservation, many professionals and intellectuals defend that the museum of tomorrow actively contributes ’to human dignity and social justice.’” According to the study, museums, like exhibitions more generally, are sometimes perceived as unattractive by certain audiences, especially young people, children or teenagers, despite being among the most represented visitors. Less than 15 percent of people visit the museum alone, and families with children account for a quarter of visits. More and more museums are catering to this young adult audience. Moreover, with the democratization of access to information and cultural content online, people expect more from the exhibition than a purely contemplative experience. There are many ways to design more experiential and engaging cultural exhibitions (multisensory, participatory, and/or gamified...).

Again regarding social factors, it was found that since social struggles are an ever-evolving phenomenon, the “engaged exhibition” should accompany new causes. In recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of feminist, anti-racist, LGBTQIA+, and environmental movements, which have also reflected on exhibitions. However, the number of cultural exhibitions dedicated to these new subjects remains below public expectations according to the report. Traditional exhibition spaces can provide a window of expression for these new struggles.

In terms of economic factors, the report found that, whether it is from municipalities, regions or the Ministry of Culture, overall public funding for culture is stagnant in France. This stagnation results in a decline in grants to museums and puts sponsors in financial difficulty. This affects both the number of orders placed and the working conditions of service providers (increased workload, limited budgets, etc.). Not all facilities are affected to the same degree by this decline in subsidies. In fact, small exhibition venues mention financial problems more often than large ones. Therefore, only a few large museums have sufficient investment capacity to adapt to new trends and fully implement planned innovations. This phenomenon may widen the divide between Paris and the rest of France, as the capital can assume even greater size, both in terms of budget and attendance at cultural exhibitions. This scenario of reduced subsidies encourages the emergence of new private players. The latter, especially in the form of organizations linked to large international groups, have a greater capacity for investment than many medium-sized museums. The emergence of strong international competition is also an increasingly tangible reality in France with the growing use of Anglo-Saxon and German and other companies.

Regarding environmental factors, the implementation of an energy sobriety strategy to reduce energy consumption (down by more than 15 percent by 2050) also has an impact on the exhibition sector. By promoting eco-design, players in the industry also want to be able to save money through the reuse of fittings and equipment in particular. However, eco-design also involves costs (recycling, installation, know-how, etc.). This dimension is increasingly included as a criterion in calls for tenders.

Companies that specialize in supporting responsible design and production offer both tools for calculating the ecological impact of actors and advice on how to do better. On the other hand, this approach, according to the report, is still very little used compared to other sectors such as construction or heavy industry. To meet this new challenge, more and more professionals and artisans are adopting new practices (recycling solutions, recovery, furniture rental, etc.). To facilitate the realization of an eco-designed cultural exhibition, means are being implemented with the aim of pooling collections, loans, but also the transportation of works.

As for technological factors, on the other hand, it was noted by OPIIEC that the use of multimedia content has become widely democratized in places where cultural exhibitions are organized. These contents generally enrich an exhibition and enhance the cultural transmission of works. Their integration is developed with the intervention of experts from the very beginning of the design of the scenic route. Digital is expanding the universe of possibilities in the field of communication. At the same time, new technologies (augmented reality, NFT, etc.) make it possible to create new forms of interaction with the works, their use is still a minority in the field, but this type of technology makes it possible to overcome some logistical barriers and thus interact with “physical works.” However, this type of display is still a minority according to data collected by OPIIEC. Formats and their place tend to structure and establish themselves. In general, digital is expanding the universe of possibilities in the field of communication. Social networks are increasingly used both to publicize a cultural exhibition and stand out in the market, but also to build audience loyalty. This constitutes an activity of developing a cultural offer in its own right parallel to its exhibition activity (podcasts, videos, serious games, etc.).

As for the interviews with professionals in the field, the surveys identified 19 professions. 9 professions out of 19 assessed by the interviewees are considered stable in terms of employment and at the same time considered to be changing in terms of skills to be mobilized, while 7 professions are considered to be growing and 1 declining. The workforce is thus expected to increase overall in the coming years, but to a reasonable extent. The occupations expected to grow the most are those related to the environmental transition (environmental consultant/eco-design) or the increasing integration of digital technology (audiovisual, multimedia and digital content producers, audiovisual, multimedia and digital equipment engineers, technical engineers). Conversely, the professions considered to be most evolving are generally the more traditional exhibition professions (exhibition curator, museographer, set designer, audiovisual, multimedia and digital content designer, programmer, preventive conservation consultant, environmental consultant, graphic designer and designer (exhibit design, services, etc.). The professions that impact the sector the most are (in order of importance noted): museographer; set designer; audiovisual/multimedia designer; curator; audiovisual/multimedia engineer; programmer; technical engineer (air conditioning, ventilation, etc.); lighting designer; economist; project manager; graphic designer; preventive conservation consultant; environmental consultant; designer (fittings, services, etc.); sound designer; and legal advisor.

Overall, there are still certifications and initial training that provide access to the professions. For some professions, however, the courses seem less well known, for while several professionals cited, for example, a lack of certification/initial training dedicated to the lighting designer, there are in fact some (e.g., diploma issued by ENSATT in Lyon). For continuing education, apart from technical professions not specific to e exhibitions (sound technician, multimedia design, etc.), an often insufficient supply is lamented. Respondents then emphasize that they train by attending conferences, panel discussions and contact with other professionals, but rarely through training in the traditional sense. Six priority skill blocks were identified to address new industry trends: managing environmental issues; regulatory and administrative issues; management and project management; budget management; experimenting with digital innovations; and understanding public expectations.

The OPIIEC report concludes with some recommendations so that all actors involved in cultural events and belonging to the sector can better structure themselves to support professionals throughout their training. The challenges identified revolve around 3 axes: Pursuing the structuring of the sector and its professions and carrying out, as an extension of this action, a study on the evolution of the global ecosystem of exhibitions, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, considering the annual production of statistics on the sector; Giving visibility to the various training courses and pathways leading to the exhibition professions, developing policies for collaboration between schools and businesses to promote exhibition-related professions; Promote the development of key skills to be acquired to meet tomorrow’s major challenges, funding ad hoc actions, creating a library of free online resources (videos, podcasts, articles, etc.) to inform about regulations, technological innovations, team management methods and so on, and promoting the provision of collective actions by organizing a webinar with companies in the sector.

Pictured: the Louvre

In France they did a survey of the exhibition industry. Here's what came out

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