WORKING PARTNERS
In February 1999, Panelock® Systems Ltd and the Touring Exhibitions Group
(TEG) teamed up under a new three-year sponsorship agreement that both organisations hope
to develop into a continuing association. The agreement stems from a shared interest in
helping public sector organisations to show innovative and exciting temporary exhibitions,
thereby attracting new and wider audiences.
Panelock® is already known for its versatile screen system, which uses a ceiling-mounted
track, and this year it launched a modular system developed specifically for public
galleries. The company’s sponsorship of TEG will therefore extend beyond writing the
cheques - as well as co-funding TEG’s annual Marketplaces and six-monthly exhibitions
listing during 1999-2001, Panelock® has offered practical support to assist TEG’s
planned events. The two organisations are already looking at ways of working together on
further projects. In addition, their partnership has received an extra boost through an
award under the Government’s Pairing Scheme managed by the Association for Business
Sponsorship of the Arts (ABSA).
The Executive Committee chose to approach Panelock® because, as a manufacturer of
gallery display systems, the company had already worked with some of TEG’s members
and was sympathetic to the practical difficulties faced by venues that presented touring
exhibitions. During the forthcoming three years, Panelock®’s committed support and the
related Pairing Scheme award will be invaluable in helping TEG to plan and publicise
Marketplaces further in advance, making them more cost-effective and enabling more
organisations to benefit from attendance.
TEG holds each Marketplace in a different part of the UK to encourage participation by
smaller regional organisations as well as those with larger travel budgets. However,
seeking grant-aid from regional funding bodies for each Marketplace has proved
time-consuming and problematic due to the lack of cohesive policies at both regional and
national level to assist touring across the full range of subjects.
In addition to assisting the Marketplaces
themselves, Panelock® is sponsoring TEG’s complementary twice-yearly exhibitions
listing, introduced as a pilot project in 1997, which provides a vehicle for members to
keep in touch with one another between Marketplaces. The new-look listing, titled simply
"X", was launched in March 1999, with the emphasis on helping TEG members to get
new projects off the ground by exchanging ideas and seeking collaborators at the earliest
stages. Copies of "X" are available free to members and at a cost of £9 each
for non-members, including postage.
In developing its products, Panelock® aims to solve the problems of art galleries,
museums and exhibitions areas that appear large enough to accommodate temporary or touring
exhibitions but are restricted by a lack of sufficient flexible hanging space. The company
will therefore be a valuable source of advice for TEG members on maximising the potential
of their exhibition spaces and its expertise will inform the group’s guidance on
standards of exhibition presentation and display.
There are other issues to be explored in the long-term, not least how TEG and
Panelock® might be able to work together to help the group’s members to develop more contacts
with overseas exhibition venues. The message is – watch this space! – as new
joint initiatives emerge that will serve the interests not only of TEG and Panelock®
but of
the wider exhibitions community and ultimately museum and gallery audiences as a whole.
Judith Kelly
TEG Information Officer
3 March 1999
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