The Show Must Go On

Remotely Monitoring the Installation of a Travelling Exhibition

Abstract

A touring exhibition with objects from the Egyptian collection of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (RMO) in Leiden was ready to be transported to Japan, when international travel was curtailed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After a delay of five months, it was possible to mount the show at the first venue, but without couriers from the RMO. A plan was devised to enable the Japanese team to unpack and install the objects while a team from the RMO followed the process through a livestreaming video connection that allowed mutual communication in real-time. This contribution summarises how the exhibition’s partners prepared for this unusual installation method by adapting to, until then, unprecedented circumstances and reflects on its merits and disadvantages.