What's included
A borrowed object arrives on a lender's terms, in a lender's crate, with a lender's courier, on a date that suits the lender. Every other date in the exhibition is derived from that, so the template puts loans and couriers at the centre rather than treating them as logistics:
- Concept & curatorial development, Exhibition thesis, the object wish list, budget approval, indemnity application and the catalogue, which has the longest lead of anything in the project. Milestone: opening date fixed.
- Loans & lender agreements, Formal loan requests, responses and substitutions, facilities reports, insurance and valuations, signed loan agreements and courier requirements. Milestone: final checklist frozen.
- Design & fabrication, Exhibition design and 3D layout, graphics and interpretation, casework and mount design, fabrication with off-gassing tests, and AV and lighting design.
- Conservation, couriers & transport, Condition surveys, conservation treatment and framing, crating specifications, export licences and customs, and the courier-escorted collection itself. Milestone: objects arrive on site.
- Gallery preparation & installation, De-install of the previous show, repaint, environmental stabilisation and logging, casework and lighting, incoming condition reporting with couriers, object mounting and case sealing.
- Opening, run & de-install, Walkthrough, press preview, opening, the public programme, light-exposure monitoring and rotations, then de-install and return. Milestone: objects returned to lenders.
Who uses this template
Exhibition curators, registrars, and conservators use this to schedule the long lead times behind a show, often 18 to 24 months out. It maps loan requests and indemnity paperwork, conservation and courier windows, gallery climate stabilisation, and the install and de-install crunch, so borrowed objects and contractors all land on the right dates.
How to customize it
- Set the loan request bar to at least twelve to eighteen months before opening for major international lenders; some institutions have committee cycles that meet only a few times a year.
- Add a substitution loop after lender responses. Refusals are normal, and the schedule should show the time it takes to find and request an alternative object.
- Extend the environmental stabilisation bar if you are repainting or installing new casework close to install, off-gassing is the reason lenders ask for the logs.
- Add a row per courier if objects arrive on separate flights; each one needs an escort, accommodation, and a condition-reporting slot in the gallery.
- Insert light-sensitive object rotations into the run phase where a work cannot be displayed for the full duration under its lender's lux and exposure limits.
- Mark the opening date, final checklist frozen, objects on site and objects returned as milestones, those are the four dates a registrar and a director both watch.
Scheduling tips
- Freeze the checklist and then defend it. Every late object addition restarts loan agreements, insurance, crating, mount making and graphics, it is the single most expensive kind of change in an exhibition.
- Send facilities reports early and unprompted. Lenders assess your building before they assess your proposal, and an out-of-date report is a common and entirely avoidable cause of delay.
- Book couriers around lender diaries, not yours. A courier is a named member of the lending institution's staff with their own calendar; two lenders wanting the same week is a real and frequent constraint.
- Make mounts after the checklist freezes, not before. Mount making is bespoke to the object, and a substituted work means a remade mount with no time in the programme for it.
- Plan condition reporting as gallery time, not paperwork. Incoming reports happen with the courier present, object by object, and they occupy days of the install window that people routinely forget to schedule.
- Schedule the de-install and return with the same care as the install. Outgoing condition reports, recrating and courier escorts all repeat, and lenders judge you on the return as much as on the show.
Related templates
- Event Planning Gantt Chart Template
- Trade Show Planning Timeline Template
- Conference Production Schedule Template
- Browse all Gantt chart templates
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should exhibition planning start?
For a loan-based exhibition, two to three years is normal, and the template covers roughly the final eighteen months. Loan requests to major international lenders should go out at least a year to eighteen months before opening.
What is a facilities report?
A standard document describing your building's environmental control, security, fire protection and handling procedures. Lenders use it to decide whether to lend at all, so it should be current before requests go out.
Why does the gallery need to stabilise before installation?
Because fresh paint and new casework off-gas, and temperature and relative humidity need to sit at the agreed set point long enough to be logged. Couriers routinely refuse to unpack into an unproven environment.
What happens if a lender refuses?
You substitute, which restarts the agreement, insurance, crating and mount-making chain for that object. Build a substitution loop into the schedule rather than assuming every request is granted.
How long should the installation window be?
Allow several weeks between gallery handover and opening: casework and lighting, graphics, incoming condition reporting with couriers, mounting and case sealing all happen sequentially and object by object.
Is the museum exhibition template free?
Yes. Free Excel, PowerPoint and CSV downloads, and free online editing with no account and no watermark.