Student blog: What Does It Take to Curate a Student-Led Exhibition?

Digital Content Developers for the Exhibition Project module, Fede Falchi and SeungYeon Kim, have asked members of the Patterns & People exhibition team to share their thoughts - what they’ve learned, what they didn’t expect, and what it truly takes to bring an exhibition to life. 

Learning as You Go

“There’s a constant push-pull between being students and wanting to create something that feels professional,” says Elsa Wilbur, Project Coordinator.

Image caption: Elsa Wilbur, Project Coordinator

"We’re here to learn, but we also care deeply about getting it right.” For Elsa, coordination has meant constantly staying connected with the team, tracking everyone’s progress, and making sure no one was left behind. “Even though we all had defined roles, everything overlaps. We have to work together and hold each other accountable.”

Understanding the Bigger Picture

Image caption: Lydia Pun, Content Developer

“Time and effort are everything. You need to understand the big idea, the sub-themes, and the communication goals,” Lydia explains. “There’s so much behind the scenes - researching, writing, revising - to make sure everything we present actually connects with our overall concept.” One of the biggest takeaways? “Good communication is essential. We have had moments of misalignment, but we learned to fix that through communicating and sharing feedback at an earlier stage.”

Making Meaning from Complexity

Image Caption: Yumo Shen, Content Developer

“It’s been especially hard for our communication case. It’s such a complex topic, and we’ve had to find a way to present it clearly with just a few objects.” Yumo has tackled this by focusing on research and drawing on different cultural perspectives. “Working with people from different backgrounds has really helped: we each have brought something unique that has shaped the narrative of the exhibition.’’

Patience and Problem-Solving

Image caption: Amy Keall, Collections Manager

“It takes patience!’’ says Amy Keall, Collections Manager. 

‘‘There has been a lot of revision along the way, but when we finally brought everyone’s work together before our last panel meeting, it was incredibly satisfying. You see the full picture start to form.” What has surprised her most was how other team members have reimagined what a “pattern” could be. “The gesture sub-theme, for example, was something I never would’ve thought of myself.”

Communication as an Essential Skill

Image caption: Yushi Zheng, Collections Manager

“Strong communication skills are everything,” Yushi said. “We often get stuck, but talking with our advisors and doing more research has helped us move forward.” She also reflected on the value of working with students from different fields: “It has made the project more comprehensive. Personally, I’ve learned to listen and appreciate different perspectives more.”

Seeing the Big Picture

“Patienceeeeeee,” emphasises Gigi Frazzi, Audience Researcher. This is a fitting response from someone focused on aligning the exhibition with its intended audience.

“The hardest part has been getting everyone on the same page: we all have different points of view,” he explains. But seeing the exhibition come together has made it all worthwhile: “It’s a beautiful experience to see your efforts paying off.”

The Joy of Seeing It All Come Together

Members of the team describe the most rewarding moment as seeing everything take shape. For Yushi, mapping out the object cases made the project feel real. For Amy, it was watching individual pieces turn into a cohesive narrative. For Elsa, it was stepping back and realising just how far the team had come: “It’s wild to think we’re almost at the finish line. All the research, drafts, and meetings - it’s all led to something we’re all genuinely proud of.” 

The journey of building Patterns & People has been one of hard work and creative exchange. As Yumo put it, ‘‘we’ve learned what an exhibition really needs, not just content and objects to display, but communication, planning, and teamwork.” And while none of us expected so many emails, drafts, or feedback rounds, every revision has brought us closer to the finished product: a student-led exhibition that’s thoughtful, cross-cultural, and rooted in collaboration. 

Patterns & People opens on May 8th at the Culture Lab, UCL East. The Culture Lab is open to all UCL students and staff, and welcomes the public on Wednesdays at 2pm-5pm, on the first Saturday of every month at 11am-4pm, or by appointment.