Rise of the Must-See Exhibition

Anna Lawrenson is a Lecturer in the Museum and Heritage Studies Program at the University of Sydney. Her career has spanned critical museology and applied practice, having worked in academia and the arts sector. Her research is concerned with how the history, funding and administration of public museums shapes public engagement through exhibitions and programs.Chiara O’Reilly is the Director of the Museum and Heritage Studies program at the University of Sydney. Her research has grown out of an interest in the complexity of the French Romantic movement and currently has a specific focus on the history of museums and galleries, institutional collections and exhibitionary space.

• ContentsList of figures Acknowledgements Abbreviations and acronymsIntroductionPart I Laying the foundations: culture, spectacle, exhibitions, 1850s–1940s Chapter 1: International expositions: social, scientific and spectacularChapter 2: Private interests: championing temporary exhibitions and setting the standards of tastePart II The rise of the blockbuster, 1950s–1990s Chapter 3: In the national interest: the growing role of government supportChapter 4: Building capacity and professionalism: confident cultural leadership fortifies the blockbusterPart III Blockbuster or bust: the necessity of the blockbuster in the twenty-first century Chapter 5: Relinquishing the national: state support and competitionChapter 6: Global buy-in and blockbuster tropesChapter 7: Scholarship and the exportation of Australian exhibitionsEpilogue Index