Project 

BAC 100 – FLIGHT Exhibition

IGNITION was appointed by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership to design, build and install a 200 sqm temporary exhibition, FLIGHT, at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition was part of the BAC 100 celebrations marking the centenary of the founding of the Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC). BAC 100 was an initiative of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership (Arts Council England, Bristol City Council and GWE Business West) working with Airbus, Rolls-Royce and other partners from industry, the heritage sector, community groups and the arts.

BAC 100 had a wide range of prestigious sponsors and funders, including: Airbus, BAE Systems, GKN, MBDA, Rolls-Royce, University of the West of England, UKTI, and the University of Bristol. The Heritage Lottery Fund made a grant towards the project and Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council also provided funding. 

The IGNITION team has significant experience of working in the aerospace industry and was delighted to win the contract for this major exhibition. 

Objectives 

The brief required development of an interpretation scheme taking visitors on a journey back in time from the technological advancements that have made space travel possible, through two World Wars, to 1910, the year in which Sir George White founded the Bristol Aeroplane Company - at Filton, near Bristol. 

The museum lobby held a series of engines and a full size replica aeroplane on loan from Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, Bristol and the Bristol Aero Collection museum at Kemble. The main gallery space had three areas: Flying, Fighting and Pioneers. These areas combined archived film and photographs integrated within large format graphics. A large range of artefacts were displayed including scale models and historic archive documents on loan from private, regional and national collections providing visitors with a rich experiential immersive experience.

Archive film and photographs brought the excitement, effort and glamour of this past to life with images of iconic Bristol aeroplanes alongside original artefacts such as Brabazon’s landing wheels, A380 wing skins, a Bristol Fighter wing rib and unique Boxkite skids from 1910. 

Audio points in the gallery provided visitors with the opportunity to listen to testimonies from local people who shared their personal memories of working in one of the world’s most important aviation factories during World War Two, through to the years of supersonic flight.

This project required extensive stakeholder management. IGNITION worked closely with Katherine Hann, FLIGHT Exhibition Project Manager and Curator as well as Bristol Development Cultural Partnership, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, the conservation department, specialist mounters and private, regional and local collectors.

Results

HRH Prince Edward Duke of Kent opened the exhibition on Friday 17th September 2010. Due to the exhibition's popularity the opening was extended from 31st November to the 31st January 2011. During this time 43,000 people visited the exhibition and feedback from visitors was fantastic and included:

I am writing to congratulate everyone involved in the superb exhibition Flight which you have opened at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery.  You have managed to present a huge subject (both historically and in terms of size of objects!) in an imaginative way which has overcome the size of the space available. There are some really lovely touches – such as the importance given to the oral history recordings, the moving spotlight in the war-time area and the child-friendly exhibits at child-height. I am sure the exhibition will have good visitor numbers – and you deserve all the congratulations you receive.  Well done!

Linda Coode, South Gloucester Council

I went to the museum today.  The exhibition is fab. So easy to use and so informative - something for everyone.  It was packed with an age range 8 – 90.  Lovely.

Sarah Jane Meredith, South West Screen