Redefining Exhibition Experiences: Claudia’s Fellowship Learnings in Action

MOD.'s newest exhibition, FOREVER , has officially opened, marking a significant milestone for 2021 George Alexander Foundation Fellow, Claudia von der Borch, as the first exhibition where she has been able to fully implement the learnings from her Fellowship into the design process from start to finish.

FOREVER is a testament to Claudia’s passion to integrating innovative museum design approaches and techniques, ensuring she curates an experience that deeply resonates with visitors. 

Embedding Fellowship Learnings 

Claudia’s Fellowship shifted her approach to exhibition design. The insights gained during her Fellowship have not only shaped FOREVER , but are also being embedded into the processes for MOD.’s upcoming 2026 exhibition. These methodologies are being shared with new staff members, passing on knowledge to continue its influence on future projects.

Claudia deinstalling MOD’s previous exhibition in preparation to install FOREVER. 

Collaborating with Maggie Greyson

Recently, Claudia had the opportunity to share her Fellowship report with Visiting Research Fellow Maggie Greyson from Canada, an award winning futurist and museum designer. Maggie found Claudia’s report findings valuable, noting that the techniques outlined were applied effectively throughout the FOREVER exhibition. Maggie highlighted the accessibility of Claudia’s approach, which presented complex ideas in a format not commonly encountered in museum literature.

Claudia's report has become a valuable resource in the sector, with Maggie sharing the Fellows' research in immersive techniques and approaches within her international network of professional museum designers.

FOREVER

The FOREVER exhibition showcases several innovative techniques and ideas that Claudia has refined during her Fellowship. 

Futures Gallery: Developed with learnings around speculative world-building, immersivity, emotion design, journey design, designing for depth, and experiential futures. This gallery space exemplifies Claudia’s focus on creating meaningful and immersive experiences for visitors.

Futures Gallery. Photo credit: Sia Duff.

Terrarium Installation: Featured in the “Endings” section of FOREVER, this terrarium utilises the technique of abstraction — an approach Claudia explored during her Fellowship visit to design company Kossmanndejong from the Netherlands.

Terrarium Installation. Photo credit: Sia Duff.

Claudia is also actively sharing her expertise with the wider community. In the coming months, she will be giving talks about the Futures Gallery with MOD’s supplier Junior Major at online forums, including Museums Next and at the NDF Conference in New Zealand in May. 

With FOREVER now open, Claudia’s Fellowship learnings are set to continue making an impact. From collaborating with international experts to embedding innovative techniques gained from her Fellowship in future projects, her work is pushing the boundaries of experiential futures in museums and immersing visitors.

Read Claudia's Fellowship report.