About

We created and published this digital exhibition using Objects and Order's new exhibition builder.

Watch the video to learn more about our object system for museum teams, arts and culture professionals, and collectors.

All images are Open Access or Open Content.

We’re grateful to the museums and organizations that make so many of their collection images available for use.

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Behind the Scenes

More about how we added and organized exhibition objects:

First, we set up the Dragonfly Blueprint. A Blueprint is a customizable, purpose-built form with fields for object information. For our exhibition, that meant tombstone information (title, date, medium, etc.) and label text.

After adding and arranging our fields, we downloaded the Dragonfly Blueprint CSV template, which comes with column headings that correspond to the field labels.

We added data to the CSV and uploaded it, automatically creating 21 objects.

Screenshot of the Dragonfly Exhibition Blueprint where we're setting up fields for object information. Under the section heading Tombstone Information are fields for Title, Artist, and Date. At left there's information about the project: Digital exhibition launching May 5, 2026. Curator: Odonata Sterling, Curator of Entomological Art at the Museum of Objects

For the objects we added, we see the fields from the Dragonfly Blueprint and the corresponding information.

Next, we uploaded image files, adding a caption, alt text, and rights information for each. You can also upload audio, video, pdfs, etc.

When this object is added to the exhibition, its data and assets will come along.

View of the object page for the Still Life with Flowers Surrounded by Insects and a Snail. We've entered data into the Artist (Clara Peeters), Date (circa 1610), and Medium form fields (oil on copper).

When we created the Dragonfly exhibition, we selected the Dragonfly Blueprint, which automatically added our objects (along with info and assets).

In the Object Manager, we sorted the objects into sections. Once arranged, objects appear on their respective section pages, and all objects appear in the checklist.

View of the Object Manager, where you sort exhibition objects into sections. We have two unassigned objects, Dragonfly and Begonia and Dragonfly Brooch. Other exhibition objects have been moved into sections including In Flight, Still-Lifes, and Studies.

Then we set up our preferred Object Layout, selecting the information fields we wanted to display, and styling the look and feel. Here, we show the primary image on the left, with tombstone information and label text on the right. We selected options to include captions below the images and to allow zoom functionality.

When you click an object in the published exhibition, either on the section page or the checklist, information and images will use this layout.

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