Summary This article examines the shifting professional identities and forms of exhibition design that were activated by the post-war crisis in UK museums. Drawing on professional publications and museum archives across the UK, it focuses on museum exhibition design for ‘ethnographic collections’ between 1945 and 1965. It documents the sense of collections excess that occurred as objects returned from war-time storage to their bomb-damaged museums; it highlights how – as funding, materials and government attention turned to reconstruction elsewhere – museum staff faced this crisis alone. The article identifies two key tropes in post-war museum exhibition design that relate to this crisis. Both draw upon a ‘makeshift’ approach and both can be aligned with a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ ethic associated with a shortage of professional labour and more democratic modes of production. Firstly, some exhibition makers responded with creativity and innovation, drawing on new materials and commercial and artistic practices to design exhibitions that were radical for museums at this time. Without external support, museum technicians took a leading role in this experimental practice. Secondly, curatorial apathy towards display temporarily carved out inclusive spaces for artists, academics and local communities to design their own exhibitions in ways that remain radical in museums even today.

中文翻译：

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危机中的展览制作：二战后英国的专业身份与激进的博物馆展览设计

总结 本文探讨了英国博物馆战后危机所激发的专业身份和展览设计形式的转变。它利用英国各地的专业出版物和博物馆档案，专注于 1945 年至 1965 年间“民族志收藏”的博物馆展览设计。它记录了当物品从战时储藏室返回到被炸弹损坏的博物馆时所发生的收藏过剩感; 它强调了——随着资金、材料和政府的注意力转向其他地方的重建——博物馆工作人员如何独自面对这场危机。这篇文章确定了战后博物馆展览设计中与这场危机相关的两个关键比喻。两者都采用了“临时”方法，并且都可以与与专业劳动力短缺和更民主的生产方式相关的“自己动手”伦理保持一致。首先，一些展览制作者以创意和创新回应，利用新材料和商业和艺术实践来设计展览，这些展览对当时的博物馆来说是激进的。在没有外部支持的情况下，博物馆技术人员在这一实验实践中发挥了主导作用。其次，策展人对展览的冷漠暂时为艺术家、学者和当地社区开辟了包容性的空间，让他们以即使在今天仍然在博物馆中仍然激进的方式设计自己的展览。利用新材料以及商业和艺术实践来设计当时对博物馆来说非常激进的展览。在没有外部支持的情况下，博物馆技术人员在这一实验实践中发挥了主导作用。其次，策展人对展览的冷漠暂时为艺术家、学者和当地社区开辟了包容性的空间，让他们以即使在今天仍然在博物馆中仍然激进的方式设计自己的展览。利用新材料以及商业和艺术实践来设计当时对博物馆来说非常激进的展览。在没有外部支持的情况下，博物馆技术人员在这一实验实践中发挥了主导作用。其次，策展人对展览的冷漠暂时为艺术家、学者和当地社区开辟了包容性的空间，让他们以即使在今天仍然在博物馆中仍然激进的方式设计自己的展览。