Visual narratives in museum exhibitions: Principles of formation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study aimed to determine the principles that govern the formation of visual narratives in museum exhibitions. This was achieved through a qualitative comparative and interpretative analysis of open-access scholarly, professional, and museum materials. Empirical material was gathered from four museums in Albania: the National Historical Museum of Albania, Bunk’Art, the House of Leaves/Museum of Secret Surveillance and the Marubi National Museum of Photography. The study found that visual narratives are formed not by the individual expressiveness of exhibits, but by the coordinated interaction of object-based material, space, route, light, colour, graphics, explanatory text, attribution, archival materials, and modes of visitor perception. The main components of visual narratives in exhibitions were identified: exhibits, routes, spatial composition, lighting and colour design, graphic design, explanatory texts, navigation, photographs, archival materials, multimedia, architectural environments and interpretative contexts. Four models of visual storytelling were identified using Albanian museums as examples: national-historical, spatial-memorial, documentary-testimonial and photographic. The first model was based on chronology and historical artefacts, as well as the concept of cultural continuity. The second model was based on the architectural environment, the route, and the emotional impact of enclosed spaces. The third model was based on documents, technical surveillance objects, archival materials, and explanatory context. The fourth model was based on visual series, image attribution, and the representation of social memory. The principles of visual narrative formation were therefore established: thematic integrity, spatial sequence, visual hierarchy, cultural contextualisation, correspondence between form and content, emotional engagement, documentary reliability and interaction between the object-based, textual and visual-spatial levels of the exhibition. The practical significance of these findings lies in the potential application of the proposed models and principles in the analysis, design, and evaluation of museum exhibitions
Author: Dorina Xheraj-Subashi
Language: English
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7170200112