Cheap or DIY Display Panels needed

So, I am part of a 20 person photo collective. We have the opportunity to show some work at a local art fair. The event will last one day, and the display will be indoors away from the elements. We need something that is floor standing and can display framed art.

We are unable to locate anywhere in Detroit that rents display panels, and so have decided we need to make something or purchase something cheap to do the job. Has anyone here tackled a similar problem?

We need to have this ready to go by the 15th of September too.

Thanks for the advice.

- Jeff

Hi Jeff:

Start here... if they are out of your price range, they might be able to point you in the right direction.
http://www.impact-displays.com/

I do know a woman who has a cottage near me who does this exclusively in Detroit, though on a much larger scale. (dressing for auto shows, etc.) Unfortunately, I don't know the name of her employer (and ironically) she has been called away to work, and won't be back for the remainder of the summer.

Good luck, (and Hi to Eva)

You can make something fairly easily and cheaply with 2"x2" timber and 6'x3' plywood or board. Attach the boards together with split hinges and zig-zag them at 90 degrees to each other. Painted black you can screw frames to either side.

Ian

Although I'm not much help in the UK, but I've spent a long time looking for something professional to display photographs. The cheapest options are those bright blue (available in many other colours) display panels which you find in every school. They look cheap! I'm about to purchase an MDF system with stylish stands but it's going to cost just over £1000 for a 3m stand.

When I was doing this I used three 1x3 inch eight foot lengths in a tripod arrangement bolted together at the top. To this I fixed a sheet of pegboard. To the pegboard I wired the hooks that would be used to nail to a wall and suspended the framed pictures by their wire. I made three of these units to display about 18 pictures IIFC.

On site I realized the flourscent lighting from the high ceiling were more a disservice to the photographs and clamped another board from the center support reaching out over the pegboard about three feet and used a reflector with a 500w bulb to shine down on the pictures.

Not the most professional looking setup but I did sell 12 pictures with it IIRC.

Used cube farm dividers?

Haven't tried this but surplus office furniture stores frequently sell used dividers from office cube farms that could be recovered using inexpensive fabric. Usually their height is a little low for display but sometimes I've seen higher ones. Last time I was in one of those used stores looking for a chair, I saw lots of those dividers (in 1970's greens and yellows!) that were pretty cheap.

With a warning right up front that this solution does fine for single or double works per panel but will not give a tremendous amount of lineage for a group show, I suggest you look at cheap, hollow-core doors. They're light, make very presentable hanging walls for shows and can be stacked or even used for shelving when the show is over. They come in Birch or Mahogany veneer most of the time (but can sometimes be found as primed hardboard) and are often inexpensive at surplus home supply stores. Minimal expense, minimal futzing around and clean, good looking backdrop for the work. I've found that by hinging them together or even a simple nail-through one into the edge of another in two to four door sections gives a good divider for the room and results in a fairly stable, freestanding unit.

4' x8' foam core or core flute

can be used two ways - cut 18" off of long end, and make 2 2' wide - 18" high 'legs' that can be taped to the edge of the 4' wide 6' 6"' tall balance of the sheet.

When the show is over the foam core can be used as backing board for photos. To improve appearances it can be wall papered, just do both sides at the same time or it will warp feircly.

If you use coreflute, it isn't as nice looking, but it is indestructible - join it with bolts and washers.

The other way is to cut it on the 8' side to make 3 panels , and then give the panels a slight z. It will stand on the ground, or can have 1' x 2' legs bolted on to raise the 4' wide surface up to the desired height.

Lots of good suggestions here guys ... thanks everyone for the input.

My panels are much like Ians except for using pegboard for versatility. They've served me well for about 25 years.