Recreating Tutankhamun's 3,000 Year Old Hometown
McMillan Group created this exhibit to complement the concurrent traveling Tut exhibit we had designed. This is the entrance to the Amarna exhibition at the UPENN Museum - with a graphic entry treatment and an introductory video to feature Tutankhamun and his father's royal reign.
On entering the first gallery, this exhibit area establishes Egypt's traditional religion of many gods as well as the royal lineage leading to Akhenaten’s reign.
The time line was planned using objects from the collection to provide context for the changes brought about in Amarna by its radical king.
This section includes artifacts from ancient Thebes, as well as Tut's tomb, that visually describe his upbringing in Amarna.
The design of this gallery represents the radical change in culture, showcasing mosaics and objects from Akhenaten’s grand palace on the Nile in Amarna.
The design change from a darker palette to a lighter more ethereal one in this gallery depicts Akhenaten’s (shown in the large mural at the end) transition from the old religion to the new belief in one god.
McMillan Group created all of the exhibit graphics and promotional materials such as this exhibition poster above.
This Amarna exhibition at the UPENN Museum complemented the opening of the traveling exhibit, “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” nearby at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. That Tut exhibit was based on the design McMillan Group established at its first of four venues starting at the LA County Museum of Art. This ancient city of Amarna was founded by Tutankhamun’s father, Akhenaten, and survived for only twenty years. It was a revolutionary period that profoundly changed art, religion and culture in Egypt. McMillan Group created the storyline, then brought it to life in the museum exhibit design with a variety of environmental experiences surrounding the displays of artifacts. We created the architectural and interior design, cases, mount design, as well as the graphic, video and lighting design.
