EXHIBITIONISM, the world’s first international exhibition on The Rolling Stones, is now open at London’s Saatchi Gallery. It celebrates the band’s 45 year history with more than 500 artefacts on display, including musical instruments, sketches, posters and even film clips, covering more than 20,000 square feet. To celebrate the exhibition, a launch party was held on 4th April which was attended by The Rolling Stones themselves. Produced by Plain Jane Events, they asked WL, who had already overseen the entire lighting installation for the actual exhibition, to provide the production support on the evening.
The launch of EXHIBITIONISM was attended by famous faces from all across the entertainment industry including Sir Bob Geldof, Nick Grimshaw, Natalie Dormer, Fearne Cotton and Geri Halliwell. WL’s Creative Producer Richard Stirzaker comments: “This was a high-end party with high-profile guests and it was our role to provide the best production support possible. This meant working closely with Plain Jane Events to decide what feel they required and how we could achieve this”.
The launch took place across four separate rooms on Level 2 of the Saatchi Gallery. Richard adds: “Plain Jane Events wanted each of the rooms to have its own identity and be idiosyncratic. That said, they all had to be inspired by The Rolling Stones and we implemented a British theme throughout”. In order to achieve this, WL drew on a range of state-of-the-art audio and lighting equipment. This included creating a custom-built light canopy which helped to light each gallery space.
Richard comments: “One of the biggest factors was subtlety. Plain Jane Events understandably didn’t want a host of technical equipment on display. Therefore we had to ensure that this was concealed and was secreted successfully within each space”. In order to achieve this, WL spent two days on site creating the perfect set-up.
The opening launch was a huge success and the exhibition is now open to the public. Richard states: “This was a really great project for us to work on. Not only was it a prolific occasion with worldwide media coverage but we also had to work to a very specific brief and achieve an exact look; something we were able to do”.
Alexandra Smith, Director at Plain Jane Events, comments: “We had a fantastic experience working with WL. They showed complete professionalism throughout and helped to create an unforgettable evening. We are very grateful for their support and look forward to working with them again in the future”.
The launch party took place following the news that WL has just been appointed as an approved supplier to Saatchi Gallery, meaning it will be eligible to provide the production support for any event held there. This news follows the company recently having its cross-palace supplier status for Historic Royal Palaces renewed as well as gaining approved-supplier status at Tate.
Alicia Earls, WL’s Business Development Manager, comments: “We are absolutely thrilled to be an approved supplier to Saatchi. As seen with the EXHIBITIONISM opening party, it is a fantastic space that can be transformed for any occasion so we really look forward to working on a whole host of exciting events there”.
EXHIBITIONISM takes place at London’s Saatchi Gallery until 4 September. Tickets and info atstonesexhibitionism.com