Galleries and museums host a wide range of art installations and exhibitions, presenting a rich tapestry of work from creative hands and minds. But the images on the screen, or the art in the space, are only part of the picture. Audio plays a significant role in such environments, whether for atmosphere, complementary background music or as the soundscape for the installation itself. This is where companies like ArtAV step in.
Integrator ArtAV is an expert at operating in these unique spaces, where support technology must be both technically sophisticated and reliable for extended periods – and almost invisible.
Installations are temporary, often complex, and the audio systems are typically operated by curators, exhibition staff or the artists themselves. Dedicated technical teams are expensive and rarely found these days; systems must therefore deliver high-quality output while remaining simple to operate. “With fewer technical staff available, front of house teams are required to take on a broader range of responsibilities, often outside their comfort zone,” says Simon Weightman, Project Manager at ArtAV.
To meet these demands, ArtAV has gradually standardised on networked amplification from LEA Professional and loudspeakers from Fohhn, both supplied in the UK by the award-winning audio technology distributor Audiologic. Across several international exhibitions in recent years, including installations at the Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and galleries in Scandinavia and New York, the combination has enabled the company to balance operational simplicity with robust technical infrastructure.
According to Weightman, usability can be every bit as important as amplification power and sonic performance. LEA amplifiers, he notes, offer an “absolutely fantastic web GUI” that simplifies day-to-day operations by front of house staff.
“It allows our user base of non-technical people to control the volume of the amplifiers,” he explains. “You can easily log on to the GUI via any web browser on a phone and adjust the volume of every single amp channel with a slider.”
The company recently fed back a specific request to LEA, courtesy of ArtAV’s close relationship with Audiologic (the American manufacturer’s UK distributor): asking for a stripped-back version of the interface with only a single volume slider and a mute button, removing all back-end complexity for end users. “If we can simplify the user interface further, there will be even fewer problems,” Simon says.
At the same time, the systems ArtAV deploys behind the scenes are far from simple. Many installations involve multiple audio channels spread across several rooms or outdoor areas, with equipment hidden in walls, plant spaces or temporary racks. Simon’s design team can set up, measure and fine-tune the audio using LEA Professional’s extensive set of DSP parameters, and the company’s highly regarded SharkWare configuration suite.
For example, LEA’s Connect Series, a range of smart amplifiers with flexible power management and IoT-enabled control capabilities, proved crucial for a large exhibition in Venice. This was Listening All Night to the Rain, an exhibition by John Akomfrah RA for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The scale of the system was significantly larger than normal.
“There were over 100 channels of audio in that installation,” recalls Simon. “It required a dozen LEA amplifiers in a rack, all networked together.” LEA’s metering and control enabled fast fault-finding and responsive level tweaks during the exhibition, but it was not simply a case of ‘set and forget’.
“We remained plugged into that Venice network from the UK,” explains Simon. “We could monitor and manage the system remotely during operation as well as the installation.”
Such visibility can be invaluable during temporary exhibitions, where systems can be installed quickly and then left to run for months without on-site technical supervision. The physical density of the amplifiers is also important in gallery environments. Many installations require all electronics to be entirely hidden from public view.
“[The amps] have got eight channels of 160W in 1U,” observes Simon. “Being able to have that smaller form factor is a massive bonus to us.”
On one installation at Tate Modern, this density made it possible to hide the entire system inside architectural cavities. In that instance, ArtAV deployed the new CS Half Rack models, packing networked power into an even smaller form factor.
“Because it is such a compact amplifier, we were able to get everything into a really small box, and we could hide the systems inside the hollow walls of the building,” he recalls. The result was an audio system that was completely invisible to visitors.
Subtle support
While amplification and control remain hidden, the loudspeakers themselves must integrate carefully with the visual language of each exhibition.
As Simon explains, “We want discrete speakers that are not going to take away from the aesthetic of the artwork.”
Fohhn loudspeakers have proved effective in striking that balance, providing the sonic quality required for sound art and multimedia installations while maintaining a visually restrained presence.
Fohhn speakers, Simon notes, “get a lot of traction because of their aesthetic as well as their audio quality”.
Artists and curators also often respond immediately to the sonic character of the systems.
“Every time we fire up a Fohhn speaker, you get ‘that nod’; they really like it,” he adds. “It is often hard to find something that looks good and sounds good too.”
Art on tour
ArtAV’s demanding workflow is made more challenging by the fact that many exhibitions travel between venues, each with very different acoustics and layouts. Upcoming projects include a new exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and a touring leg of John Akomfrah’s exhibition visiting Liverpool and Dundee, alongside work in Sweden and Finland.
Rather than starting from scratch every time, the ArtAV team builds up libraries of starting configurations for familiar spaces.
“We have presets for sets of venues,” says Simon. “For example, we know that if you need to put 12 speakers on the columns at ‘the Baltic’ in Gateshead, we have got that audio file saved. We can pull that in as a starting point for the next work that features that layout.”
These presets provide a reliable baseline for new installations, helping the team move quickly during tight installation schedules. Each soundscape is then tuned to suit the specific characteristics of the artwork, with ArtAV’s engineers adjusting EQ, level and spatial balance. For example, a previous installation may have required heavy low-frequency reinforcement, while the next could be built around dialogue or vocal elements that demand greater clarity in the midrange.
“The preset just gives us a flat starting point,” Simon explains. “We then manipulate the sound within the constraints of the artwork to make it sound as good as it possibly can, to match the creative intent of each piece.”
The combination of LEA amplification and Fohhn loudspeakers supports a workflow that increasingly relies on networked infrastructure.
“The AV industry is seeing a big push for AV over IP,” Simon observes. “Anything that helps reduce installation times but still does the job is a huge help.”
That efficiency is particularly valuable when working on international installations, where equipment must be transported, installed and commissioned within tight schedules before an exhibition opens to the public.
For example, ArtAV’s close relationship with its distributor underpinned the Venice Biennale installation, where Audiologic moved quickly to source Fohhn speakers for the British Pavilion, managing serial numbers, paperwork and EU import logistics within a tight deadline.
Just as the technology is there to support the artwork rather than compete with it, ArtAV’s role also remains deliberately unobtrusive. Ultimately, the success of an audio installation in a gallery space is measured by how little visitors think about the technology at all.
“We are not there to paint the picture,” says Simon. “We are just there to make sure it looks and sounds as good as possible.”
“The public does not need or want to know how the AV is working,” he adds. “They just want to appreciate the art.”
Photo Credits
Images taken by Jack Hems
© Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery.
John Akomfrah
Listening All Night to the Rain, 2024 (still)
Multi-channel HD video installation with surround sound
Commissioned by the British Council for the 60th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, 2024
