Museum Exhibition Citation Generator
Cite a museum or gallery exhibition you visited — or the catalog published with it — in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18. Enter the title, the curators or artist, the museum, the city and the dates, and get the reference, the Works Cited entry and the Chicago note. Free, no sign-up.
Exhibition details
Type it in sentence case: capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns. MLA and Chicago get title case automatically.
One per line. APA puts the curators first; without them, the title leads.
MLA and Chicago then start with the artist.
Your citations
Enter the exhibition's title to see your citations.
How to Use the Museum Exhibition Citation Generator
- 1. Choose the exhibition or its catalog. Cite the exhibition when you write about the show you saw; cite the catalog when you quote or draw on its essays and entries.
- 2. Copy the details from the museum's page. The exhibition's full title, the curators if the museum credits them, the museum, the city and the opening and closing dates.
- 3. Name the artist of a single-artist show. MLA and Chicago then start the citation with the artist.
- 4. For a single work in the show, use the artwork generator. An exhibition is an event; a painting or sculpture in it is a separate source — cite it with the Artwork & Painting Citation Generator.
The Exhibition and the Catalog Are Different Sources
An exhibition is an event: it opens, it closes, and readers cannot revisit it. Its catalog is a book that outlasts it. The styles treat the two very differently.
| Style | The exhibition | The catalog |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | A reference with [Exhibition], the year or range of years, and the museum's name and location (§10.14) | A book reference |
| MLA 9 | Title, opening and closing dates, museum, city | A book entry |
| Chicago 18 | The text or a note; usually not the bibliography | Notes with exh. cat., and a bibliography entry (§14.134) |
APA 7 treats an exhibition like a work tied to a place: the curators as authors (the title moves forward when none is credited), the run as a year or range of years, [Exhibition], the museum with its city and country, and the exhibition's web page. MLA 9 gives the exhibition's title, its opening and closing dates, and the museum and city; a show of one artist's work starts with the artist. Chicago 18 has no standard form for an exhibition — the Chicago Style Q&A asks only for its title in italics and enough detail to identify it, in the text or a note, and suggests listing the catalog rather than the event in a bibliography.
Exhibition Citation Examples
The exhibition
Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas at The Met Fifth Avenue, October 26, 2015, to September 18, 2016 — APA's own example:
APA 7th edition
Reference list:
Design for eternity: Architectural models from the ancient Americas [Exhibition]. (2015–2016). The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, United States. https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/design-for-eternity
In-text (parenthetical):
(Design for Eternity, 2015–2016)
MLA 9th edition
Works Cited:
Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas. 26 Oct. 2015-18 Sept. 2016, The Met Fifth Avenue, New York.
In-text citation:
(Design for Eternity)
Chicago 18th edition (notes)
Footnote:
Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas, exhibition, The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, October 26, 2015–September 18, 2016, https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/design-for-eternity.
Shortened note:
Design for Eternity.
The catalog
The book published with that exhibition, by Joanne Pillsbury, Patricia Joan Sarro, James Doyle and Juliet Wiersema (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015):
Exhibition catalog in three styles
APA reference:
Pillsbury, J., Sarro, P. J., Doyle, J., & Wiersema, J. (2015). Design for eternity: Architectural models from the ancient Americas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
MLA Works Cited:
Pillsbury, Joanne, et al. Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.
Chicago footnote:
Joanne Pillsbury et al., Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas, exh. cat. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015).
Chicago bibliography:
Pillsbury, Joanne, Patricia Joan Sarro, James Doyle, and Juliet Wiersema. Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. Published in conjunction with the exhibition “Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas,” shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Common Mistakes
- Citing the exhibition for a single artwork. A painting you discuss is its own source, with its own artist, date and medium.
- Citing the exhibition when you quote the catalog. Words you quote come from the book; cite the catalog, with a page number.
- Giving only the year in MLA. MLA wants the opening and closing dates; APA gives the years.
- Listing the exhibition in a Chicago bibliography. Chicago puts the event in the text or a note and lists the catalog instead.
- Forgetting where the museum is. APA wants the city, state or province and country; MLA and Chicago want at least the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you cite a museum exhibition in APA 7?
- Put the curators first if the museum credits them; otherwise the italic title leads. Add [Exhibition], the year or range of years, the museum with its city and country, and the exhibition's web page: Design for eternity: Architectural models from the ancient Americas [Exhibition]. (2015–2016). The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, United States. In text: (Design for Eternity, 2015–2016).
- How do you cite an exhibition in MLA?
- Give the title in italics, the opening and closing dates, the museum and the city: Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains. 12 Mar.-4 Dec. 2016, National Museum of the American Indian, New York. For a show of one artist's work, start with the artist: Cave, Nick. Until. 15 Oct. 2016-Aug. 2017, Mass MOCA, North Adams.
- How do you cite an exhibition in Chicago style?
- The Chicago Manual has no standard form for an exhibition. Italicize its title and give the museum, city and dates in the text or a note. A bibliography entry is usually unnecessary; list the exhibition catalog there if you used it.
- How do you cite an exhibition catalog?
- As a book, by its authors or editors. In APA: Pillsbury, J., Sarro, P. J., Doyle, J., & Wiersema, J. (2015). Design for eternity: Architectural models from the ancient Americas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A Chicago note can add exh. cat. after the title.
- What is the difference between citing an exhibition and an artwork?
- An exhibition is the whole show — its curators, its run and its museum. An artwork is one object, cited by its artist, title, date, medium and collection. If you write about one painting you saw in a show, cite the painting; MLA can name the exhibition as the place you saw it.
- Do I cite the wall text or labels in an exhibition?
- In MLA and APA, wall text you quote can be cited on its own, described as wall text or a plaque. The Chicago Style Q&A says you need not formally cite words on walls or labels once the exhibition itself is identified in your text or a note.