In late Spring 2023, West Port were commissioned by the Fitzwilliam Museum of the University of Cambridge to design two concurrent exhibitions opening in the Autumn of that year.

This exhibition opened in the museum's modern galleries (the Adeane, 20th Century, Mellon and Octagon)was Rea l Families: Stories of Change. Bringing together more than 120 artworks spanning painting, photography, sculpture and film, the exhibition asks us to consider what makes a family today, and the impact our families have on us, through the eyes of contemporary artists. Developed in collaboration with the world-leading Centre for Family Research in Cambridge, the exhibition shows us that what matters most is not the make-up of the family but the quality of family relationships and the social world in which the family exists.

Our aim was to create a sense of the home. When one thinks of family, regardless of a negative or positive connotation, the feeling of a domestic setting seems nearly universal. We designed each of the sections with a calming tonal palette, primarily using recycled fibre-board material on the display walls. Sustainability was central to both exhibitions as we wanted to demonstrate what was possible. For Real Families, the biggest sustainable driver was the use of the carbon-neutral fibreboard HONEXT instead of MDF. This exhibition represents a milestone for this pioneering, circular material and is one of the largest examples of its use in the UK at the time (450m2).

Tactility and calmness were the main driving forces for Real Families with all AV moments carefully integrated into the overall exhibition design through the use of small, private rooms and small screens with headphones. The gallery spaces for Real Families are utilitarian and much more modern than the museum's main galleries, which presented detail challenges and conflicted with our desire to create the feeling of home in the spaces. Through considerate detailed design we created a space that all visitors can enjoy including the introduction of carpeted areas which were accessible to all.