How to Make a DIY Art Show Booth Display

GETTING STARTED

Before embarking on this project, I looked around for budget-friendly options that aligned with my vision of how I wanted my work to be displayed. I quickly realized there weren’t many existing solutions that met my requirements. So, with a little creativity and outside-the-box thinking, I decided to design and build my own (with the help of my husband :)

The first step in designing a display is to establish what your needs are. This includes how much space you have to use (booth size), the most efficient and visually pleasing configuration for elements within that space, and how to best display your products. Keeping these things in mind will help to determine what specific materials you will need to set up your booth. Let’s take a closer look at these considerations using my IKEA-based display as an example.

MY REQUIREMENTS

The idea to use materials from IKEA was born out of some lessons I learned after designing a display for my first art market. That setup was similar to the IKEA-inspired build, but it was constructed out of painted plywood and  unfortunately did not hold up very well after being loaded into and out of a vehicle. The surface was also not as smooth as I would have liked, even after having sanded the pieces down.

After identifying the weaknesses of that first design, I knew the next one had to have certain important qualities.

The Display Had to Be...

For one of my events, the booth I purchased was 6x4 ft. It did, however, get changed at the last minute to roughly 12x2 due to an admin error. This meant I had to reconfigure the space so that my table was set up beside the backdrop rather than in front of it. In the end, it wasn't a problem and I was actually pleased with the way it turned out. At this event, the height for vendor displays was restricted to 6 ft. I knew I wanted to use as much of that vertical space as possible for maximum visibility and impact, so I began plans for a backdrop with my logo and space below to hang a few of my original paintings.

THE RESEARCH

After some rough doodling to figure out the general design, I began browsing the IKEA website for shelving units with pieces that could be joined together for the backdrop. I wasn’t looking for solid wood as it would have been too heavy to transport, but I did come upon several other options (particleboard/fiberboard) that met my needs as far as materials were concerned. Finding the correct size was a bit trickier. I wanted to avoid purchasing something that left me with too many unused pieces. My goal was to make use of as much of the unit as possible to minimize waste. After some searching, I decided on 2 shelving units from their Kallax series. These provided boards that were fairly lightweight to carry, but thick and heavy enough for stability.

In the end, I was only left with the shelf pieces, which could be used in a future project.

What We Used

The longest pieces of the Kallax units were too short for my purposes, but I found that attaching the smaller side pieces to the bottoms of the longer ones brought the height up to just under 6 ft. First, I joined all the pieces using wood glue and kept them clipped together while they dried. Then my husband and I attached the metal mending plates across the glued seams for added strength. Next came the hinges. We screwed them into the long pieces, creating two foldable “walls” that can either stand together as one large piece or be used separately depending on the available space.

For the base, we opted for a sanded birch plywood as it is strong and dense enough to firmly hold screws. We attached the metal shelf brackets to the wood, measuring out sufficient space for the gap where the IKEA pieces sit. Once both bases were finished, we tested them to ensure the display stood securely between the brackets.

THE SIGN

The next step was creating the sign. For the letters, I used Oracal 651 adhesive vinyl and a Silhouette Cameo machine to cut out my logo. I then transferred the letters onto the IKEA Oxberg door and attached metal U-shaped brackets to the back so it could sit on top of the display, spanning across both of the standing pieces. 

THE EXTRAS

Artwork Labels

I wanted to create a clean, gallery-style look, so I printed out labels with the titles of my paintings, the prices and a few other details. I placed the labels between some small magnetic frames purchased from Michael’s and attached them to the display using Command Strips. The acrylic frames protect the labels and the Command Strips allow me to reposition them on the display if needed based on the arrangement of the artwork.

Lighting

For this particular event, my booth ended up being in a poorly lit part of the room, so I was thankful to have had at least a few rechargeable lights (purchased from Amazon) on my display. I had two picture lights on the ends of the backdrop as well as 3 smaller puck-style lights illuminating the sign from above. Rechargeable lighting is a great option if your venue doesn’t provide access to electricity.

Table Display

While this is not actually part of the backdrop, I thought I’d share a brief look at my idea for displaying prints. I created these small tiered units by layering 4 ledge shelves (per unit) using some strong double-sided tape. Three of the shelves were stacked on top of each other, while the fourth was used as a base to prevent the tiered part from falling over. All in all, it was a fairly inexpensive, low-fuss and easy-to-construct solution to show off my print offerings.

LOOKING AHEAD...

Because the backdrop is two separate pieces, I have flexibility in the way I can use them at future events. Depending on the amount of space I have, I could set them up at a 90-degree angle to create a corner wall or even use just one if space is limited. A bit of careful thought and creativity can open up a whole new world of possibilities.

BONUS TIP: If you’re looking for something different from IKEA’s standard colour offerings, you could use a non-permanent adhesive vinyl covering that aligns better with your taste or branding style. This is something I might try in the future myself.

I hope you found these ideas helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or ideas to add, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

NOTE: This post is not sponsored. These were just the materials and process that worked for my situation, but you may have to make modifications based on your own needs and space to ensure structural safety.