Translation
Atelier Rouvray exhibition catalog
A 42,000-word catalog for a retrospective of light installations, translated from French for an English-language co-publication.
Client
Independent art museum, Lyon
Language pair
French → English
Volume
42,000 words
Year
2026
The brief
The museum was co-publishing its retrospective catalog with a London art book press. Ten essays, 140 artwork captions and a chronology had to read as if they had been written in English, while keeping each curator’s voice distinct.
Approach
In the first week I built a shared glossary with the curatorial team, covering materials, techniques and the artist’s own names for her installations. Each essay went through translation, a cold read two days later, and a final pass against the French for accuracy.
Captions were handled as a separate job. They follow the English publisher’s house style, which meant shorter sentences and a fixed order for dimensions and lenders.
Outcome
The catalog went to print on schedule. The glossary now sits with the museum and has been reused for two smaller exhibitions.
Next project
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