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I am building a form in which the user will select one of the following two options; I am looking for a single-word or concise phrase to fill in the blank. The meaning of the word(s) that should go in the blank spot below should be: the opposite of the word/concept "ongoing."

  • Ongoing exhibition
  • ______ exhibition

To define/contextualize the phrase "ongoing exhibition," it is the concept of an exhibition that has a start date, but no end date.

The phrase "______ exhibition" should mean: an exhibition with a defined start date and end date.

I have considered using the terms "set exhibition" or "defined exhibition" but I find that phrasing to be confusing and awkward.

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    Just bear in mind that "ongoing" does not necessarily mean that the exjibition has no end date.
    – fev
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 19:36
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    @sion_corn Then this sounds more like a question of jargon in a particular field, rather than common English usage.
    – GArthurBrown
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 20:23
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    @BenjaminHarman: The Metropolitan Museum of Art calls its exhibitions without end dates ongoing. See their webpage. So this is what it means in museum-speak.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 21:03
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    @PeterShor: this is indeed the context in which I was hoping to find an ideal solution. I ended up going with the word "temporary," which is appropriate museum-speak for what I'm after.
    – sion_corn
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 21:44
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    In American English, Ongoing Exhibitions are frequently contrasted with Special Exhibitions — with special having the meaning you describe: has a shelf life.
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 1:32

2 Answers 2

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You could use finite

having a limit or end:

  • We only have a finite amount of time to complete this task - we can't continue indefinitely. (Cambridge)

But the most common adjective used with exhibition, as this GNgram shows, is temporary which means:

lasting for only a limited period of time; not permanent.
e.g. a temporary job (OxfordL)

Here is an explanation about the term:

In the current communication era where priority is given to the temporary over the permanent, museums are increasingly developing temporary exhibitions and through them the museum is being transformed. (Temporary Museum Exhibitions as Tools for Cultural Innovation)

Wikipedia explains that

In common usage, "exhibitions" are considered temporary and usually scheduled to open and close on specific dates.

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  • Thanks for the suggestion - upvoted for now. I will wait to see if anyone else can suggest anything.
    – sion_corn
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 19:44
  • "temporary" is the word I was looking for. Thanks for your help.
    – sion_corn
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 21:39
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Time-limited

The exhibitions that were included were time-limited, short-term installations, rather than long-term installations or re-installations. (Source PDF)

On this basis we have created a call out for anyone who would like to submit work for our time-limited exhibition in August 2021. (Source)

Most exhibitions I’ve seen at galleries or museums are split into “ongoing” and “time-limited”. Usually when the time-limited exhibitions are shown on a website, they aren’t labeled; in place of ‘ongoing’ it says ‘through date’.

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  • Thanks @ColleenV. I ended up going with "temporary" exhibition, as it is a phrase I have heard others use in the gallery/museum context.
    – sion_corn
    Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 22:04

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