Welcome 2016-2017 ECPN Officers!

ECPN 2016-2017 Committee (left to right): Eve Mayberger, Jessica Walthew, Rebecca Gridley, Kari Rayner, Alexa Beller, and Michelle Sullivan (not pictured: Kimi Taira, Emma Schmitt, and Alyssa Rina)
ECPN 2016-2017 Committee (left to right): Eve Mayberger, Jessica Walthew, Rebecca Gridley, Kari Rayner, Alexa Beller, and Michelle Sullivan (not pictured: Kimi Taira, Emma Schmitt, and Alyssa Rina)

We are happy to introduce the officers of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network for the 2016-2017 term! The new and returning officers are very grateful for the dedication and service from the outgoing officers of the 2015-2016 term: Elyse Driscoll, Anne Schaffer, and especially our fearless outgoing chair, Fran Ritchie. We wish you all the best and look forward to your future endeavors in AIC and ECPN!
 

Meet the 2016-2017 ECPN Officers:

Michelle Sullivan, Chair
Michelle Sullivan is an Assistant Conservator in the Department of Paper Conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum. She earned an M.S. and C.A.S. in Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, specializing in works on paper with a minor concentration in photographic materials. She has completed graduate internships at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Michelle previously served as ECPN’s Vice Chair (2015-16) and Professional Education and Training Co-officer (2013-15).
Rebecca Gridley, Vice Chair
Rebecca holds a BA in Art History from Yale University, and is currently working towards an MA in Art History & Archaeology and an MS in Conservation at The Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (expected 2017). She is currently completing a summer internship at the Brooklyn Museum, and will begin her fourth year internship in the Objects Conservation Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this September. She has held internships at The Museum of Modern Art, The Frick Collection, and the American Museum of Natural History. Before graduate school, she worked as a National Account Manager at The Conservation Center in Chicago and completed pre-program work at private practices in New York. She previously served as Communications Co-Officer for ECPN (2015-16).
Jessica Walthew, Professional Education and Training Co-officer
Jessica is an objects conservator focusing on archaeological and ethnographic materials. Her research currently addresses the use of digital tools for documentation and technical analysis of artworks. She is currently completing an Andrew W. Mellon foundation fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum’s Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas and will begin a teaching/research Mellon fellowship this fall at the Bard Graduate Center and American Museum of Natural History. Jessica Walthew is serving a second year as co-officer for Professional Education and Training.
Emma Schmitt, Professional Education and Training Co-officer
Emma Schmitt graduated from the College of Wooster in 2010 with a BA in Archaeology. She held pre-program jobs and internships at ICA- Art Conservation, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Harvard Art Museums (2011-2012). Emma attended the Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History at the University of Glasgow (2012-2014). During this time she interned at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford UK, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Glasgow Museums, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Upon returning to the US, she worked for Windsor Conservation before taking up her current position as Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Textile Conservation at the Denver Art Museum. This is Emma’s first year serving ECPN.
Kari Rayner, Webinar Coordinator
Kari graduated with a BA in Art History and a second major in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University. She holds an MA in Art History and Advanced Certificate in Art Conservation with a specialization in paintings conservation from the Conservation Center, the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Kari has previously interned at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, Germany; and Modern Art Conservation in New York, NY. She is currently a post-graduate intern at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, Cambridge University, and she will be returning to the National Gallery of Art in the autumn of 2016 to begin an Advanced Fellowship in Paintings Conservation. This is Kari’s first year serving ECPN.
Kimi Taira, Outreach Co-officer
Kimi is an Assistant Conservator for Works on Paper at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She earned her BA in Studio Art from Mills College and an MS from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, specializing in paper with a minor in library and archive materials. She has served various positions and internships at Zukor Art Conservation, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the UCLA Library Conservation Center. Her interests include conservation ethics, community-centered preservation initiatives, and the relationship between tangible and intangible heritage. This is her second year serving as an ECPN Outreach Officer.
Evelyn (Eve) Mayberger, Outreach Co-officer
Eve holds a B.A. in Art History with a concentration in Asian Art from Wesleyan University (2010). In 2016, Eve graduated with a M.A. and M.S. degrees in art history and conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University where she specialized in objects conservation. She has worked in the conservation departments of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Historic Odessa Foundation, Small Collections Library at the University of Virginia, National Museum of the American Indian, Worcester Art Museum, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (fourth-year internship). In addition to museum work, Eve has participated in excavations at Sardis (Turkey), Selinunte (Sicily), and Abydos (Egypt). In November, Eve will start a Mellon fellowship at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This is Eve’s first year serving ECPN.
Alyssa Rina, Communications Co-Officer
Alyssa graduated with a B.F.A. in Visual and Critical Studies from the School of Visual Arts (2013) and worked at Jim Kempner Fine Art in Chelsea (2014) before discovering art conservation and becoming a pre-program student. Since then, she has studied Chemistry and French, and completed additional studio courses like: ceramics, mold making, three-dimensional printing, and book binding. Alyssa has completed pre-program jobs and internships with private conservators at Francavilla Paper Conservation, The Better Image, and Cultural Preservation and Restoration. Recently, Alyssa has been completing a pre-program summer internship in outdoor sculpture and Ancient Greek objects at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Alyssa is most interested in object conservation, but continues to seek opportunities that will diversify her experience across most conservation specialties. This is Alyssa’s first year serving ECPN.
Alexa Beller, Communications Co-officer
Alexa holds a BA in History, a BFA in Painting, and a minor in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2013). She is currently a third year student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation majoring in paintings conservation with a minor in murals. She is in Paris this summer conserving murals by Delacroix and Roger and will be spending her third year internship at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and within the private practice of Gianfranco Pocobene. She has had previous internships or positions at the Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Art, the private practice of Ria German-Carter, Architectural Conservation Inc., the Chicago History Museum, the Spurlock Museum, and the University of Illinois Library Conservation Unit. This is her second year serving as an ECPN Communications Officer.

The conservator (okay, the technical art historian) is a movie star

“The Arts” section of the July 27, 2016 issue of The New York Times contains a review of the film, “Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil”, a documentary about the preparations for the Bosch exhibit at the Noordbrabants Museum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch mounted in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of his death. While the reviewer, Stephen Holden is unhappy with the amount of time that is devoted to the work of the team who traveled around the world studying and authenticating Bosch’s paintings, the Times chose to illustrate the review with a still of team member Ron Spronk, Queens University (Kingston, Ontario) and Radboud University (Nijmegen, the Netherlands) professor. Wow. The conservator (okay, the technical art historian) is a movie star.

Job Posting: Assistant Conservator, Sculpture & Decorative Arts – National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, On)

Position Title: Assistant Conservator, Sculpture & Decorative Arts
Competition #: 16-CC-69
Posting Date: July 21, 2016
Closing Date: August 19, 2016
Department: Conservation & Technical Research
Working Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week)
Employment Tenure: Indeterminate
Classification: Band 8
Salary $68,232 – $80,240/Year
Number Of Positions: 1
Language Requirements: English or French
Affiliation: P.S.A.C
Job Summary
Under the supervision of the Chief Conservator, the Assistant Conservator of sculptures and decorative arts preserves, conserves and stabilizes works of art in a variety of media in the permanent art collections of the National Gallery of Canada and other collections by assessing their condition, by establishing and promoting preventive care measures, by prescribing and executing conservation treatments, and by providing professional conservation advice. The main duties include the examination and treatment of sculptures and decorative art objects in preparation for display, storage and travelling; in addition, the incumbent will participate in the ongoing study and collection of information relating to the materials and techniques of sculpture and decorative arts and its conservation/restoration. The incumbent will also perform other related duties as required.
Requirements
Education:
Successful completion of a graduate degree in art conservation.
Work Experience:
• 5 years’ work experience as an objects conservator;
• 2 years’ work experience in an art museum;
Knowledges

  • Knowledge of the principles of art conservation;
  • Knowledge of the ethical issues in art conservation, guided by the Code of Ethics and Guidance for Practice as referred to in the NGC Conservation Policy;
  • Knowledge of the scientific, technical and critical aspects of sculpture and decorative arts;
  • Knowledge of the mechanisms and patterns of the degradation and ageing processes that apply to a wide range of materials used in historic sculptures and decorative works of arts;
  • Knowledge of preventive conservation principles and practices;
  • Knowledge of the approaches, methodology, materials and equipment used in the conservation treatment of sculpture and decorative arts;
  • Knowledge of occupational safety and health principles, systems, equipment and procedures applicable to art conservation.

Condition of Employment
Must be a Canadian citizen or possess the relevant papers to work in Canada
Reliability Status – this factor is not used at the pre-selection stage.
Additional Information

  • A variety of assessment tools may be used to assess candidates;
  • The National Gallery of Canada is committed to having a skilled, diversified workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily in their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.
  • The Gallery is committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environment. Alternative selection tool methods and/or reasonable accommodation are available upon request;
  • Candidates are entitled to participate in the selection process in the official language of their choice.

Apply now

Job Posting: Assistant or Associate Textile/Objects Conservator – Williamstown Art Conservation Center (Williamstown, MA)

The Williamstown Art Conservation Center seeks a qualified conservator in textile conservation with an interest in object conservation to work in their Objects Department located on the campus of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Duties of this full-time position include:

  • Examination, treatment, and documentation of a wide range of textiles and three-dimensional objects
  • Written and digital documentation of conservation projects
  • Collections assessments and conservation planning
  • Consultation and workshops
  • Travel for site projects, including collections surveys, outdoor sculpture and individual treatments
  • Supervision of interns and technicians
  • Contracting with specialists in case construction, mount making, and other disciplines

A Master’s degree in conservation and 1-5 years of post-graduate textile conservation experience with supporting experience in object conservation is required. Regional lab experience is preferred. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to treat a wide variety of textiles and ethnographic artworks as well as knowledge of general object conservation in organic and inorganic materials. The physical ability to work on large projects both indoors and outdoors is necessary. Collaboration on projects with other departments (paintings, paper, and furniture) is common, and the applicant must have good communication and team skills. The presence of an analytical department on site offers exceptional opportunities for materials research.
The Williamstown Center is a non-profit regional laboratory in operation since 1977. We currently serve over 50 member collections in the northeast and south, as well as a wide variety of nonmember nonprofit, corporate and private collections.
The Center offers a competitive salary and benefits package; information on request. Applications should include a letter of interest, résumé, and contact information for three references. Please send applications to Hélène Gillette-Woodard, Object Conservator-Department Head, WACC, 227 South St., Williamstown, MA 01267, USA, or email application to hgillettewoodard@williamstownart.org.

BROMEC 36, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation, is now available

BROMEC 36, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation is now available online at the following websites:

Seven research abstracts and 2 announcements are presented, together with the usual lists of related contacts and informative metal research/conservation websites and discussion groups.

You will find English, French and Spanish language versions for downloading as PDF documents.

To subscribe for email updates about BROMEC: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec-subscription

As a reader, or potential contributor, we trust you will find this issue informative and useful.

BROMEC Editorial Team

Anglophone Editor & Translator:

·      James Crawford

Francophone Coeditor:

·      Michel Bouchard

Hispanophone Coeditor:

·      Diana Lafuente

Francophone Translators:

·      Nathalie Richard

·      Elodie Guilminot

Hispanophone Translators:

·      Ana Cresp

·      Ana Pastor

Job Posting: Scientist/Senior Scientist – Winterthur Museum (Wilmington, DE)

Job Description: Winterthur Museum is seeking candidates to fill the position of Scientist/Senior Scientist to lead their Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory (SRAL) in a dynamic conservation science and research program whose mission is the interpretation and preservation of cultural heritage through object-based research and analysis, collection preservation, and education. The Scientist/Senior Scientist will enhance the visibility of the Conservation Department and its associated professional partnerships through advocacy and development. S/he will provide support and teaching to the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC), a Master’s-level graduate program with a three-year curriculum designed to educate and prepare students to be conservators of cultural heritage. This positon offers a unique and exciting opportunity in conservation science leadership and education in the midst of a pre-eminent collection of 89,000 objects made and used in America from 1630 -1860, 20th century Winterthur Estate materials and over 500,000 documents, books, manuscripts, and images in Winterthur’s research library
In addition to SRAL, the Conservation Department includes eight other laboratories staffed by leading professionals in paper, furniture, objects, textiles, library and archival materials, preventive, and paintings conservation, photography, and collection care. The personnel of the SRAL includes another full-time scientist and retired scientist volunteers. A University of Delaware Professor of Conservation Science is closely affiliated with the SRAL.
Winterthur’s SRAL instrumentation includes XRF (handheld and laboratory-based), reflective and transmitted ultraviolet and visible light spectrometers, a near infrared reflectance spectrometer, FTIR, SEM-EDS, GC-MS, pyGC-MS, Raman, XRD, and LC-MS.
Job Requirements: A Ph.D. in chemistry, materials science, archaeometry, forensic science or related fields combined with a minimum of five/eight years postgraduate/postdoctoral experience in cultural heritage scientific research is required. The successful candidate must demonstrate both teaching and scholarly achievement, including evidence of postgraduate original research, publications, or other projects that show intellectual ability, innovation, and accomplishment in a relevant field. Support of the museum’s conservation efforts are an integral component of the position and the candidate must be committed to extensive collaboration with museum conservators, curators, related staff, and WUDPAC faculty and students. Administrative responsibilities of the Scientist/Senior Scientist include the development and oversight of the laboratory budget, instrument maintenance and service contracts, and analytical documentation. The Scientist/Senior Scientist should have a demonstrated track record of proposal preparation and the administration of grant-funded projects. Experience with instrument operation and interpretation of data from a wide range of analytical techniques is expected. Knowledge of a broad array of organic and inorganic materials, their degradation mechanisms and treatment assessments is desirable. In addition to analysis of the Winterthur Collections, the Scientist/Senior Scientist will conduct analysis of archaeological, ethnographic, modern and contemporary artwork/objects through WUDPAC student projects. The successful candidate will demonstrate (1) excellent interpersonal and communication skills with staff, students, museum and university colleagues, donors, and the general public (2) creative thinking and solutions-based problem-solving, and (3) superior organizational abilities with a high attention to detail. A proven ability to work both collaboratively and independently while managing multiple tasks simultaneously is required.
This position reports to the Director of Conservation.
Salary will be commensurate with experience. To apply, send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, writing sample, and contact information for three professional references familiar with your conservation science experience to: jobs@winterthur.org. Review of applications will begin as of August 15, 2016 and continue until the positon is filled.

Job Posting: Mellon Fellowship – Menil Collection (Houston, TX)

The Menil Collection and the Whitney Museum of American Art are pleased to offer an advanced training fellowship in conjunction with the Artists Documentation Program (ADP) supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The term of the fellowship is one year with the possibility of renewal for a second year. The ADP Fellowship will be based at one of the partner institutions with travel funds permitting on-site research, collection access, and interview preparation and processing at both institutions. The fellowship will provide an opportunity for the successful candidate to participate in all ADP activities. The ADP Fellow will work closely with the ADP directors during the research and preparation phase for an artist interview as well as additional conservation, archive, collection management and digital content staff following the interview to ensure the information disclosed is both imbedded within the institutional records and published for wide dissemination via the ADP Archive website. Additionally, the ADP Fellow will undertake and publish a significant research project utilizing the ADP Archive as part of the ADP Resound project.
ADP Fellow Resound Project
The ADP Fellow will undertake a significant high-level research project for publication manifested in a variety of possible formats: a single 20-30 minute high production quality video or a series of shorter duration video projects, blogs or more conventional written output. The research should be drawn from the content of the ADP Archive interviews, past or current, and serve to demonstrate the rich potential of the archive for research while providing the ADP Fellow with the opportunity to carry out recorded interviews themselves with fabricators, artists, scholars, and writers as part of the project.
ADP Interview-related activities

    1. Create bibliographies and exhibition histories relevant to the artist/artwork under discussion, research other interviews the artist has given, review conservation and accession files relevant to the artwork under discussion, and create a preliminary list of interview questions and topics for discussion with the interviewer. Schedule interview with artist/studio and videographer and work with ADP partner institution staff to arrange for the movement of artwork as needed.
    2. Work with the ADP Program Directors to create the edit decision list (EDL) for each interview, including caption suggestions, recommendations for incorporating B-roll into an interview, identification of proper names of people and materials mentioned during interview, and titles/dates of all exhibitions and artworks.
    3. Research the historic photographic records of key artworks and other archival materials mentioned during interview, collaborate with the Rights and Reproductions departments of the partner institutions to request images and use permissions from outside sources, and prepare the materials for inclusion in video.
    4. Work with conservation and collections management staff to ensure that information disclosed in the interview and/or in the course of the preparatory research is referenced in the conservation files and collections management systems of the appropriate partner institution.
    5. Collaborate with ADP Program Directors and archivist to evaluate the extent to which the ADP Archive website and resources are responsive to researchers’ needs to continually improve the Archive’s research potential and anticipate trends in content discoverability, access, and presentation.
    6. Work with ADP Program Directors, archivist, and the communications/digital media managers at the partner institutions to foster an understanding of and promote the ADP Archive’s methodology among curators, conservators, university professors and their students, administrators, and the general public.

Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and statement of interest, not to exceed 500 words, by August 1, 2016, to: Director of Human Resources, The Menil Collection, 1511 Branard Street, Houston, Texas 77006. Application materials may also be emailed to: smmaloch@menil.org.

44th Annual Meeting-Textiles Session, May 15, “Exploring Origins and Power: The technical analysis of two Yoruba masquerade costumes by Rebecca Summerour”

Rebecca Summerour presented on-going technical analysis of two mid-twentieth century SouthwR20050008estern Nigeria Yoruba egungun masquerade ensembles from the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (NMAA). Her co-author and supervisor is Dana Moffett, Object conservator at the NMAA. We were introduced to egunguns with images of these multi-layered assemblages as they are worn in ceremony, and mounted for displayed. Egungun invoke honor, and embody lineage ancestors during yearly festivals. Rebecca is working not only to analyze the varied materials used in their fabrication; she also is investigating their cultural context and the values placed on textiles in Yoruba culture through consultations with Yoruba scholars. She explored the origins of the materials used, and their importance as elements of the whole. These egunguns were collected with minimal provenience. (Image from Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, africa.si.edu)
Egunguns consist of multiple layers of colorful, mostly commercial, pieced fabric lappets with serrated edges over a wooden support that “swirl when danced.” Egunguns represent individual or collective ancestors. The ensembles are not made for a specific dancer. They are worn for generations and are repaired before each use. During repairs materials may be added or removed, making it difficult to pinpoint a date. Some of the components are pre-assembled by market tailors and later incorporated into the assemblage and sanctified. A striped fabric (knotted or crochet) sits at center, obscuring the face of the wearer, but allows him to see. The egungun interiors are lined with handwoven oke, a highly valued prestige fabric.  Oke is also used for burial shrouds, which Rebecca pointed out is a symbolic link to the ancestors who are invoked during performances in the egungun. The color red is used extensively to divert evil. Rebecca identified highly valued velvets, needle point, ecclesiastical textiles, Europe satins and cotton prints made expressly for the African market, and Adeara Uraba, a Yoruba indigo cloth that is tie dyed or patterned with a starch resist. Also present were metal pin back political buttons.
Rebecca has examined over 600 different textiles, many of them are African wax (or fancy prints) designed in Europe and produced in Manchester England and Holland to imitate late nineteenth century Indonesian batiks. After decolonization similar prints were manufactured in Africa and East Asia. Rebecca contacted the Manchester School of Art ABC Archive, which has many examples of these fabrics. Initially this gave her great hope of tracing some of the manufacturers of the prints and locking in dates of manufacture, but she was informed that only by chance would one find a match. The prints are too similar to easily identify. She mentioned it as an opportunity for her future study.
Technical analysis included X-radiography, X-ray fluorescence, Raman spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and polarized light microscopy, of the various materials present such as wood, cotton, rayon, pitch, adhesives, metal, elastomeric films, PVC and other plastics.
Rebecca has future research trips planned for this summer and will see eleven other engunguns. She is working to identify the materials in these egungun to construct a time line of what materials were available in Nigeria in the twentieth century. She feels that the whole story will never be know as there are limits to the amount of research that can be carried out, and mid twentieth century fabric trade was complex. The goals of her study are to contribute to the overall “biographies” of these objects, inform future plans for the costumes long-term care, and expand on the available published studies.

Joint 44th AIC Annual Meeting and 42nd CAC-ACCR Conference – Pre-session, May 13, “Share the Care: Collaborative Preservation Approaches, a Joint AIC /IAMFA Meeting” by Priscilla Anderson, Dawn Walus, and Patricia Miller.

Image of powerpoint slide with text "Collaboration is not about gluing together existing egos. It's about the ideas that never existed until after everyone entered the room."
Credit: Sarah Stauderman

This pre-session was a joint meeting between conservation professionals and facilities engineers, architects, and administrators who belong to the International Association of Museum Facility Administrators. The topic of the day was how to foster a collegial and collaborative working relationship between conservation and facilities staff so together we can preserve collections with well-managed storage and exhibition facilities. The day was structured in three sections, each with a panel of experts and a tabletop exercise. The three of us attended, and agreed to blog together as the day was jam-packed with inspiration and useful tips. We were hoping to learn strategies for building relationships with our facilities managers, including developing common language, shared understanding of goals, and respecting each other’s areas of expertise.
The first session, Share the Risk: Collaborative approaches to facilities construction, renovation, and operation was moderated by Joelle Wickens, (Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library). Key takeaways from this session were that no one person owns a facilities problem, and monthly meetings, meaningful and well-planned monthly meetings, are a good strategy for building relationships that successfully address the inevitable problems. Out of work time is also important…sharing a beer with each other was mentioned throughout the day as a way to break down those silo walls.
Image of workshop participants witting around a round table talking and laughing
Image courtesy of P. Anderson

Panelists included Jack Plumb (National Library of Scotland), John Castle and Lois Price (Winterthur), Rob Waller (Protect Heritage Corp), and Deborah Potter (Tate). One of Jack’s tips was to build in an orientation for new contractors with collections care to explain the local policies and behavior expectations that might be different from one jobsite to another. Jack also has a very interesting program for doing temperature and humidity mapping research using students from Heriot Watt University doing their dissertations. I wanted to know more about this program, and how to find students that are interested in this work!
Lois Price and John Castle got an NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections grant to improve their wireless building management system, and in the process, found that the working relationships between conservation and facilities staff, and each assumptions made about each other, were not so productive. So they set about doing a qualitative survey of their peers across the world, and they reported the results to us. The data set is rich, with lots of variable possible including institutional budget, frequency of joint meetings, rate of success, and decision-making rights. Their conclusions, while not statistical, point toward the fact that nothing can substitute for a good team, and the meeting more frequently can cure a number of long-standing challenges. For the skeptic who says “More meetings? I ain’t going to no more stinkin’ meetings” one merely has to say, “Let’s get you into the right meetings!”
Rob Waller talked about prioritizing different risks to collections, focusing on clearly defined goals. He explained the importance of filtering what falls under facilities managers’ ability to control. He reiterated that in many cases, the 80/20 rule applies: 20% of the risks contribute to 80% or more of the total risk, so these should be prioritized if at all possible.
Deborah Potter shared Tate’s collaborative approach to facilities planning for six sites, 72,000 works of art and a million library and archive materials. In debriefs from system failures, they discuss the impact on the collection, and approach how to prevent it from happening again, also taking a risk-based approach to collections care. Their team includes registrars, collections,, communications, and facilities staff. With a “green vision” aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 15%, they are embarking on an ambitious but doable program including energy plant and HVAC controls replacement, LED lighting, solar panels. Other sustainability initiatives include waste management, recycling, up-cycling, a flower meadow, and beekeeping! They’re not the only ones keeping bees…we found these on the roof just outside the door of the pre-session room!
Image of beehive and hexagonal wooden honeycomb sculpture on a roof
Image courtesy of P. Anderson

This first session ended with a tabletop exercise in which temperature and humidity parameters for an incoming loan challenge our fictitious small institution, stemming from poorly written loan agreement, lack of historical data, and lack of communication between the director and the staff. Of course we sorted it all out in 15 minutes, but with the understanding that these problems are ongoing and are exacerbated by the fact that we have no industry standards for libraries, museums and archives. One group noted that such agreements can be used as leverage to make needed upgrades.
The second session, Share the Planning: Collaborative approaches to emergency management, was moderated by Rebecca Fifield, Chair, AIC Collections Care Network, and Head of Collection Management, Special Collections at New York Public Library
Image of workshop participants seated around a round table smiling and talking
Image courtesy of P. Anderson

Collection Emergency Plans at Museum Victoria
Maryanne McCubbin, head of Strategic Collection Management for the Museum Victoria, presented the approach they have to managing risks in the multiple museum buildings and storage facilities where they house over 17 million state collection items. Citing recent floods that have tested their plan and preparedness, she emphasized how crucial it is for collections staff to communicate accurately and often with facilities and provide a liaison with facilities as well as emergency (first) responders (fire, police, authorities). She also commented on an often overlooked approach to managing risks, or inherent dangers, within a collection, such as hazardous substances in collections.
She stressed that a plan should be thorough yet brief. It can have appendices that provide more specific and detailed outlined activities for departments. However the plan should be developed through extensive negotiations with facilities, conservation and security. She cited a couple pitfalls for any great plan: failure to regularly induct new hires to the plan, especially in departments with high-turnover such as facilities and security; keeping contact information for key personnel up to date; reviewing incident reports to improve your plan; and practice!
The Lone Responder: Building an Emergency team with limited resources
Laura Hortz Stanton, Executive director of Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), discussed how crucial it is for small historic house museum, societies and municipal museums with limited staff and resources to connect with their local emergency management personnel. Reaching out to your local fire or police is important so they can become familiar with the building(s) as well as the contents, and key staff members. They can even review your emergency response plans and provide recommendations. Another key point was the importance of being prepared for the recovery after a disaster. “Who you gonna call?” A small museum that does not have a conservation and/or collections staff needs to keep an up-to-date contact list for local or regional collections professionals that can respond quickly to a call for assistance after a disaster of any size. She pointed out resources available online to help develop plans, including online templates and training, opportunities to benefit from mutual aid memberships in your state, local assistance networks, as well as AIC’s National Heritage Responders (NHR, formerly AIC-CERT). The majority of these links can be found on AIC’s website.
http://www.conservation-us.org/emergencies
NFPA Codes for Cultural Heritage Institutions
Nick Artim of Heritage Protection Group was not able to attend the session as scheduled. He did participate in the half day pre-conference session on Saturday titled Choosing and Implementing a Fire Suppression System for a Collecting Institution. (AIC Blog Link http://tinyurl.com/hhdtv6z) For more information regarding Codes and Standards for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) see links provided at the end of this blog post.
The session concluded with a tabletop exercise titled An 88-year old dam and a hurricane on the way! Teams were tasked with emergency planning for the fictional Decoy Museum, a small museum located on the coast of Maryland with a history of flooding. The museum is down river from an 88 year old dam and a hurricane is quickly approaching. Teams were shown a photograph of the exterior of the building and it’s proximity to the water, history of the site as it has fared in previous storms, images of the interior and a description of the collection. We were also told that our emergency plan is out of date and the only copy stored on a computer. Using the expertise at our individual tables we were asked to review our emergency preparedness and how we would respond in our respective roles. As the clock counted down we were provided with updates on storm progress, a status report on rising flood waters, and given a 24 hour evacuation notice to see how circumstances would affect our strategies.
Although initial discussions were focused on collections, most teams concluded that the safety of the public and staff came first, followed by securing collection data (hard drives/ records), securing the building, and initiating organization for return and recovery. Two key takeaways from the exercise included a discussion around FEMA’s Incident Command Structure and the concept of “dead” building. ICS is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response. ICS offers flexibility to respond to small to large incidents, defining key roles to be filled rather than strictly identifying individuals. “Dead” building is a term used by facilities professionals to describe a full building shutdown and disconnection from utilities. As part of your plan it is important to know how long it will take to shut down your building as well as bring it back online.
The third session, Share the Responsibility: Collaborative approaches to selecting appropriate environmental guidelines, was moderated by Patricia Silence, Director of Preventive Conservation, Colonial Williamsburg.
Image of four speakers seated at the podium table talking and laughing
Image courtesy of P. Anderson

Select Guidelines and Standards
Selecting guidelines and standards can’t be boiled down to just a number because it depends on factors such as the building envelope, outside air temperatures, HVAC equipment, climate, etc. and how well their interaction matches capability of building and environment. The speakers discussed using guidelines and not standards as a basis for procedures and policies, and how to maintain the notion that the indoor environment is a fundamental component to preservation of collection. Other key points made by this panel included:

  • Consistent monitoring leads to meaningful conversations
  • Environmental control includes lighting, ventilation, and pest control in addition to temperature and RH
  • Customized specifications should be developed for each institution and collection, looking for “parameters in lieu of more science” and reinforcing the point that “70/50 is no longer an appropriate, practical, sustainable, or useful set-point.”

This session ended with a table-top exercise involving an old swimming pool, a famous elephant, and a collection of ivories that need special environmental controls for exhibition. There was role-playing and even name-calling, and things got a little silly, but it was a great way to end the day.
A number of useful references were shared:
ASHRAE (American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers). 2011. Chapter 23 of ASHRAE Handbook – Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Applications.
https://www.ashrae.org/resources–publications/handbook
BSI (British Standards Institute)
PAS 197:2009 Code for Practice for Cultural Collections Management
http://shop.bsigroup.com/en/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030175180
PAS 198:2012 Specification for Managing Environmental Conditions for Cultural Collections
http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/media-centre/press-releases/2012/3/New-standard-from-BSI-helps-protect-the-UKs-cultural-collections-and-address-carbon-emissions-/#.VvVSOHqFnfc
PD 5454:2012: Guide for the Storage and Exhibition of Archival Materials
http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030228041
CEN (European Committee for Standardization) BS EN 15757:2010: Conservation of Cultural Property-Specifications for Temperature and Relative Humidity to Limit Climate-Induced Mechanical Damage in Organic Hygroscopic Materials
http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030173518
IAMFA Cultural Institutions Benchmarking Exercise
http://newiamfa.org/museum-benchmarks.php
ISO (international Organization of Standardization) ISO 11799:2015: Information and documentation – Document storage requirements for archive and library materials
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=63810
National Archives and Records Administration – (US)– 2002. Archival Storage Standards, NARA Directive 1571
https://www.archives.gov/foia/directives/nara1571.pdf
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association)
NFPA 909 : Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties – Museums, Libraries, and Places of Worship, 2013.
http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards?mode=code&code=909
NFPA 914: Code for the Fire Protection of Historic Structures, 2015
http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards?mode=code&code=914
National Museum Directors’ Conference. Guiding Principles for Reducing Museums’ Carbon Footprint, 2008
http://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/what-we-do/contributing-sector/environmental-conditions/
Proceedings of the Smithsonian Institution Summit on the Museum Preservation Environment, 2016
http://opensi.si.edu/index.php/smithsonian/catalog/book/111

Job Posting: Objects Conservator – National Museum of African Art (Washington, DC)

Objects Conservator

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art is the only facility in the United States dedicated exclusively to the treatment and preservation of Africa’s traditional and contemporary arts.  With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Museum is pleased to offer to an emerging professional the opportunity for a full-time, 2-year term position working with museum conservation staff on all aspects of collections care. Beginning in early fall 2016, the position is part of an initiative designed to promote conservation training, diversity in the profession, and African art scholarship. The successful candidate will actively participate in all aspects of practical conservation including:  examination, documentation and treatment of a range of inorganic and organic materials, both traditional and contemporary; preventive conservation activities such as monitoring the environment, maintenance of micro-environments, and materials testing; assisting in exhibit installations and deinstallations; participating in lab research projects; and the mentoring of undergraduate ‘explorer’ interns, pre-program interns and post-graduate fellows.

 The successful candidate will:

*Hold a graduate degree in conservation from a recognized training program

*Have 1-3 years of post-graduate experience

*Have demonstrable interest in ethnographic objects

 Salary: $53,500/year plus health and commuter benefits.

 How to apply:

Please send a letter of intent, resume and names of two references to:
Dana Moffett, Senior Conservator:  moffettd@si.edu
Closing date: August 8, 2016