Workshops on preventive conservation workshops

The National Endowment for the Arts' "Services to the Field" program
has awarded $25,000 to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center's
Office of Preservation Outreach (OPO).  The NEA funds will enable
WACC to disseminate 24 workshops on issues relating to preventive
care of cultural objects in museums, historical societies, and other
collecting institutions throughout the Northeastern United States.
The workshops will be offered over a 24 month period, beginning in
Spring 2000.

The objective of the workshop series is to have a cumulative impact
on the hundreds of small collecting institutions throughout the
region to insure the preservation and accessibility of their
cultural, historical, and artifactual resources. WACC's twenty-two
years of experience in working with such institutions has shown that
the curricula are both needed and effective. WACC's goal in offering
these workshops is to reach small, rural, minimally-staffed
institutions which tend not be reached through regular workshop
channels due to lack of funding for transportation or attendance
fees.

The workshops focus on low-cost practices and solutions to
preservation issues, and contain a hands-on component. Health and
safety aspects of collections care will also be discussed.
Enrollment for the workshops will be limited in order to provide
adequate supervision for the hands-on portions of the workshops.

Four curricula will be offered.  Workshop 1:  'Preservation and
Re-housing of Three-Dimensional Museum Objects', includes an
introduction to preventive care of three-dimensional objects and an
introduction of materials and criteria for designing custom-made
storage containers.  Workshop 2:  'Object Numbering: Accession
Labeling for Museum Objects and Cultural Artifacts', introduces the
methods, tools, and materials for safely applying collection
accession labels to all types of cultural objects.  Workshop 3:
'Identification and Preservation of 19th and 20th Century
Photographic Prints' provides participants with introductory
knowledge of photographic types and identification of physical and
chemical deterioration as a means to create preservation strategies.
Workshop 4:  'Housekeeping for Historic House Museums' introduces
appropriate methods and acceptable cleaning materials for historic,
domestic and utilitarian collections.

Each workshop participant will receive a notebook of reference
materials including supplier lists and instructional information,
product samples and tools.

For more information about hosting a workshop, or, to be placed on
the mailing list, please contact

    Lori van Handel
    Director of Preservation Outreach/Associate Conservator
    Williamstown Art Conservation Center
    225 South Street
    Williamstown MA  01267, USA
    413-458-5741
    Fax: 413-458-2314
    <lkvh [at] sover__net>


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:39
                 Distributed: Monday, January 10, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-39-017
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