Workshops

• Live Session Dates: June 1, 3, 5, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Instructors: Patricia Falco, Sarah Haylett, Christopher King
• Details: $99 registration fee; maximum 15 participants

This workshop will introduce the participants to the options available to document web-based art. Based on the recent experiences of documenting web-based works as part of the Mellon funded Reshaping the Collectible project at Tate the team will use practical and hands-on examples to guide participants through the steps required for the successful documentation of web-based objects.

This will include a brief overview of basic web technologies, which will allow beginners to then define the object of conservation and establish it’s limits. 

We will explore the different types of documentation, their advantages and disadvantages and how they complement each other.

As part of the training there will be hands-on exercises on the different tools available to create the different types of documentation.

At the end of this workshop all participants will have a basic understanding of the technologies behind a web page, will be able to define boundaries for web-based objects and identify and use the most appropriate tools for their aims. In the final discussion we will collaboratively produce a template for the documentation of web-based records that participants can apply to their own practice.

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• Live Session Date: June 4, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Instructors: Aniko Bezur, Lynn Lee, Maggi Loubser, Karen Trentelman
• Details: $45 registration fee; maximum 50 participants

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) has become a widely used analytical technique in the cultural heritage field due to the availability of relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and portable instruments. As a result an increasing number of institutions have acquired instrumentation in recent years, but the scientific background of the personnel charged with its use varies considerably and available training from the instrument sales representatives (ranging from several hours to up to two days) is typically insufficient and/or not available when new staff are hired. The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (IPCH) created the XRF Boot Camp for Conservators course to help address this training gap. This workshop will touch on some of the major concepts covered in the Boot Camp and will focus on how to use a newly available book, “Handheld XRF in Cultural Heritage: A Practical Workbook for Conservators”, as a self-guided learning resource.

Intended for new as well as seasoned XRF users, this workshop will introduce important fundamental concepts include demonstrations of workbook exercises, discussion of practical application of XRF to cultural heritage objects, and general guidance for spectral interpretation and potential pitfalls. Participants will be able to download XRF spectra used in the workbook along with open access software to facilitate engagement with the materials presented during workshop.

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• Live Session Dates: June 10 - 12, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Instructor: David Thickett
• Details: $99 registration fee; maximum 25 participants

Significant improvements have been made in in performance, guarantees, and pollution measurement of showcases, although these updates are not widely known across the conservation community. This workshop will present improvements, as well as a series of low to medium cost measurement options. A recent survey found most cultural heritage organizations do not measure pollution, with knowledge and cost being principle barriers. The freely, online MEMORI Decision Support Tool was designed to overcome these barriers and provide accessible and interactive information.

Many metals are sensitive to pollution, as they are to humidity. This workshop will explore the management of metal corrosion, enclosures, pollution, and the MEMORI decision support model. The MEMORI project developed a series of online tools to guide measurement, assess results, and mitigate risk from the most common damaging pollutants. This workshop will guide participants through this process. Participants will learn to use low cost measurement methods including commercial diffusion tubes, A/D strips with colorimetry, and Oddy tests. The workshop will discuss how and when to undertake measurement campaigns, how to assess the results, and a series of mitigation methods used within a decision support model. Showcase assessment and refitting will be a significant part of the workshop.

Participants will gain an understanding of:

• The interaction of pollution and RH with common museum object material types
• The range of measurement options available and issues of when and where to measure
• The use of A/D strips with colorimetry
• The use and visual assessment of lead coupons and of silver coupons with colorimetry
• Interpretation of results
• Showcase performance with regards to internal and external pollution and RH
• Measuring showcase air exchange rate and leakage paths
• Using MEMORI decision support model to assess results and guide mitigation options

Participant will require access to Excel, and PowerPoint. Previous experience with these tools is not required.

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• Live Session Dates: June 17 - 19, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Instructors: Amy Brost, Jonathan Farbowitz, Tawnya Keller, Alexandra Nichols, Mike Thuman
• Details: $99 registration fee; maximum 30 participants

Do you create and maintain digital records such as condition images, x-rays, data, treatment reports, artist interviews, or audiovisual documentation, at your institution or private practice? According to principle VII in the AIC Code of Ethics, conservators must create “permanent” documentation, but most documentation generated today is digital. Moreover, many art museums now collect digital artworks that need to be stored differently from objects in traditional media. Join us to learn the basics of planning for the long-term availability of your digital conservation records and collections. Participants will gain an understanding of digital preservation fundamentals and the digital preservation landscape, and a road map for incrementally advancing their digital preservation efforts.

This workshop leverages the knowledge of digital preservation leaders and time-based media conservators in partnership. The Museum of Modern Art’s implementation of digital preservation practices for its digital collection will be presented as a case study. This is an entry-level workshop; no previous experience with digital preservation is necessary. Participants will be given the opportunity to utilize some of the tools and techniques covered in the presentations through a series of guided hands-on exercises.

Participants will gain:

• An understanding of the fundamentals of digital preservation including what digital files are, risks to their long-term preservation, and strategies for managing those risks.
• An understanding of digital preservation storage and how to use key resources developed by the digital preservation community as a road map to advance digital preservation efforts.
• An understanding of how conservation professionals and institutions can engage with the digital preservation community for mutual benefit.
• Hands-on experience with key tools and techniques that can be applied immediately.

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• Live Session Dates: June 24, July 1, 8, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Instructors: Vincent Beltran, Annelies Cosaert, Jeremy Linden
• Details: $99 registration fee; maximum 24 participants

The cultural heritage field has developed and utilized various tools to facilitate decisions associated with object and collection conservation. These tools consider an assortment of data associated with topics such as risk assessment, integrated pest management, and the collection environment. The focus of this workshop will be on the examination of tools to analyze temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) data, as the collection of this information is a fundamental aspect of collection management.

The Managing Collection Environments Initiative at the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) has explored environmental analysis tools which can inform daily practice. There exist a range of available T and RH data analysis tools and interviews with practitioners have identified the benefit of employing complementary tools to enable greater understanding and improve communication with stakeholders, including conservators, collection managers, curators, facilities managers, engineers, and architects. These T and RH analysis tools are appropriate for smaller datasets, making this workshop particularly well-suited for those in small or mid-size institutions.

These tools might be useful for situations such as:

• Exploring the redefinition of environmental set-points towards a more sustainable practice
• Comparing environmental requirements based on collection composition and the existing building climate
• Examining the potential consequences of moving objects between two different climates 
• Analyzing display case performance

Despite these potential advantages, it can be a daunting task to gain familiarity with the various analysis and visualizations options and how they might be most effectively employed, navigate the specific features of these tools, and devote the necessary time required to become proficient users. This workshop will help practitioners, consultants, and students by summarizing various analysis and visualization choices, as well as presenting an environmental tools analysis conducted by the GCI to guide selection of the most appropriate tool for a specific context. A series of case studies will then be presented showing how collection and analysis of environmental data can address challenges associated with the collection and building environment.

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• Live Session Date: June 26, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT
• Instructors: Ariel O’Connor, Caitlin Richeson
• Details: $19 registration fee; maximum 50 participants
• Sponsors: Foundation for Advancement in Conservation and the University of Delaware's Department of Art Conservation in honor of Bruno Pouliot.
  

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