Changing Climate Management Strategies: Sustainable Collection Environments and Monitoring Object Response

Cultural heritage institutions worldwide are increasingly under pressure to operate in a more sustainable manner in response to the global climate crisis, symptoms of which include rising energy costs and government mandates to reduce carbon footprints. 

Recent environmental guidance in the heritage field has also signaled a shift away from prescriptive narrow ranges of temperature and relative humidity towards the adoption of broader environmental parameters suitable for many classes of objects. However, many heritage institutions have been reluctant to adopt these wider conditions due to a lack of evidence-based risk analysis for climate-induced damage and limited expertise on the sustainable management of the collection environment.

Organizers

The Getty Conservation Institute’s Managing Collection Environments (MCE) Initiative addresses the sustainable management of exhibition, storage, and transit environments for museums, galleries, archives, and libraries. MCE combines scientific research and fieldwork to investigate the response of artist’s and historic materials to temperature and relative humidity, as well as light, shock, and vibration. Equally important for the initiative is an understanding of the institutional decision-making process when developing policies and strategies for environmental management.

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance, housing a collection of over 2.8 million objects that document 5,000 years of human creativity from across six continents. The Museum holds many of UK’s designated National Collections, including sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and furniture, and including extensive collections of prints, drawings, posters, photographs and portrait miniatures. It is also home to the National Art Library, which holds the UK’s most comprehensive public reference library for the fine and decorative arts, as well as special collections of the art of the book ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Workshop Content

The workshop will address obstacles in developing and implementing more adaptive environmental management strategies in museums.

• Day 1: Introduces the changing environmental and political contexts in which museums operate and includes a discussion of environmental guidance, government regulation, sustainability, leadership, and a gallery tour addressing damage, change, and value.
• Day 2: Examines the key roles of risk assessment and environmental monitoring as tools to support decision-making, and engages in panel discussions on the impact of loan processes and the facilities team on sustainability.
• Day 3: Discussion and demonstration of object monitoring techniques, including acoustic emission monitoring, in response to environmentally-induced change. Will focus on the collaboration between the GCI and V&A to monitor change of “witness” objects selected from the V&A’s incredibly diverse collection – applied arts, decorative arts, design – exposed to their innovative and practical environmental management approaches.
• Day 4: Presentation of case studies striving for more sustainable museum environments, followed by a closing discussion on the practical application of the workshop curriculum at the varied heritage institutions of the workshop participants.

Format

The workshop will be delivered in-person over four days in London, England, United Kingdom. Supplementary online components will be made available before and after the workshop to deepen participant engagement and broaden the overall audience. 

Teaching Team

The international teaching team of GCI and V&A staff and other esteemed heritage conservation professionals have extensive experience in environmental management and object monitoring.

Workshop instructors include the following and others:

• Vincent Laudato Beltran, Scientist, GCI
• Pedro Gaspar, Head of Conservation, V&A
• Michał Łukomski, Senior Scientist, GCI
• Bhavesh Shah, Preventive Conservation and Data Scientist, V&A
• Marcin Strojecki, Adjunct Professor, Jerzy Haber Institute
• David Thickett, Senior Conservation Scientist, English Heritage
• Sarah VanSnick, Lead Preventive Conservator, V&A
• Cecilia Winter, Project Specialist, GCI

Applicant Qualifications

The workshop is designed for a maximum of 40 participants. It is open to all stakeholders—conservators, registrars, curators, directors, facilities staff, engineers, architects—who:

• are involved in the decision-making process on environmental management in museums
• can directly apply lessons learned into practice, and/or
• will disseminate the outcomes of the workshop (e.g., instructors and trainers)

The workshop organizers encourage applications from:

• practitioners from the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and West Asia
• heritage professionals from small (1-5 staff members) and medium-sized (6-20 staff members) organizations
• emerging professionals and current/recent graduate students interested in management of the museum environment

Selection Process

Due to the limited number of spaces available, there will be a selection process. Prospective participants must submit an online application and a 2-page curriculum vitae (sent to MCE@getty.edu) by the deadline, and the workshop organizer may contact applicants for further information.

The workshop organizers will preferentially target practitioners from the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and West Asia to support the regional heritage community. Organizers will seek diverse participation in terms of applicant’s organizational size and professional role, including emerging professionals and current/recent graduate students.

A similar workshop is being planned for late 2024 in North America. Those outside the targeted geographic region of the London workshop will have an opportunity to apply for this next iteration.

Language

The workshop will be conducted in English. Candidates must have good technical knowledge and command of the English language.

Workshop Fee

The workshop fee is USD $800 (eight hundred US dollars). The fee includes tuition, workshop materials, daily morning and afternoon tea/coffee breaks, daily lunches, and a group dinner. 

Participants are responsible for round-trip transportation costs to London, lodging, any applicable visa fees, and all other travel and incidental expenses.

Visa

Participants based outside the United Kingdom may need to obtain visas or visa waivers to enter the United Kingdom. Successful applicants are responsible for their visa applications to travel to the United Kingdom and the associated expenses.

Financial Assistance

While applicants are encouraged to apply for funding from their employer or other institutions, the workshop organizers may provide financial assistance to a limited number of participants. Participants who require financial assistance should indicate their specific needs in the online application.

Applicant criteria for financial assistance consideration include:

• Work at a small (1-5 staff members) to medium-sized (6-20 staff members) institution
• Involved or interested in sustainable environmental management
• Are an emerging heritage professional or current/recent graduate student in museum-related fields
• Reside or work in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and West Asia

Deadlines

• September 20, 2023: Deadline for submission of online application and 2-page CV (sent to MCE@getty.edu)
• October 11, 2023: By this date, applicants will receive an email notifying them if they have been selected to participate in the workshop and, if applicable, receive financial assistance. A waiting list will be established for those not selected.
• October 25, 2023: Deadline for participants to submit payment of the workshop tuition fee

Applicants who do not submit payment by the deadline will have their registration canceled. Available spaces will then be offered to those on the waiting list.