Workshops on storing collections

workshops
Oct 1 2022
Preventive Conservation | October 1, 2022

In 2014, Sarah Spafford-Ricci developed and delivered a workshop to museum, gallery and archives professionals for the British Columbia Museum Association.  This workshop, “Storing your Collections” at the Museum of Vancouver, was directed at understanding the agents that cause deterioration of historic and art collections, and how to maximize collection preservation in long-term storage. Topics that were covered throughout the day included designing a storage space for preservation, storage furnishings, preparing artifacts and archival material for storage, mitigating effects of a disaster, condition reports, and storage materials and techniques for different materials and object types.  Lively discussion took place and the session included hands-on projects wherein participants made a padded hanger and encapsulated an archival document.  Sarah demonstrated techniques such as dry surface cleaning prior to storage, and storage mount preparation, and participants received a sample book of acceptable storage materials to take back to their institutions.  Paula Merkins of the Vancouver Museum conducted tours of the museum storage area highlighting the special storage techniques and equipment.

Sarah Spafford-Ricci instructing workshop.

Discussing encapsulation of a document with a participant.

Paola Merkins shows historic textiles padded with acid-free tissue in shallow powder coated metal storage drawers.

Participants make padded hangers.

In 2022, Sarah delivered a webinar on the Storage of Paintings for the American Institute for Conservation session, C2C Care: Course on Keeping Collections Safe in Storage.  The webinar, intended for curators, custodians and collection care workers in cultural institutions, covered the specific deterioration risk factors for paintings, how they deteriorate and the practical steps that can be taken to improve storage conditions and promote long term preservation.  The information highlighted a risk management approach to the long term preservation storage of paintings as outlined in two appendices on the storage of traditional and non-traditional paintings authored by Sarah Spafford-Ricci and Emily Min-Mander, contained in the 2019 book Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage edited by Lisa Elkin and Christopher A. Norris.  This book on preservation storage for collections is available for purchase through AIC and is highly recommended as a resource for the libraries of museums, art galleries and archives as a comprehensive survey of the topic authored by conservation experts in each of the collection areas.