Course on preventive conservation

Preventive conservation: Reducing risks to collections
Rome, Italy
June 6-24, 2005

Organization:

    ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation
    and Restoration of Cultural Property)

    CCI (Canadian Conservation Institute) in collaboration with the
    CNM (Canadian Museum of Nature) and the

    ICN (Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage)

Preventive Conservation: Reducing Risks to Collections
    <URL:http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca>
    <URL:http://www.iccrom.org>

Rob Waller, Agnes Brokerhof, Catherine Antomarchi, and myself will
be instructors, alongside others to be confirmed.

This course is a descendant of the first ICCROM-CCI preventive
conservation course, offered in Ottawa in 2002. We studied
extensively the results of that course, its strengths and
weaknesses, through follow up interviews with participants and their
supervisors, as well as instructors. We have listened, learned, and
built on its core strengths.

Please forward this message to any colleagues who you feel may be
interested in the course, not only those in preventive conservation,
but all those responsible for collection management in one way or
another. I will be watching particularly the extent of Canadian
interest in a course of this type.

The purpose of the course is to discuss and practice the risk
management approach to conservation of collections. Risk management
can be understood not only as the management of rare catastrophes,
but also as the management of slow continual hazards, and everything
between. It becomes an integrated view of all expected damages and
losses to collections. The course will review the risk management
concept and its various current interpretations and applications in
the field of cultural heritage. Participants will be introduced to a
practical method to carry out a risk assessment survey for
collections in museums and archives. The course will also examine
recent research that is critical to better estimates of risk, and
thus to establishing priorities. Special focus will be given to
dynamic and high-risk situations such as travelling exhibitions. In
this context, environmental standards and transit guidelines will be
critically discussed in the light of recent knowledge.

Course Methodology: The course will provide a wide range of learning
and teaching methods, such as workshops, case studies, seminars, and
presentations. Opportunities will be provided for participants to
share in a variety of large and small group activities. Significant
time will be allocated for participants to consult with the course
staff, or to work in the ICCROM library on individual projects of
their choosing, related to the course topic.

Objective: By the end of the course, participants will be conversant
with the risk management approach and able to apply it to their
collections.

Participants: The course is designed for collection managers,
curators, registrars, and conservators and for directors of small to
medium size museums, galleries, and archives. The course will also
interest educators and professionals who teach collection management
and preventive conservation, in either an academic or a vocational
environment. Candidates are invited to submit with their formal
application a 500-word summary of their experience, and how they
anticipate the course will relate to their current or future
projects. A maximum of 18 participants will be selected.

The teaching team will be drawn from ICCROM, CCI, CMN, ICN, and
associated professionals.

Working Language: English
Course Fee: Euros 900

The organizers can offer scholarship support in a limited number of
circumstances. However, candidates are expected to seek financial
aid from other sources, such as governments, employers, and
foundations. ICCROM is prepared to offer advice on efforts to seek
scholarship support. A minimum of Euros 1200 for living costs would
be required for the three-week duration of the course in Rome.

Application: Please use the general ICCROM course application form
which is available at the address below or at
<URL:http://www.iccrom.org>

    Preventive Conservation--Collections Unit
    ICCROM
    13, via di San Michele
    I-00153 Rome Rm
    Italy
    +39 6 585531
    Fax: +39 6 58553349
    preventiveconservation [at] iccrom__org

Application Deadline: 20 December 2004

Stefan Michalski
Senior Conservation Scientist
Preventive Conservation Services
Canadian Conservation Institute


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:19
                 Distributed: Monday, October 25, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-18-19-009
                                  ***