Art in Bloom

Sandra Lawrence <sagalaw [at] cogeco__ca> writes

>I would very much appreciate hearing from conservators who have had
>input into Art in Bloom events

The small art museum where I currently serve as a board director is
considering an Art in Bloom event for next spring.  Since it has
been at least 15 years since I participated in such an event (as a
conservator at the Art Gallery of Ontario) I would welcome
information, updated guidelines and any other tips for dealing with
the issues around having flowers in a gallery setting.

Our biennial Art in Bloom (AIB) exhibition is being held later this
week, so I would be all too happy to learn from others and share our
updated conservation requirements. AIB has been running for 20 years
at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and it seems to grow every
time despite conservation's attempts to proverbially nip it in the
bud.

In our case, 120 participants (who are not necessarily florists but
celebrities, designers, and artists etc.) respond to artworks in
almost all exhibition spaces. After some near misses in previous
years, conservators have been given a leading role in the event
planning, construction and clean up. AIB serves as an interesting
case study for multi-skilling: Not only do conservators manage
staff, damage, pest and water risks, but logistics, visitor flow,
display layout, and dealing tactfully with participants who are at
times more concerned about their flowers than the artworks around
them. I currently have an article in print about our experience, but
can forward briefing notes and design requirements on request in the
interim.

Maria Kubik
Senior Conservator
Art Gallery of Western Australia
PO Box 8363
Perth BC WA 6849
+61 8 9492 6731

D

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:16
               Distributed: Thursday, September 16, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-16-002
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