Access2CA: Access to Contemporary Art Conservation

Thursday 10 December, 2009, 9:30 - 17:30
Moderna galerija, Tomšičeva 14, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Organised by the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN) in collaboration with Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS) and kindly being hosted by the Moderna galerija in Ljubljana. The seminar is part of the European project PRACTICs.*

Seminar programme

9:00 Doors open
9:30 Welcome
Karen te Brake-Baldock, ICN
9:35 Opening words
Zdenka Badovinac, Director Moderna galerija
10:00 Ideas Worth Spreading, Broadcast Yourself, Share Your Photos, Connecting People, Just Do it!
Michiel van Iersel & Juha van't Zelfde, Non-Fiction | Office for Cultural Innovation, Amsterdam, NL
10:45 Museum tours: gateway to conservation and restoration practices
Maartje Swinkels, MA graduate Art, Culture and Media, University of Groningen, NL
11:20 Break
11:40 Bridging theory and practice in the museum's care of contemporary art; Polish case studies after Velvet Revolution
Iwona Szmelter, Faculty of Conservation-Restoration of Works of ArtAcademy of Fine Arts (AFA), Warsaw, PL
12:10 Innovations in the Interpretation of Authenticity. Case Study - Foksal Gallery
Monika Jadzinska, Faculty of Conservation-Restoration of Works of ArtAcademy of Fine Arts (AFA), Warsaw, PL
12:30 Please touch the sculptures
Lucia Almeida Matos, University of Porto, Faculty of Fine Arts, PT
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Plans for a museum tour (focusing on conservation)
Marina Pugliese, Museu del Novecente, Milan, IT
15:30 Access2CA workshop part 1 lead by Michiel van Iersel & Juha van't Zelfde
16:00 Break
16:30 Access2CA workshop part 2
17:15 Concluding words
17:30 Seminar closes

It is generally known that the public is interested in stories of the making of art. There are many examples of well-liked movies on 'the artist at work'. The Inside Installations exhibition in Kröller-Müller Museum in 2006-07 was successful; the national press in The Netherlands listed it in the top-five most appreciated exhibitions of the year. During this exhibition the visitor was given a unique 'behind-the-scenes' look into the working practice of the conservator of modern and contemporary art. Visitors witnessed a conservator at work on an installation in the exhibition room. They were also made aware of the decision-making process that takes place when conserving a complex artwork through watching interviews on video with the artist and the conservator. This approach is just one on the many ways to educate the public about the conservation of contemporary art.

Multi-media and internet technology are also often used by museums to create visitor tours or online learning courses. It would seem however that (whatever the chosen medium) issues on the conservation of contemporary art are not often dealt with. This is an interesting fact given that when such issues are made accessible, the public's understanding and appreciation of the artwork increases.

The seminar Access to Contemporary Art Conservation (Access2CA) will explore this topic by:
- showing technologies that are available to museums to convey knowledge to the general public
- giving examples of how these technologies are being used (including examples where
conservation issues are being shared)
- discussing approaches that work and those that don't
In addition, a number of specific case studies will be discussed to give insight into the kind of problems that a conservator of contemporary art faces.

The seminar is meant for the conservators, art historians, curators, museum professionals, artists, students and members of the general public who are interested in this subject. The seminar is free of charge and includes refreshments and lunch.

For more information on the Access2CA seminar and to register go to:
www.incca.org/access2ca and click on the link Ljubljana seminar.

* PRACTICs (Practices, Research, Access, Collaboration, Teaching In Conservation of
contemporary art) stands for excellence and innovation in conservation research, a profound will to share knowledge and experiences and continuous collaboration in knowledge development and education. 34 leading European museums, institutions and universities join hands to assess and implement knowledge gained through European projects of the last decade. In addition, this project will set the course for key issues of conservation, preservation, education and public access to conservation. The project dates are May 1 2009 - April 30 2011,

The project is coordinated by the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN) and co-
organised by six other European organisations:
TATE, England;
Restaurierungzentrum Düsseldorf / Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany;
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Spain;
Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Belgium and the
Foundation for the Conservation of Contemporary Art, The Netherlands.

Main deliverables of this project are the Access2CA seminar (Ljubljana, December, 2009), international symposium Contemporary Art: Who Cares? (June 2010, Amsterdam) and the publication Inside Installations (working title) due for launch in March 2011.

PRACTICs is made possible with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union and the Mondriaan Foundation.