Changing Climate Management Strategies Workshop

Sustainable Collection Environments and Monitoring Object Response

August 7–10, 2023

Melbourne, Australia

Co-organized with the National Gallery of Victoria

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.

This four-day workshop co-organized by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) 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 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, environmental monitoring, loans, and facilities management and includes practical exercises, demonstrations of data analysis tools, panel discussions on the impact of loans processes and the role of the facilities team, and a tour of the NGV HVAC system.

Day 3: Focuses on collection monitoring, including use of acoustic emission monitoring to explore environmentally induced object response. Discussion and demonstration of the GCI/NGV acoustic emission monitoring system to assess object response during the NGV’s transition from traditionally narrow gallery environments to the wider conditions defined by the Bizot Green Protocol.

Day 4: Presents regional case studies striving for more sustainable museum environments and a closing panel on assessing collection response and managing collection safety amidst acceptance of broader gallery and storage environment.

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

The international teaching team of GCI and NGV 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, Associate Scientist, GCI
• Caitlin Breare, Conservator, NGV
• Alexandra Bridarolli, Assistant Scientist, GCI
• MaryJo Lelyveld, Manager, Conservation, NGV
• Michał Łukomski, Senior Scientist, GCI
• Amanda Pagliarino, Head of Conservation & Registration, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
• Marcin Strojecki, Adjunct Professor, Jerzy Haber Institute
• David Thickett, Senior Conservation Scientist, English Heritage
• Michael Varcoe-Cocks, Associate Director of Conservation, NGV
• Cecilia Winter, Project Specialist, GCI

August 7-10, 2023

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 Australasia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East 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

The selection process is competitive. Prospective participants must submit an online application and curriculum vitae by the deadline, and the workshop organizer may contact applicants for further information.

The workshop organizers will preferentially target practitioners from Australasia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East 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 2023 or early 2024 in Europe. Those outside the targeted geographic region of the Melbourne workshop will have an opportunity to apply for this second iteration.

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

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, an opening reception, and a group dinner.

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

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

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 in financial need. Participants who require financial assistance should indicate this on their 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 Australasia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia

Applicants are required to complete an online application form and send via email their curriculum vitae (CV)

Steps to Apply

1. Download and review the read-only PDF version of the online application. Though you will complete and submit the application form online, the read-only file is provided so that applicants may review questions and gather needed information in advance.
2. Complete the online application form. The online application uses Google Forms. If you have a Google account, you can save an in-progress application to complete in multiple sessions. If you do not have a Google account, the application must be completed in one session.
3. Submit your CV (maximum 2 pages) by email to MCE@getty.edu.

Once your application has been completed, you will receive a confirmation within one week. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact the Managing Collection Environments Initiative team at MCE@getty.edu

March 1, 2023: Deadline for submission of online application and CV

March 29, 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. Up to ten additional applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

April 12, 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.

For further information or questions, please contact MCE@getty.edu