Conference Day 3 – PM
Conserving contemporary artworks that may challenge the very notion of art and its materiality, has seen the practice and profession of conservation expand to webs of relationships and infrastructures that have direct impact on the Planet. This conference asks questions about the sustainability of those practices and networks of care. SUSTAINING ART sees conservators, artists, curators, technicians, collectors, researchers and more, coming together to challenge assumptions, examine practices, and imagine equitable futures. Through experience pieces, research talks, panel discussions, workshops, and short films the sustainability of people, practices, and the planet will be pursued in relation to the conservation of contemporary art.
Alice Rose Archer
Sustainability and the Venice Biennale
Venice and art go hand in hand, uniquely blending the old and the new, the traditional and the contemporary. Millions of visitors flood in every year and one of the top attractions is the Venice
Biennale. According to their reports, in 2019 the 58th edition of the Biennale Arte received approximately 593,000 visitors, alongside 24,000 in the preview week alone. For a fragile city, this
footfall can take a huge toll. In recent years numerous exhibitions brought to the Biennale have responded to the growing concerns around sustainability, but in the context of Venice, a city that
UNESCO has been considering adding to its list of world heritage sites in danger, it seems a bit jarring. In my practice as a preventive conservator, I seek to find ways in which the balance
between people, practice, and planet can be readdressed on a local level. Temporary exhibitions, by their very nature, come and go yet in the sub-tropical climate of the Venice lagoon, things can
deteriorate at an alarming rate. Venice is more than a living museum or a prestigious showcase for touring exhibitions, and I hope my experiences will encourage discussions on how artistic
projects in Venice can be more sustainable – both regarding the longevity of the artworks themselves as well as the mutually beneficial relationship with the city and those that live here.
About Alice Rose Archer
Alice Rose Archer is a preventive conservator originally from the UK and has been living and working in Venice, Italy, for nearly a decade. After graduating from the University of St Andrews
in History of Art and Italian, she moved to Venice and worked on numerous exhibitions as a Production Manager and Curatorial Coordinator both within the Biennale and beyond. She then
went on to receive an MA in Preventive Conservation from Northumbria University, informing her practice as a preventive conservator for projects exhibiting in Venice seeking to find
appropriate and effective solutions to protect and sustain artworks on display and their surrounding environments. For more information and preventive conservation consulting, Alice
can be reached via email at info@aliceroseconservation.com.
Fabiola Rocco
Museum Ecology: the Members Lounge ecosystem at M+
In 2020, the M+ collection received a major donation from the private collection of William and Lavinia Lim. Lim’s, Living Collection records the evolution of the Hong Kong art scene in the 21st
century by incorporating emerging and established Asian artists. The collection is currently on view in the unique environment of the M+ Members Lounge, an ecosystem where art coexists in a
delicate yet balanced dialogue with the needs of a human -populated space. The Members Lounge serves as a multi -functional space where curators can interview artists, and members can host private events or enjoy refreshments during their visit. Within the ecology of museums, the Members Lounge can be seen as a boundary ecosystem where different “species”, the different stakeholders, live in a symbiotic relationship. The Members Lounge is an art hub, but it is not a museum gallery. The needs of the guests and the donours’ vision play a crucial role in the
evolution of the ecosystem alongside Curatorial and Conservation considerations. Conservation had to balance the needs and capabilities of all “species” while still guaranteeing the artwork’s
best possible care. To sustain the development of the ecosystem, new solutions and compromises are constantly implemented to overcome issues related to environmental control, guest-artworks
interaction, and long-term preservation, while also preserving the relationships and funding that secure a sustainable future for M+. This contribution highlights the effort of a community of stake- holders and the network of care that arose as a result of adaptation to the peculiar ecosystem of the Members Lounge.
About Fabiola Rocco
Fabiola Rocco holds the position of Associate Conservator, Variable Media Art, at M+ in Hong Kong. As part of the conservation team, she is involved in the day-to-day documentation, installation, and conservation of the variable media art collection with special focus on time-based media installation and plastics. Prior to this appointment, Fabiola collaborated with the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, the Museo Arte Moderna e
Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (MART) and the Gallerie d’Italia both in Italy. Fabiola holds a master’s degree in Conservation-Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Turin in cooperation with the Centre for Conservation and Restoration (CCR) La Venaria Reale. Fabiola strongly advocates for creating a bond between contemporary art and society.
Melissa Lewis
Circular economy and green chemistry
Contemporary art conservation requires particular skills. It often asks of the conservator to work closely with the artist’s mindset, using sensitive and unusual materials that can deteriorate quite
easily. This paper looks at two popular sustainable systems, that are being promoted in industry to progress further reduction of carbon emissions, firstly the circular economy and then the 12
principles of green chemistry.
The Circular Economy is a regenerative model designed to keep products, materials, and resources at their highest value and functionality for as long as possible through continuous cycles
of reclamation, remanufacture, and regeneration. Ideally, materials should be utilized in situ to design products for use in conservation, display and storage. Green chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, use, and ultimate disposal. By applying these two systems, Melissa illustrates how they can be integrated into contemporary art conservation practice.
About Melissa Lewis
Melissa Lewis is a modern and contemporary art (paper) conservator, particularly interested in finding innovative solutions to difficult problems involving cleaning and other aspects of an
artwork’s conservation, restoration and overall heritage. She is also motivated by finding green, sustainable and safe solutions for conservation practice. In 2013, Melissa founded Modern British Conservation, a conservation and collection care company. However, private practice has not prevented her from teaching cleaning paper using, gels, emulsions and green solvents, at, inter alia: museum studios, auction houses, universities as well as at the studios of individual conservators. She has worked, until recently, for some years at the Victoria & Albert Museum,
with stints at the Natural History Museum. Her company provides conservation and collection care to museums, institutions, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, private London galleries and significant
private collectors in the UK and Europe. Melissa has given three webinars with ICON Book and Paper Group, Art Switch and at the Arts Council in collaboration with ‘Julie’s Bicycle’ about the
Circular Economy in museums and conservation.