Changing Climate Management Strategies

The workshop 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 and environmental monitoring as tools to support decision making, and engages in panel discussions on the impact of loans processes and the facilities team on sustainability.
• Day 3: Discussion and demonstration of object monitoring techniques, including acoustic emission monitoring, in response to environmentally-induced change. Will focus on the collaboration between the Conservation Institute and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) to monitor change of “witness” objects selected from the V&A’s incredibly diverse collection – applied arts, decorative arts, design – exposed to their innovative and practical environmental management approaches.
• Day 4: Presentation of case studies striving for more sustainable museum environments, followed by a closing discussion on the practical application of the workshop curriculum at the varied heritage institutions of the workshop participants.