In cooperation with provincial museum and art gallery associations,
CCI responds to specific needs within the heritage community by
offering workshops, lectures, and site visits related to the conservation
and care of museum and art gallery collections. CCI staff also participate
in and present lectures to meetings of professional groups and associations.
November
At the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, MD, Jane Down and
Scott Williams took samples from the Archimedes palimpsest (a 10th-century
parchment manuscript that contains copies of seven of Archimedes
theorems and is considered the oldest copy of these works) to analyse
adhesives, identify ink, assess mould contamination, and assess
the state of deterioration of the parchment.
At the 47th annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Forensic
Science in Ottawa, Marie-Claude Corbeil gave a lecture "Authenticity
and Art Fraud: Scientific Examination of Works of Art."
Marie-Claude Corbeil participated in the first International Working
Group Meeting on Developing Postgraduate Curricula for Conservation
Scientists (CURRIC) at the International Centre for the Study
of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
in Rome.
Robert Barclay presented a lecture "The Silent Artisan" for the
Literary and Historical Society of Quebec in Quebec, QC.
As part of the ongoing Canadian Forces Museums' preventive conservation
surveys contracted by the Directorate of History and Heritage
of the Department of National Defence, Stefan Michalski visited
the Labrador Military Museum in Goose Bay, NF, and the Maritime
Command Museum in Halifax, NS.
December
At the request of the Montpelier Foundation, Stefan Michalski
visited James Madison's Montpelier in Virginia to provide
advice to Michael Quinn (Executive Director) and Lee Langston-Harrison
(Curator) about climate control proposals for the exhibit "The Pleasure
of Your Company is Requested: A ‘Harvest Home Supper' with the Madisons."
Siegfried Rempel visited the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg,
MB, to consult on upgrading options.
January
In Winnipeg, MB, Brian Laurie-Beaumont facilitated a weekend development
planning session for the Transportation Heritage and Technology
Centre (a proposed new museum that will encompass more than
a dozen transportation-related organizations in the Winnipeg area).
Siegfried Rempel visited the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in
Fredericton, NB, to consult on environmental control upgrades.
Judy Logan attended the Archaeological Institute of America
(AIA) conference in San Diego, CA, as a member of the AIA's Conservation
and Heritage Management Committee.
As part of the ongoing Canadian Forces Museums' preventive conservation
surveys contracted by the Directorate of History and Heritage
of the Department of National Defence, Siegfried Rempel visited
CFB Cold Lake, AB.
Judy Logan presented a paper "Towards an Understanding of the Archaeological
Record: Learning Through Conservation" at the annual conference
of the Society for Historical Archaeology in Long Beach,
CA; she also chaired a session on "Education in Archaeology" and
attended a meeting of the Society's Curation, Conservation, and
Collections Management Committee.
Jane Sirois and Ian Wainwright visited the Canadian Museum of
Civilization in Hull, QC, to analyse (non-destructively) Aboriginal
artifacts to detect the presence of arsenic and mercury compounds.
In Chicago, IL, Stefan Michalski met with Karen Sweeney (Director
of Restoration) and Cheryl Bachand (Curator) of the Frank Lloyd
Wright Preservation Trust to provide advice about climate control
proposals for Robie House; he was also asked to survey (with Richard
Born, Curator) the Wright furniture collection held by the University
of Chicago's Smart Museum of Art and report on its vulnerabilities.
James Bourdeau led a CCI team (including Paul Heinrichs, Nancy
Binnie, and James Hay, with the assistance of Marie-Claude Corbeil
and Elizabeth Moffatt) on an investigation of the interior finishes
in the Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa.
February
In response to an increasing number of inquiries on outdoor
murals, Debra Daly Hartin visited Chemainus, BC, to examine
briefly the condition of the town's many murals.
David Grattan presented a course "Introduction to Organics" to
16 students in a new diploma program in Marine Archaeological Conservation
at the Department of Conservation Studies, Evtek Institute of
Art and Design, Vantaa, Finland (for more information see Web
site http://www.evitech.fi/muotoilu/aikuiskoulutus/koulutusohjelmat/marine).
Siegfried Rempel and Brian Laurie-Beaumont undertook a major review
of the collections preservation needs of the National Library
of Canada in Ottawa.
Brian Laurie-Beaumont and Siegfried Rempel visited the Reynolds-Alberta
Museum in Wetaskiwin, AB, to review the facility and its operation
to gain insights and information that may be of use to other transportation
and technology institutions under consideration.
CCI hosted a meeting with the Canadian Council of Archives
(CCA) to discuss archival needs, including modern information carriers,
architectural drawings, iron gall ink, mould, and adhesives. In
attendance from the CCA were Michael Moosberger, Johanna Smith,
Margaret Bignall, John Grace, Rosaleen Hill, and Mireille Minniggio;
CCI participants included Joe Iraci, Paul Bégin, Jane Down, Season
Tse, Tom Strang, and Charlie Costain.
Geneviève Sansoucy and Jane Sirois visited the Royal Ontario
Museum to analyse (non-destructively) 220 objects from the Anthropology
Division to detect the presence of arsenic, mercury, and lead.
In conjunction with a CCI workshop in Whitehorse, YK, Debra Daly
Hartin and Sherry Guild visited the MacBride Museum Society
and the Yukon Provincial Archives to advise on specific objects;
these visits were arranged by Valery Monahan (Conservator, Heritage
Branch of Yukon Tourism).
Siegfried Rempel visited the New Brunswick Museum in Saint
John, NB, in support of a Museums Assistance Program application;
he also went to Alberta to visit the University of Lethbridge
Art Gallery in Lethbridge in support of a Movable Cultural Property
Program inquiry, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller
to assist in a facility upgrade planning exercise.
March
Charlie Costain attended meetings of the Advisory Committee and
the Council at ICCROM in Rome.
In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Master's of Art
Conservation program at Queen's University in Kingston, ON,
CCI hosted a meeting with private conservators to discuss future
directions for conservation as well as training and development
needs; CCI's Director General Bill Peters and staff members Charlie
Costain, Cliff McCawley, Linda Street, and Sonya Milly participated.
David Tremain presented a one-day workshop "Emergency & Disaster
Preparedness for Cultural Institutions" to staff of the George
R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, ON.
Brian Laurie-Beaumont and Siegfried Rempel met with members of
the steering committee for the proposed RCMP Heritage Centre
at "The Depot" (the RCMP national training centre and currently
home to the RCMP Centennial Museum) in Regina, SK, to comment on
the planning done to date and make suggestions for future development.
April
Many CCI staff participated in the 54th annual meeting of the Canadian
Museums Association in Ottawa-Hull, which included an opportunity
for delegates to visit CCI's laboratories. Charlie Costain also
attended a meeting of the Forum of Provincial Museum Associations
to report on CCI's activities and directions, and Stefan Michalski
took part in a panel presentation with Bill Barkley, Candace Sweet
(Parks Canada), and Rob Waller (Canadian Museum of Nature), on practical
risk assessment methods for museums.
Jane Sirois presented a lecture "Analysis of Museum Objects for
Hazardous Pesticide Residues" at the symposium "Preservation of
Native American and Historical Natural History Collections Contaminated
with Pesticide Residues" (sponsored by the Society for the Preservation
of Natural History Collections, the National Park Service,
and the National Museum of the American Indian) in Shepherdstown,
WV.
During a trip to New Brunswick, Brian Laurie-Beaumont and Siegfried
Rempel visited Fredericton to discuss the development of a Museum
for the Malisseet First Nation, and Eel River Bar to discuss
the development of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Aboriginal
Heritage Garden, a Mi'kmaq project.
James Bourdeau conducted an investigation of the materials and
condition of three decorative ceilings in the Official Residence
of the Canadian Ambassador to Japan in Tokyo. |