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.

For the period November 1, 2003 to April 30, 2004, CCI staff were involved in the following activities:

Conferences/Meetings

Fourth Biennial North American Textile Conservation Conference (NATCC) "Tales in the Textile: The Conservation of Flags and Other Symbolic Textiles," New York State Museum, Albany, NY, November 6–8, 2003 — Jan Vuori chaired a session on symbolic textiles, attended a meeting of the NATCC Board of Directors, and participated in a pre-conference workshop "Pressure Mounts—History, Variations and Options"; Renée Dancause and Janet Wagner also attended the conference.

International Centre for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) General Assembly (November 19–21, 2003) and Council Meetings (November 17–18 and 22, 2004) — Charles Costain attended the General Assembly as Alternate Delegate for Canada; during the General Assembly, as Chairperson of the outgoing Council, he presented a report on the activities of Council 2001–2003, as well as explaining other motions and recommendations; he was re-elected to ICCROM Council for 2003–2007 and as Chairperson of Council for the next two years.

CURRIC LEONARDO Final Partners' Meeting, Budapest, Hungary, November 28–30, 2003 — Marie-Claude Corbeil participated as an Evaluator (the CURRIC LEONARDO project is aimed at addressing the lack of training for scientists interested in specializing in the conservation field, by developing, testing, assessing and disseminating innovative post-graduate curricula for conservation scientists).

"Workshop on X-ray fluorescence for tribes and museums," University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, January 20, 2004 — Jane Sirois attended this workshop to share CCI knowledge in this area, and learn more about these techniques from others.

"Comment jouer les instruments des musées," Cité de la musique, Paris, March 6, 2004 — Bob Barclay participated in this public roundtable discussion.

Editorial Committee meeting for the proposed book Readings in Conservation, University College London, England, March 7–8, 2004 — Stefan Michalski attended this meeting organized by Kathy Dardes and Chris Kelly of the Getty Conservation Institute.

"What is Valued" (forum about "totem" or crest poles), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, March 9–10, 2004 — James Hay discussed work done on totem poles at CCI and the Canadian Museum of Civilization during the last two decades.

On February 16, 2004, artist Alex Colville (left) met with CCI staff members Debra Daly Hartin (right), Kate Helwig, Jennifer Poulin, Michael Harrington, and Jeremy Powell to discuss the current examination and treatment of his painting Horse and Train, currently owned by the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Later in the day, Chief Conservator of the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) Stephen Gritt hosted the artist, his daughter Ann Kitz, and various CCI and NGC staff for a discussion of several of the artist's other paintings in the NGC labs.

CCI collaborated with the Canadian Museum of Nature to present a colloquium on "Computerization of Artifact Condition Surveys" at the Victoria Memorial Museum building in Ottawa, ON, on February 19–20, 2004. This event comprised one day of presentations followed by one day of panel discussion. Among the participants were fifty-three conservators and collections information management staff from seven different institutions in the Ottawa area (including the host organizations), three from elsewhere in Canada, and seven from the United States and Europe. Also in attendance were nine students from various conservation programs.

Roundtable on African Canadian Heritage, Ottawa, ON, March 26, 2004 — Charles Costain and Mary-Lou Simac participated in a meeting comprising about 50 participants from organizations involved in the promotion and protection of African Canadian Heritage, and senior officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage and portfolio agencies.

Society for American Archaeology Conference, Montreal, QC, March 31 – April 4, 2004 — Judy Logan presented "Learning through Conserving: Filling in the Picture through Collaboration" (co-authored with James A. Tuck, Memorial University of Newfoundland); Nancy Binnie, Christine Bradley, and Mary-Lou Simac staffed the CCI booth.

Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property 30th Annual Conference, Ottawa, ON, April 22–24, 2004 — Shanna Ramsay, Marie-Claude Corbeil, and Michael Harrington staffed the CCI booth.

Canadian Museums Association 57th Annual Conference, Quebec, QC, April 27–30, 2004 — Bob Barclay demonstrated mount-making techniques in the CCI booth, which was also staffed by Charles Costain, Mary-Lou Simac, and Lucie Paquette.

Lectures

"Metals and Corrosion" was presented by Lyndsie Selwyn on November 24, 2003, at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Peterborough, ON, to students in Collections Conservation and Management.

"Reasons Why Archaeological Iron and Lead Corrode During Storage" was presented by Lyndsie Selwyn on December 5, 2003, at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, NL, to staff and students in the Archaeology Unit of the Department of Anthropology.

"The Historic Musical Instrument: To Play or to Preserve?" was given by Bob Barclay on February 5, 2004, at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, ON, to students in the Department of Music.

"Current Research Projects: An Analytical Potpourri" was presented by Kate Helwig on February 25, 2004, at Queen's University in Kingston, ON, to students in the Master of Art Conservation program.

"Conservation and Community — Archaeology and Stewardship" was presented by Judy Logan on March 17, 2004, at Queen's University in Kingston, ON, to students in the Master of Art Conservation program.

"From Pigments to Colours: The Change in Artists' Oil Painting Materials 1840–1900" and "Historically Accurate Oil Paint Reconstructions" were presented by Leslie Carlyle (currently on secondment with the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research in Amsterdam) on April 22, 2004, at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, ON.

Workshops

Les supports de présentation des objets de musée was presented by Carole Dignard and André Bergeron (of the Centre de conservation du Québec) on November 5–6, 2003, for the Société des musées québécois at the David M. Stewart Museum in Montreal, QC.

Artifacts in Aboriginal Cultural Centres was presented by Tom Stone and Janet Mason on November 14–15, 2003, at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, NT, and on March 1–2, 2004, at the Mi'kmaq College Institute at the University College of Cape Breton, Sydney, NS.

CCI Adhesive Research was presented by Jane Down on November 17–18, 2003, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY, and on March 15–16, 2004, at the Weissman Preservation Center, Harvard University Library in Cambridge, MA.

Care of Collections was presented by Stefan Michalski on November 17–22, 2003, as part of the Cultural Resources Management program at the University of Victoria.

Mount-making for Museum Objects was presented by Bob Barclay on November 20–21, 2003, for students in the Master of Art Conservation program at Queen's University in Kingston, ON; and by Bob Barclay and Carole Dignard on February 12–13, 2004, for the Association of Manitoba Museums in Winnipeg, MB, and March 9–10 and 11–12, 2004, at Helsingborg Museum, Sweden.

Packaging Ceramics and Glass for Travel was presented by Paul Marcon and Judy Logan on November 29, 2003, at the Burlington Art Centre, Burlington, ON.

Storage Planning for Cultural Facilities was presented by Siegfried Rempel, Helen McKay, and Wendy Baker on January 30–31, 2004, for Museums Alberta at the St. Albert Heritage Museum in St. Albert, AB.

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Cultural Institutions was presented by David Tremain and Deborah Stewart on February 2–3, 2004, for the Ontario Association of Art Galleries at the Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, ON.

New Environmental Standards for Collection Preservation was presented by Jean Tétreault on February 18-19, 2004, at the Library and Archives Canada Gatineau Preservation Centre in G-atineau, QC.

Permanence of Artists' Materials was presented by Debra Daly Hartin and Sherry Guild on March 3–4, 2004, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, NS.

Preservation of Modern Information Carriers was presented by Joe Iraci and Tom Strang on March 4–5, 2004, for the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists in Regina, SK.

Archaeological Conservation Field Techniques was presented by Judy Logan on March 6–7, 2004, for the Saskatchewan Association of Professional Archaeologists at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK.

Emergency Planning was presented by David Tremain and Deborah Stewart on March 19, 2004, to representatives of the City of Ottawa museums at the Ben Franklin Centre in Ottawa, ON.

Site visits for facilities development or upgrading

Site visits conducted by Siegfried Rempel and/or Brian Laurie-Beaumont include the following:

British Columbia — Alberni Valley Museum, Port Alberni; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria; Entertainment and Media Arts Society, Vancouver; BC Interior Forestry Museum, Revelstoke.

Alberta — Alberta Foundation for the Arts (with Helen McKay), Provincial Museum of Alberta, and Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton; Sir Alexander Galt Museum & Archives (with Helen McKay), Lethbridge; Wetaskiwin and District Museum (with Wendy Baker), Wetaskiwin; Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery (with Wendy Baker), Medicine Hat.

Saskatchewan — Museums Association of Saskatchewan, MacKenzie Art Gallery, and RCMP Centennial Museum, Regina.

Manitoba — Winnipeg Art Gallery, University of Winnipeg Archives and Records Centre, Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre, and University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections, Winnipeg; Northern Plains Museum, Brandon; National Residential School Museum, Portage la Prairie; Métis Interpretation Centre, Saint Laurent.

Ontario — Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Ontario Provincial Police Museum, Orillia; Whata Museum, Bala.

Quebec — Wyandot Huron First Nation Museum and Royal 22nd Regiment Museum, Quebec City; Musée régimentaire les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke; Bagotville Air Defence Museum, Bagotville.

United States — Cultural Resource Centre of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC; Carlisle Residential School Museum, Carlisle, PA; Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD; and Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, MD.

Other site visits

Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, ON — On December 1–3, 2003, James Hay, Alastair Fox, and Kate Simmons (Parks Canada) treated panelled walls and woodwork details in various offices; on January 7, 2004, James Hay and Alastair Fox consulted on the condition of wooden panelling in court offices; and on February 17 – March 11, 2004, James Hay, Alastair Fox, and Eric Stewart (private conservator) treated panelled walls and woodwork details in various offices and hallways.

Parliament Hill, Ottawa, ON — On January 7, 2004, James Hay and Alastair Fox investigated swollen floor boards in various government offices; on March 16, 2004, they consulted on the condition of various heritage furniture items and new furniture maintenance procedures in the Senate Chamber.

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec, QC — On January 26, 2004, Marie-Claude Corbeil reviewed the research project on the materials and technique of Jean-Paul Riopelle and discussed future projects.

Centre de conservation du Québec (CCQ), Québec, QC — On January 27–28, 2004, Marie-Claude Corbeil took samples for various analytical projects and discussed the results of some active and completed projects with clients; she also provided CCQ conservators with information on the range of analytical services offered by CCI and reviewed procedures for removing and sending samples for analysis.

Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB — While in the location on January 29, 2004, Helen McKay followed up on a request for treatment for one painting, providing observations and advice on that painting and addressing other issues presented.

Fulford Place, Brockville, ON — On March 30, 2004, James Hay and Alastair Fox verified the condition of a 19th-century French paravent or "dressing screen" that had been treated at CCI the previous year.