The Preventive Conservation Department provides a range of services for non-profit institutions to improve and enhance collections care in ways designed to positively impact the largest number of artifacts.
General Preservation Needs Assessments Surveys
A General Preservation Needs Assessment Survey is a broad-based, on-site survey that covers all aspects of your collection and is a first step for many institutions seeking to implement improved preservation planning and to apply for funding for more specific conservation projects.
Object-by-Object Surveys
This is a targeted survey that looks at a collection, or a portion of a collection, in order to provide specific and prioritized conservation recommendations. Conservators examine each artifact in-person during the site visit and assess its condition, treatment history, conservation needs, and maintenance requirements as appropriate. This type of survey is an excellent tool for curatorial decision making, budgeting, and determining priority care. Many federal and state granting agencies require an Object-by-Object Survey as part of a successful application for conservation treatment funding.
Environmental Monitoring Equipment Loans
MACC has temperature and relative humidity dataloggers and light/UV meters available for your institution to borrow. Please contact us for more information.
24-Emergency Response Services
In the event of an emergency to your collection, such as a flood or fire, a member of our team will respond to assist you in the next steps for salvage and recovery.
Design Phase Assessments
Our staff provides design phase assessments for artists completing public art projects. This assessment reviews a project from the design phase to completion and provides the artist and the owner of the artwork with a reasonable expectation of the lifetime of the materials selected, as well as long-term maintenance recommendations. Contact us for more information.
Grants
MACC can review your application and provide feedback to make your proposal stronger. See available Grants that support conservation, preservation, and collections care activities. MACC provides free consultation, training, and online resources for preventive conservation activities that your institution can implement today.
Nicole Grabow, Director of Preventive Conservation
Nicole Grabow joined MACC in 2006 as an objects conservator and made the transition into preventive conservation in 2016. Nicole holds a Master of Science from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, specializing in Objects Conservation, and a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She has particular interest in working with Native American communities, training collections caretakers, and public art projects. Nicole is a Fellow of The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works.
Olivia Thanadabout, Mellon Fellow – Preventive Conservation
Olivia Thanadabout joined MACC in 2023 as a year-long Mellon fellow in Preventive Conservation. She completed her Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, double majoring in Studio Art and Art History. In preparation for graduate school in art conservation, Olivia completed various pre-program internships at locations such as the Getty-UCLA Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation, The Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, and the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis. She is currently completing her Chemistry prerequisites at Normandale University. Along with her interests in art conservation, she enjoys making art that explores her Hmong heritage.