Upcoming Workshops
Online: Looking Ahead with a Long-Range Preservation Plan
Thursdays 10:30 am – 12 noon Central time / January 9, 16, and 23, 2025
Nicole Grabow, Director of Preventive Conservation, and Olivia Thanadabout, Preventive Conservation Educator
A Long-Range Preservation Plan (LRPP) will help your institution to prioritize preservation needs and develop concrete goals for the short-, medium-, and long-term. In this 3-session online course participants will draft their own LRPP and learn how to use it to achieve conservation treatment goals and to submit competitive grant proposals for state and federal funding. The course will also focus on key concepts of preventive conservation and how to assess preservation goals at your institution. This workshop includes group participation activities and a recommended 4-6 hours of independent work time outside of class.
Fee: $400 Register here
Fee for Minnesota Residents: FREE Register here
Thanks to funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.
Online: Write (or Re-Write) Your Emergency Plan
Wednesdays 10:30 am – 12 noon Central time / February 12, 19, and 26, 2025
Nicole Grabow, Director of Preventive Conservation, and Olivia Thanadabout, Preventive Conservation Educator
This online course will cover the fundamentals of Emergency Preparedness, explain the essential components of a Emergency Plan, and walk participants through the steps to develop a plan for their own organizations. Provisions for both major and minor emergencies will be discussed and how to address a disaster within a larger emergency. Participants will work with a plan template and will customize it for their own needs and risk factors. Each participant will be required to complete an institutional risk assessment questionnaire (time estimate 2-4 hours) and work on their own institution’s plan (time estimate 4-6 hours) between the sessions. They will conclude with a draft of their new Emergency Plan to share with their institution and board.
Fee: $400 Register here
Fee for Minnesota Residents: FREE Register here
Thanks to funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.
In Person: Courier Training
February 6th and 7th, 2025, 9:00AM – 4:30 PM Central Time
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Instructors: Lauren Fly, Samantha Springer, and Meg Colbert
This two day in person workshop will prepare you to successfully work as a contract courier during any stage of the loan process and follow good courier practices. From accompanying an object during travel and navigating cargo flights to building trust with clients and problem solving crate modifications, this workshop will cover it all. The first day combines materials from the Courier Training Program Framework developed by several European registrars groups to promote best practices in the museum and gallery sector. The second day focuses on best practices for packing and crating with focus on the aspects a courier might need to provide the best care for loaned objects.
This training is targeted towards private practice conservators and collections care professionals with a wide range of background experience – from those who have not supplied courier services before to those who have traveled broadly. The curriculum provides attendees with a comprehensive courier manual including training presentations, real-world scenario exercises, and practical checklists.
Through the combination of tabletop exercises, group discussion, hands-on activity, Q&A period, a bibliography of online resources, and take-home worksheets, participants will learn:
- The responsibilities of working as a contract courier
- Best practices for local travel with a loan
- On-site expectations of the borrower and lender for packing/unpacking and installation/de-installation
- How to establish trust with the lender
- Considerations for determining courier fees
- Determining what services to offer
- The tools and equipment needed as a courier
- Questions to ask the lender and borrower
- Courier-specific contract and insurance needs
- How to market courier services
- Review of basic crate types and their appropriate use cases
- Fundamentals of crate construction, signage, and documentation
- Overview of materials used for crating and packing
- Strategies for handling and storing crates
- Common crating and packing issues encountered as a courier, and how to troubleshoot on site
Lauren Fly is the founder of Fly Arts Initiative, a conservation and collections management practice in New York City. She trained at NYU’s Conservation Center and the Hamilton Kerr Institute at Cambridge, focusing on structural treatment of paintings on canvas. With 20 years of experience, Lauren works with museums, collectors, and galleries, and is active in conservation education and public awareness.
Samantha Springer established Art Solutions Lab in 2020 in the Portland, Oregon area to provide preventive care and treatment services to arts and culture organizations, municipalities, artists, and private collectors. Her practice grows from her MS attained at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, MA in Art History from Hunter College and experience at major museums. A generalist in object conservation, Samantha specializes in preventive care and sustainability, collaborating with living artists to preserve cultural heritage. She also serves as AIC Board Director of Committees and Networks.
Meg Colbert has been active in art services since 1997, collaborating with museums, galleries, and private collections to design specialized packing and crating solutions. With a Master’s in Art History from Hunter College and an MLIS from SUNY Buffalo, she has shared her expertise at prominent conservation conferences, including the AIC Annual Meetings and ARCS Conference. Meg authored the widely referenced Packing Sculptures for Storage and Transport and is currently developing a companion volume focused on flatworks.
Fee: $500 Register here
Registration is for workshop fees only and does not include travel. If coming from out of town: Use the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP). A wide selection of hotels is available in downtown Minneapolis. Please contact us with questions or specific recommendations!
On-Demand Workshops
These one-day events can be brought directly to your institution. Contact us for more details and pricing.
Emergency Preparedness
Emergency Response: Wet Salvage
Describing What You See: Condition Reports
Art and Artifact Handling (1/2 day)
Testing for Arsenic in Collections
Museum Environments 101
Recent Past Workshops
Online: Writing Grants for Preservation and Conservation Projects
Colin Turner, MACC Executive Director
Prepare for federal, state, regional, and local grant application opportunities. This two-part workshop will teach the essential grant writing strategies to gain funding for preservation and conservation related projects such as: obtaining supplies and materials for the basic re-housing of collections, buying storage upgrades, getting monitoring equipment, receiving a general preservation needs assessment survey, providing staff trainings, and having conservation treatments performed on your art and artifacts.
Learn the prioritized collections care protocol to make sure appropriate projects are developed in a logical progression and with an accompanying funding strategy. Learn how to: conduct an internal review, develop a long-range conservation plan, write an effective proposal, plan and substantiate a budget, and find matching funds. Descriptions and information will be presented on federal grants available from: the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services; grants available through state agencies in the Midwest; along with funding from private and corporate regional foundations.
Online: Laws, Ethics, and Exceptions: Developing Your Collections Management Policy
Rebecca Kennedy, Curae Collections
A Collections Management Policy (CMP) is a core document that governs an collecting organization’s legal and ethical decisions for collecting practices and artifact care. Writing a policy of the first time or updating a policy can be overwhelming due to the complexities of constantly changing legal and ethical requirements. Using virtual lectures, case studies, and research tools, this course guides participants through the development process of their CMP. Learn the anatomy of a collections management policy, the tools for writing one, and the processes for implementing it. The course is designed to provide adaptable skill sets for all types and sizes of cultural institutions and the instructor provides one-on-one guidance for drafts developed during the course.
Integrated Pest Management
Patrick Kelley, President of Insects Limited, Inc.
Insects and other pests can do irreversible damage to objects of historic and artistic value. Preventing such damage is an essential element of best practice in collection care and requires the design and implementation of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) policy and plan. This workshop will introduce participants to multiples aspects of IPM: policy and procedure; preventing infestation; trapping and monitoring; remedial treatment; basic pest identification. It is designed for small to mid-sized institutions needing to establish or improve an IPM program but would be useful for anyone needing to develop or refresh basic IPM knowledge.
Online: Emergency Planning for Performing Arts Organizations
Nicole Grabow, Director of Preventive Conservation, and Melissa Amundsen, Assistant Preventive Conservator
Designed specifically for Performing Arts organizations, artist groups, and venues! This 2-session course will cover the fundamentals of Emergency Preparedness, explain the essential components of an Emergency Plan, and walk participants through the steps to develop a plan for their own organizations. Provisions for both major and minor emergencies will be discussed. Participants will work with an emergency plan template and will customize it for their own needs and risk factors. Each participant will be encouraged to complete a risk assessment questionnaire (time estimate 2-4 hours) and work on their own plan (time estimate 4-6 hours) between the sessions. They will conclude with a draft of their new Emergency Plan to share with their institution and board.
Identification and Care of Photographic Materials
This one-day, introductory workshop will provide an overview of the major photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries, how photographic materials deteriorate, and a 10-point strategic plan for the preservation of photographic collections including proper storage and display, surveys, conservation treatments, digitization, and advocacy. This workshop will incorporate both PowerPoint lecture and hands-on handling with study collection examples. A comprehensive binder of technical information and resources will be provided for each participant in addition to a digital copy of the PowerPoint.