Public Art Conference Archive—2001

Study Session: Conservation

Presenters: Chris Manke, Public Art Program, Wisconsin Art Board, Madison, WI and Hafthor Yngvason, Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridge, MA.
Notetaker: Emy Kim

Summary
This session focuses on the Wisconsin Arts Board's Percent for Art Conservation Initiative as well as national trends and solutions. Chris Manke will discuss the Wisconsin initiative, including organization & structure of program, how and why the program was developed, funding source, process and criteria for selecting conservation professionals, current and future activities including the development of a collections management database, assessment and conservation of artworks located throughout the state, and conservation training plans. Questions and discussion will be encouraged. Handout materials describing the program will be available.

Hafthor Yngvason will outline national trends in the conservation and maintenance of contemporary public art. The larger philosophical issues, such as the very question of permanence and how contemporary public art differs from traditional monuments, will be addressed. More technical issues, such as conservation assessment, pre-proposal maintenance reviews, material testing, funding issues and collection and deaccession policies will also be outlined. Mr. Yngvason is the organizer of the Cambridge Conference on Conservation and Maintenance, which will take place on October 26–8, 2001 at Harvard University.