MOCA is happy to share our conservation learning and experiences working with the professional conservators at A.M. Art Conservation on fire recovery. New videos will be posted periodically as we continue to conduct workshops and training and so please visit this page again for new content.

The process of how to safely and properly surface or dry clean books in MOCA’s library as explained by Clare Manias, a professional book conservator working with MOCA Collections staff on fire recovery.

Rachael Perkins Arenstein, an object conservator at AM Art Conservation, explains the surveying process to MOCA Collections staff, some of whom were trained to assist. To date, the team has completed surveys for 50,000 objects–quite the feat!

Eugenie Milroy, an object conservator at AM Art Conservation, explains a small part of the process of surveying MOCA’s textile collections: identifying objects hastily retrieved from the fire, which were boxed with minimal identifying information, and rematching them to their existing catalog record and accession number. Other steps of the survey process include photo documenting and assessing type and extent of damage, proposing a course of conservation treatment and cost estimate, and updating our location records so that our collections are well-organized.

Rachel Danzing and Valerie Faivre, both specializing in paper conservation, examine two works of art in MOCA’s collection to assess and discuss what would be the best course of conservation treatment.

Book conservator Clare Manias trains MOCA Collections staff on how to rehouse newspapers. Staff examine duplicate issues of Gidra that have been water damaged and learn how to determine which copies are in the best shape. These copies are then organized chronologically and rehoused with acid-free interleaving and within acid-free folders.

In this hands-on tutorial, book conservator Clare Manias teaches MOCA staff members how to custom craft protective housing for rare, fragile, or damaged books in MOCA’s library. We share a print version of the step by step instructions that MOCA staff followed here.