Monday 12 September 2011, 09.30–17.30
Tuesday 13 September 2011, 09.30–16.00

This two day international conference will present current knowledge, recent research and practice-based case studies exploring the use of low-oxygen environments and microfading measurements to establish the boundaries for safe display of light-sensitive objects.

This event coincides with the culmination of a five-year Tate research project funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund. The project focussed on developing a commercially available low-oxygen enclosure for the protection of works of art on paper. Central to this research has been the use of microfading as a tool to demonstrate how low-oxygen environments can minimise light damage during display, as well as studies of the effects of anoxia on paper and colorants.

The aim of the conference is to bring together experts in the field to assess the risks and opportunities of these technologies, including the potential for cost reduction, increased public access to light-sensitive works, and their contribution towards the sustainable museum.

This conference will be of interest to cultural heritage, museum and collection-care professionals, students, academic researchers, and all who work with fine art, manuscript, archaeological, textile, natural and social history collections.

The conference fee will include lunch on both days and an evening reception.

In recognition that this is an area of active research, the conference organisers invite the submission of a broad range of posters. If you would be interested in presenting a poster at the conference please send a poster title and abstract of 100–300 words to Dr. Joyce Townsend at joyce.townsend@tate.org.uk. 

Programme

Monday, 12 September

09.30	Registration, tea and coffee
10.00	Welcome and introduction: Nigel Llewellyn, Head of Research, Tate
10.10	Keynote: David Grattan, Former Manager of Conservation Research at Canadian Conservation Institute - Anoxia and Microfading: The Impact on Collection Care, Context and Challenge
10.55	Stephen Hackney, Tate, The Benefits and Performance of Sealed Enclosures
11.15	Zane Cunningham, Tate, Designing Low Oxygen Frames
11.35	Shin Maekawa, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles – Getty’s Oxygen-Free Display and Storage Cases
11.55	Matija Strlič, Centre for Sustainable Heritage, University College London – Hypoxic Storage of Organic Materials: Paper, Ink, Parchment, Photographs, Canvas
12.15	Jacob Thomas, Kinetics of Heterogeneous Reactions Group, Jagiellonian University, Kraków – Early 20th Century Pastel Drawings: An Anoxic Case?
12.35-13.30	Lunch
13.30	David Thickett, English Heritage - Anoxia as a Means to Retard the Deterioration of Archaeological Iron
13.50	Chris Collins, Natural History Museum, London – Anoxia Storage for Natural History Materials; A Review of their Use and Success
14.10	Luisa Casella, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin – Display of Original Autochrome Plates in Low-Oxygen Enclosures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
14.30	Yvonne Shashoua, National Museum of Denmark – Anoxic Storage of Polymers
14.50	Tea and coffee break
15.20	Bruce Ford, Tate, Low Oxygen Framing and Microfading
15.40	Nicki Smith (with video from Guy Hanson), National Museum of Australia – Into the Light: Lighting Guidelines at the National Museum of Australia
16.00-17.00	Discussion groups: Group One: Assessing works for anoxia Group Two: Incorporating microfading into lighting policies Group Three: Can you save resources with microfading and low oxygen display and storage?
17.00-17.30	Report back and wrap up of day one.
18.00	Drinks reception

Tuesday, 13 September 

09.30	Mark Underhill, Tate – Oxygen Measurement
09.50- 10.45	Round table discussion - microfading instrumentation (standardisation, instrument design, reciprocity, the use of blue wool standards, consistency of results).
10.45-11.15	Tea and coffee break
11.15	Bertrand Lavédrine, Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections (CRCC-CNRS) – Development of Microfading Testing for Transmission Measurement on Colour Transparencies
11.35	Haida Liang, Nottingham Trent University – Developments on Portable Microfading Spectrometry
11.55	Julio M del Hoyo-Meléndez, Laboratory of Analysis and Nondestructive Investigation of Heritage Objects, National Museum of Kraków – Microfade Testing: A Promising Tool for Evaluating the Light Fastness of Coloured Fabrics and the Impacts on Lighting Policy
12.15	Eric Hagan, The Canadian Conservation Institute – An Overview of Current Light-Fastness Research at the Canadian Institute
12.35-13.35	Lunch (13.00-13.30: Poster Session)
13.35-16.00	Working session to build collaborations and develop the research agenda: What is the most important thing that this research field should do next? What will enable these technologies to reach their potential for the care of collections? Where will they have the most impact?
16.00	Close

For conference enquiries or details of concessions and bursaries please email sophie.brown@tate.org.uk.

Tate Modern  Starr Auditorium
£150 (£50 concessions), booking required