How Albany’s Heritage Sites Promote and Expand Cultural Experiences 

According to a 2013 tourism research report, the average cultural heritage tourist according is likely to spend more and stay longer when compared to the leisure traveler. The City of Albany worked with the Albany Heritage Tourism Advisory Council and Discover Albany (Albany’s Tourism Promotion Agency) to create a strategic plan specifically for heritage tourism. The Cultural Heritage and Tourism Partnership incorporated the mayor, and elected city officials, heritage sites, and Discover Albany to carry out the goals and strategies outlined by the strategic plan. 

via the Cultural Heritage and Tourism 2018 Report

Telling Albany’s Stories

In 2016, Maeve McEneny was hired as the Heritage Tourism Program Coordinator and she began with seeking input from heritage partners. “I needed to meet with the museums and figure out what we’re doing,” McEneny said. Maeve put out a call to museums and cultural sites in the Albany area to meet and talk. These quarterly meetings were marketed as “Let’s CHAT” (Cultural Heritage and Tourism) and focused on collaboration and input from the heritage tourism community to identify priorities, create visitor experiences and market these experiences to cultural heritage travelers. “I ended up doing a lot of listening and what I discovered was that there are similar types of programming happening across each site...and potential for these sites to partner together.” These partnerships were exactly what the strategic plan called for to help promote and expand Albany’s existing cultural heritage experiences. “Similar programming happens with major anniversaries like Suffrage, the Erie Canal Bicentennial, and Hamilton. Hamilton was probably one of our most popular. We knew Hamilton* fans were traveling to Schuyler Mansion but they had a capacity issue. Other sites worked together in a partnership like the Albany Institute for History & Art, Proctor’s, Ten Broeck… to get in on the Hamilton excitement and extend it,” McEneny said. “By partnering together, these heritage sites could take advantage of the tourists coming in by supporting one another.” In total, the Albany Institute, Schuyler Mansion Historic Site, and First Church took part in the “Hamilton in Albany” program. Discover Albany promoted “Hamilton in Albany” on its website, social media channels, created a brochure, and pitched it to national media. Schuyler Mansion attendance from June to September in 2016 increased by 116% and the Albany Institute attendance increased by 53%. 

*Hamilton: An American Musical is a musical about the life of AlexanderHamilton with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Some of these partnerships are planned but others evolved organically.  “Tastes and Traditions” came from a discussion between Maeve McEneny and Albany Institute Curator and MANY Board Member Diane Shewchuk at a MANY conference. “From that conversation I learned that there was a group of different heritage sites doing kitchens and I thought that it would be interesting to pitch to the group,” said McEneny. Over 80 sites and businesses participated and created 117 events and programs. Discover Albany used input from the CHAT partners and created events, tours, classes and exhibits hosted on their website as well as devoting a page to Tastes and Traditions in the Discover Albany Visitor Guide. 

Initiatives like these are why Mave McEneny says that this group works well with Discover Albany. “It’s one thing that we’re coming up with all of these plans and themes and sharing resources, but by telling me and the Discover Albany team about it, including our social media coordinator and marketing directors at these meetings (CHAT) who are looking and listening for content for the website, social media, and blog posts that we can listen for stories and connection that Discover Albany can market.” Posting events, tagging the themes on the Discover Albany website help their social media coordinator to find relevant content and write blog posts connecting similar events and programming together that can extend a visitor’s experience. “We will use it for travel writers who are coming in for a familiarization tour to help them visit multiple sites around a similar theme and that’s really the goal for when heritage tourists come in, to visit multiple sites and hopefully stay overnight. The heritage tourist is likely to spend more money and engage in cultural sites than the average, so Discover Albany wants to make the area inviting.”

Extending the Invitation Beyond Museums and Cultural Sites

The CHAT group also includes partners from outside museums and heritage sites. “We’ve invited playwrights, a dance company, artists, and others who could help us tell Albany’s stories,” said McEneny. For example, Historic Cherry Hill wanted to do Suffrage anniversary programming but did not have a direct connection to the movement (in fact the matriarch of Cherry Hill was anti-suffrage). Through the CHAT group, Historic Cherry Hill connected with Kysta Dennis, a lecturer in Creative Arts at Siena College, who wrote an original one-act play “The Burden of the Ballot.” Historic Cherry Hill and Dennis collaborated to bring this play to the site and be part of the Suffrage anniversary programming.

Artists from the Albany Center Gallery were also included in these meetings to know about important anniversaries. Discover Albany featured Herman Melville in 2017 for the 125th anniversary of his death as part of their “Literacy Legacy” program where various heritage sites and cultural institutions highlighted Melville’s life in Albany. The Albany Mural Project (Capital Walls) administered by the Albany Center Gallery had artists include a whale in some of the art murals throughout the city to accompany “Literacy Legacy.”

Collaborating Not Competing

Before the Albany Cultural Heritage Tourism Strategic Plan, Albany museums, cultural and heritage sites chose collaboration over competition back in 2010 to create Partners for Albany Stories (PASt). The group was a collaboration of historical, cultural, and preservation associations that worked together to create a comprehensive telling of Albany history. Participating organizations included the Albany City Historian, Albany County Historical Association (Ten Broeck Mansion), Albany Institute of History & Art, Crailo State Historic Site, Historic Albany Foundation, Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, New York State Capitol Tour Program, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation of NYS, Shaker Heritage Society, Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, and Historic Cherry Hill. Its creation occurred at the same time as the Regional Economic Development Council and so by partnering together, their shared goal was to seek multiple capital funding project grants for Albany’s  historic sites and developed into collaborative programming. 

Having this partnership background for Albany’s heritage sites, helped the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Partnership in 2016. “At first I thought that there might be some resistance but the cool thing about Albany was that people were hungry to work with each other...they wanted to share and they were excited about the people that they met [at these meetings],” said McEneny. 

The Future?

The CHAT group has made significant progress since its creation in 2016 to create immersive visitor experiences with collaborative input from the Albany heritage tourism community. With a strong partnership foundation, Maeve McEneny says that the group is looking to what the next step is. “In 2020, sharing resources and continuing education are two areas of focus. We recently worked with Advance Media who lead a Facebook training workshop for the group.” 

Discovery Albany is also helping to track attendance figures year over year to help recognize trends, track the impact of marketing campaigns, and help to identify priorities which are shared with the CHAT partners. 

According to the CHAT Report, a total of $58,277 has been spent on advertising for heritage tourism including digital and printed materials to promote new tourism products created by Discover ALbany and the CHAT partners and to capitalize on the heritage tourist.

Want to bring this type of initiative to your own Tourism Promotion Agency?

“Start with your heritage partners first,” said McEneny. “Put a call out to directors and museum educators to come together and talk and then approach your TPA where you can show them the successes of coming together as a unified voice.”

Further Reading / Resources

Cultural Heritage and Tourism Results Report

https://www.albany.org/partners/cultural-heritage-and-tourism 

Albany Heritage Tourism

https://www.albany.org/things-to-do/albany-heritage-tourism/

The Role of a Museum Editor 

Megan Eves’ Interview with Richard Price, Museum Editor at the Corning Museum of Glass

Recently retired at the end of September Richard Price has worked at The Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) since April 1985. As the Head of Publications, Price has edited every edition of the Museum’s annual publication including prestigious Journal of Glass Studies, Notable Acquisitions, and the contemporary glass exhibition-in-print, New Glass Review. Additionally, Price edited every catalog for Museum exhibitions and other publications among the best known: Glass from World’s Fairs, 1851-1904 (1986), Drawing upon Nature: Studies for the Blasckas’ Glass Models (2007), and Tiffany’s Glass Mosaics (2017) which won the W.E. Fischelis Award from The Victorian Society in America. 

I spoke with Price to learn more about how he entered the museum field, his time as Museum Editor at CMOG, and reflected back on some of his favorite projects.

Richard Price, Head of Publications at The Corning Museum of Glass poses with a few of the publications he has worked on throughout his thirty five year with the Museum.

Megan: Describe what you did as a museum editor at CMOG. What are the main roles/responsibilities? 

Price: I edited the manuscripts for the publications from academic journals to annual reports to collection and exhibition catalogues. I worked closely with curators and with writers for our academic journals who came from around the world. I enjoyed learning about these different subject areas that were sometimes very different from what the museum was pursuing but they gave me an opportunity to learn from these scholars. I enjoyed encouraging help these young people to get their work published, get it up to standard, and I thought that was a very useful thing to do. I was very touched by these people who when they learned I was leaving they took the time to write and thank me. 

How did you enter the museum field? How did you end up being CMOG’s museum editor for over thirty years? What were you doing before?

When I went to journalism school, I learned that I wanted to be an editor so I took those classes out of sequence. I jumped all news writing prerequisite to take editing. I had a wonderful teacher who worked with me and really taught me my craft. I worked for our local newspaper on and off for ten years. I also worked in the local library. I started at the museum in 1985 so I already had experience working with the local newspaper The Leader in Corning and what was then the Corning Area Public LIbrary and those were good stepping stones to what I ultimately did. 

I left The Leader in 1984 and basically was between jobs for a year. My mother ran a store on Market Street in Corning and put me to work. Someone let her know that the person in charge of publications at the Corning Museum of Glass was going to retire and my mom said “you need to apply for this.”

I was familiar with the museum because of our four generations of family connections. Starting with my grandfather who designed the 200-inch disk for the reflector telescope for the Palomar Observatory. He worked for what was then Corning Glassworks. who designed the 200-inch mirror blank for the Hale Telescope—the single largest piece of Pyrex ever made—which allowed astronomers to see farther into space than ever before. Still today, it resides at the Palomar Observatory in California. The first, failed attempt at this giant piece of cast glass is a staple of the collection of The Corning Museum of Glass. My dad was an othormic engineer. He worked on what were then photoray lens that darken in the sunlight. He would travel to Arizona with a colleague and they would put samples on a roof of a motel and test them for how quickly the lenses would darken and then fade. So I’m the third generation and my daughter works here now as the Media & Public Relations Manager. My son worked he for a number of years as a security guard, so the family is well represented here. It’s a wonderful place to work and it’s given me the opportunity to learn more about a subject that connects with a lot of people in my family. So I’ve had the opportunity to put out publications for the museum that is probably at the forefront of its field which is a humbling experience from time to time. 

Rick with his wife, Sheila, and daughter Kim Thompson

What made you excited about editing catalogs for CMOG?

I feel that it is a very important role that you are backstopping the institution. You’re trying to prevent the material misstatement. You're trying to prevent errors of any kind and it’s a big task but it’s rewarding.

Can you share a favorite project?

One of my favorite projects was Cage Cups: Late Roman Luxury Glass by the late Dr. David Whitehouse, a former director of the museum. This was a project of which I was blissfully unaware until one day Whitehouse called me over to his desk and let me know that he had been working on this publication quietly for years. He shared that he had recently received an unfortunate diagnosis and would die within months from the time we met. He asked me if I could handle it. Of course I said yes. I knew that cage cups where the luxury glass of the Roman Empire. There are not many of them but they are phenomenal pieces. There are some disagreements about how they were made and so Dr. Whitehouse wanted to produce a book that would bring the findings of the day that would give a good context and make it a very readable book. 

After he passed, we learned of some cage cups of which he was unaware. I started digging around with help from one of the former curators and we were able to identify and locate thirteen additional cage cups. We went to publication with over eighty cage cups identified. The discovery of these cage cups gave me the opportunity to interview excavators, curators, museum directors and others who had a hand in finding these things. It was really gratifying and because in some cases people were so excited to be part of the book that they provided photographs free of charge, they gave us copies of documents that helped that section come alive. I know that a lot of people in the curatorial world were aware that he [Whitehouse] was writing the book but I was not until he gave it to me about six/eight months before he died and I just took it as valedictory work. Dr. Whitehouse was one of the leading scholars of ancient Islamic glass in the world. I was very honored to work with him and edit his exhibition and scholarly catalogue. It was a great joy for me to bring Cage Cups to publication in late 2015.

 

A favorite project of Price’s was his work on the publication Cage Cups: Late Roman Luxury Glass by the late Dr. David Whitehouse, a former director of the Museum. Whitehouse’s book was incomplete at the time of his death, and Price continued his research, talking with curators and excavators around the world and uncovering a number of additional masterpieces which were included in the publication.

What did you learn from editing your first catalog to the most recent?

I learned as you went. One of the things that I did was put together a museum style manual that I had originally intended for my own use. I used it for the academic and popular adult publications. I put it together over the years as I learned different things. I built a fairly long vocabulary list and needed to know how these words were spelled, what they meant and how they were used. 

Every project was different. It wasn’t a case of becoming more and more confident in a particular area because people were writing about different things and you had to familiarize yourself with everything but you learned from each and every one of them. Because I was focused on one thing at a time, I were able to devote more time to digging deeper and make suggestions to authors such as “should we include something like this?” or “is that pertinent?” I was able to engage in a dialogue with them more by virtue of the fact that over the years I have learned cumulatively from a number of projects. 

What advice would you give someone looking to do something similar to your position?

I think that the only thing you can do it that’s the kind of thing you want to do is to make inquiries to museums. I know that there are a number of museums that do some publications, some more than others, but some of it is freelance work and some of it is staff. I don’t know that you can study it in an academic environment but  you get involved in museums and express and interests and if you've studied journalism or have taken courses in editing like from the American Society of Copyeditors that would be a good stepping stone to get into this kind of work.  

As you retire from your position, what else stands out about your time at CMOG?

Every project has been important to me, we have put out a number of books either as catalogues or as adjunct materials for an exhibition, some of those are more popular books, others are more scholarly but each one I have felt has been very important. It’s one thing when you’re working in the field of newspapers and magazines, those things are here today and gone tomorrow but in the world of glass and particularly glass scholarship I have been very mindful of the fact that our books are meant to last generations. It was vitally important that we devote the time and effort to make these things free of misstatement or free of factual errors and getting them right for scholars for generations to come.

New York State Council on the Arts Awards

Museum Association of New York $46,000

New York State Council on the Arts Grants Support

Vital Cultural Programs Statewide

New York, NY— The Museum Association of New York today announced that it has been awarded two grants totaling $46,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) for FY2020 with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. NYSCA grants support the transformative impact of the performing, literary, visual and media arts in New York State.

The Museum Association of New York is one of 462 arts organizations across New York State receiving a total of $8,383,993 million in grants through NYSCA’s Round II FY2020 funding to support arts programs that drive New York State’s economic growth and community health.

 “The arts and culture are a critical driver of health in people and places,” said Mara Manus, Executive Director, New York State Council on the Arts. “Our state’s creative industries generate a total of $120 billion to the state economy, account for 466,000 jobs, and play a significant role in revitalization, education and social justice.”

"NYSCA's support of MANY's annual conference and programs throughout the year helps us serve museums and museum professionals across the state no matter their geographic location, budget size, or discipline" said Erika Sanger, Executive Director Museum Association of New York. "New York's Museums steward and share our state's history, arts, and culture with audiences and support for professional development is critical to advancing and sustaining our sector."

NYSCA will award a total of $41 million to arts organizations across New York State for FY2020. The second of three rounds of NYSCA funding for FY2020 includes support for museums, theatres, and arts organizations that drive tourism and anchor communities and arts education programs essential to learning for all ages, including public school students, aging populations and at-risk youth.

NYSCA Round II grants also support creative arts programs promoting physical and mental health and personal and professional development in historically underserved and vulnerable communities, including those in geographically remote areas; disabled communities; impoverished and homeless populations; and justice-involved youth and adults.

The Museum Association of New York received funding through NYSCA’s Folk Arts Program Project Support for the Museum and Folk Arts Forum as part of “The Power of Partnership” 2020 annual conference in Albany, NY. This Forum will explore and strengthen the ways in which museums and folklorists can work together to build understanding around shared informal learning practices, investigate how folk arts can strengthen the interpretation and presentation of community traditions in museums, how museum audiences can experience traditional arts, and how folk arts can build relationships between museums and their communities.  

The Museum Association of New York also received funding through NYSCA’s Museum Program for annual statewide support for “The Power of Partnership” 2020 annual conference, professional development workshops, and the Museum Institute at Great Camp Sagamore.

Annually, NYSCA grants are awarded in 15 discipline programs and the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. Over the last two years, NYSCA has awarded an additional $30 million in capital funding to 71 organizations statewide fueling community development and tourism, and will announce additional capital grant awards this year.

“New York’s cultural sector is a driving force in our state’s economy,” said Katherine Nicholls, Chair, New York State Council on the Arts.  “As our arts organizations expand their audiences and programs with NYSCA support, we will serve many more New Yorkers and build the vitality of our communities statewide.”    

NYSCA Round II grant awards were made through the agency’s Arts Education, Special Arts Services, Museum, Theatre, Music, Dance, Literature, and Visual Arts Programs. A list of NYSCA grantees searchable by program and location is available here.

Additional NYSCA funding will be announced in late 2019, including support for presenting organizations, individual artist commissions, and, through the Regional Economic Development Council, programs driving economic growth and building New York State’s workforce.

About The New York State Council on the Arts
 
The New York State Council on the Arts champions community and creativity by preserving and advancing numerous aspects of the cultural heritage that makes New York State an exceptional place to live, work and visit.

NYSCA upholds the right of all New Yorkers to experience the vital contributions the arts make to our communities, education, economic development and quality of life. Through its core grantmaking activity, NYSCA awarded $51M in FY2019 to 2,400 organizations statewide through direct grants and regrants in our 15 programs, the Regional Economic Development Council initiative and the Mid-Size Capital Project Fund. NYSCA funding supports the visual, literary, media and performing arts and includes dedicated support for arts education and underserved communities. NYSCA further advances New York's creative culture by hosting convenings with leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources.

Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960, and continued and expanded to the present day with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, NYSCA is an agency of the Executive Branch of the New York State Government. For more information on NYSCA, please visit: www.arts.ny.gov.  

About the Museum Association of New York (MANY)

The Museum Association of New York inspires, connects, and strengthens New York’s cultural community statewide by advocating, educating, collaborating, and supporting professional standards and organizational development. MANY ensures that New York State museums operate at their full potential as economic drivers and essential components of their communities. For more information on MANY, please visit: www.nysmuseums.org.

Wayne Higby,Director and Chief Curator, Alfred Ceramic Art Museum; Brian Whisenhunt, Executive Director Rockwell Museum of American Art and MANY Board Member;  Erika Sanger, and Susan Kowalczyk, Curator of Collections and Director of Research, Alfred Ceramic Museum

Dear Members of our Museum Community,

I have found that inspiration can come from bewildering sources and energy can flow from unpredictable places. Then there are the sure things--places I can go and people I can turn to when the edges of my thoughts get fuzzy and I can’t quite figure out the next best step in a process. Museums, gardens, and places where water meets land have been my touchstones and my mentors have been generous. 

One of things that surprised me most when I began my work at MANY was the energy created when a group of people who share a commitment to our communities’ access to our history, heritage, and culture come together. At our Meet-Ups and Workshops this fall I felt rooms buzz with conversation, heard laughter echoing off walls, and felt warm greetings from colleagues. 

I’ve been traveling quite a bit this season and you might have seen me arrive somewhere a bit road weary. But a quiet walk through a gallery or an historic site, a cup of coffee, and an inspiring conversation later, the fatigue has worn off and I actually may find it hard to fall asleep later that night, my brain filled with overflowing thoughts. 

By the time we reach the last MANY Workshop and Meet–Up at Dia Beacon on November 13, we will have spent time with more than 400 colleagues in twelve different places. I know we are making a difference in the lives of museum professionals by creating a community that enjoys coming together, sharing knowledge, and supporting each other’s work, not just by the buzz and the energy, but through incredibly affirming notes we received from colleagues this fall:

Thank you for renewing my spirit here!  It was a great event and the meet and greet, also awesome. The most connected I have felt, in a long time.

This Meet-Up was another great opportunity to promote unity within the local museum field, thanks to MANY.

Really enjoyed meeting the folks -- and it seems we all have the same obstacles -- but it helps to talk about it.

Our 2020 annual conference The Power of Partnership will be in Albany March 29-31 with exciting tours, workshops, and a special pre-conference Folk Art Forum on March 28. Proposals are flowing in and it is going to be an amazing lineup of sessions. I hope you can join us. We need your support to continue to offer these opportunities in every region in our state. Our annual appeal letter will be coming your way soon. If you attended a program this fall, used our job board to help you hire staff, or accessed resources on our website, you know how MANY is making a difference and helping our museum community succeed. You can also donate now through our website and save a stamp! 

With thanks for your energy and your inspiration,

By Kate Jacus, The Photo Curator, LLC

If you work or volunteer at a museum, library, or historical society, you know that objects should be displayed and stored in archival-quality materials. “Acid-free,” “lignin-free,” and “photo safe” are terms that get used a lot, but what do they really mean when it comes to your photography collection? There is more to a material being archivally safe than its pH measurement and lignin content. Understanding the science of what makes something archival can help you make informed decisions about the materials you use to protect your institutions’ cultural heritage. Photographs are the standard baseline material for measuring archival quality. 

ISO 18902

ISO 18902 is an international standard that covers archival materials. You may have heard of ISO numbers in relation to film speed, or in a manufacturing setting. The International Organization for Standardization develops specifications for products, services, and systems, to ensure quality, safety and efficiency. There are over 22,000 standards ranging from railway engineering to food technology that answer the question: “what’s the best way of doing this?” 

The standard’s full title is ISO 18902:2013 Imaging materials — Processed imaging materials — Albums, framing and storage materials. The standard is overseen by a Technical Committee, TC-42, Photography. Because photography is a sensitive medium, the standard is  a good baseline from which to judge archival products. If a material is safe to use with photos, you can assume it will be safe for other, more stable, objects. The ‘2013’ in the title refers to the date of the last revision; further information on the ISO website shows that the standard was confirmed in 2018 after a five year review. 

The standard covers the entire range of products that you might use for storage, display, or labeling, including papers, plastics, adhesives, and printer ink. Each type of material must meet a standards set with different combinations of tests and requirements. Only materials that meet ALL specifications of this standard can be considered photo-safe, and thus archival. 

It’s worth noting here that the standard’s definition of photo-safe refers only to the chemical reactivity of a material and does not apply to how it might interact physically with a photograph or object.

Image Permanence Institute

We are lucky in Rochester to be the home of the Image Permanence Institute (IPI), an academic research center at Rochester Institute of Technology.  They have long been involved in developing international standards, including part of ISO 18902, the Photographic Activity Test. Among other things, they are an independent laboratory providing testing for ISO 18902. Companies send samples of their products to IPI where they run a series of five tests related to the standard.

This image is from an IPI chart, showing the five tests that make up ISO 18902, what they test for, what part of a photograph is affected, and the damage that can be caused to each layer of the photograph. Uncovering the science behind these tests gives high level overview of what it means for a material to be archival.

The Five Tests

The PAT, or Photographic Activity Test, is actually an ISO standard in and of itself, developed by IPI. It’s a very good measure of archival quality, but not the full measure. IPI tests samples of materials by layering them in a very particular order in little jigs, or casings. These are placed in an incubator for 15 days to simulate aging in high heat and humidity. After this tropical sojourn, scientists test those materials for oxidation and reduction reactions, which cause fading, spots, and silver mirroring, and also for chromophores (the part of a molecule responsible for its color) which cause yellowing. 

All of the materials covered in ISO 18902 must pass the PAT.  

Next is the pH test only performed on paper and adhesives for ISO 18902 Acids, are naturally occurring in wood pulp used in  paper, and are damaging to many kinds of materials. Highly alkaline environments can also cause decay. IPI does a simple pH test on materials, looking for the pH to be in the neutral range of 6 -7  for unbuffered paper and the alkaline 8 - 10 range for buffered paper. 

The bump into alkaline territory for buffered paper is due to the alkaline reserve, or amount of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) embedded in the paper during production. This calcium carbonate neutralizes acids either present in the environment or created through deterioration in storage, acting as a buffer and protecting your objects. The third ISO 18902 test, for alkaline reserve, only applies to paper. IPI soaks a sample in water, then measures  the amount of acid necessary to neutralize the alkaline buffering; looking for an alkaline reserve of at least 2% CaCO₃.

The fourth test, the Kappa test, also only applies to paper. Lignin is the “glue” that holds the wood together, and during the pulping process, it gets removed from the wood fibers. The most common measurement of lignin is the Kappa number, which IPI measures by breaking down the paper sample back into pulp form, soaking the pulp in a chemical solution, and measuring the results. . To be considered lignin-free, paper has to have a Kappa number of less than 5, on a scale of 1 - 100.  

The final test of ISO 18902 is the colorant bleed, and it applies to both paper and labeling materials. IPI tests if dyes or pigments used to either color paper or to write and print on it, have the potential to stain things touching them. The test material is held next to some bond paper and soaked in water to see if anything transfers when it shouldn't.

Get The Numbers

So what can you do with this newfound knowledge? Be an informed consumer for your institution. If a product is labeled “acid-free” or “photo safe” but does not give you any additional specs to back up that claim, you can’t be positive it’s archival quality. Reputable archival suppliers will list detailed specifications about their products that include these test results. 

With the best quality archival products your institution can get, the objects in your care will have the best possible shot at longevity, and visitors decades from now will have you to thank!

Renderings of the new main entrance of The Eastman Museum. 

Image courtesy of The Eastman Museum.

Within the last few months, the Eastman Museum has received two National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants and two Institute for Library and Museum Services (IMLS) grants with a combined total of  $1.3 million dollars. The Museum also received $1 million from the New York State Council on the Arts in 2018. These public funds will help implement facilities improvement projects that will create a new accessible main entrance and welcome center as well as restoration work on the historic mansion and gardens— one of Rochester’s National Historic Landmarks. While restoration for the historic Colonnade began this August, construction for the new main entrance and visitor center will begin in January 2020 and is expected to be completed in July 2020. 

The Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY was founded in 1947.  It is the world’s oldest photography museum and is one of the world’s oldest film archives. A leader in film preservation and photographic conservation, the Eastman houses several million objects in its collection of photographs, film, cinema, photographic and cinematographic technology. 

Funding the Visitor Center

“The visitor center project was initiated by a longtime museum patron with a $1.1 million donation, which was matched by a $1 million grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) in conjunction with the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council,” said Kellie Fraver, Public Relations Manager for the Eastman Museum. ESL Federal Credit Union also purchased the naming rights to the new visitor center— the new ESL Federal Credit Union pavilion. In total, over $5 million has been raised so far for the project with another $1 million to complete the capital campaign. The Museum is offering naming rights to the cafe, shop, and foyer to help raise the remaining funds for project completion. 

Conceptualizing the Visitor Experience

Interior rendering of the new visitor center. Image courtesy of The Eastman Museum.

The current visitor entrance and gallery spaces were built in 1989. For the past twenty-five years the museum staff have discussed  moving that visitor entrance to a more prominent location. This new entrance, new gallery and collection storage building facing University Avenue was originally planned to include a new parking lot that was closer to the entrance. However, due to budget limitations, this parking lot was never built. “The museum’s current main entrance is inconvenient and hard to find for those who arrive by car—the vast majority of our visitors. During inclement weather, getting from one’s car to the main entrance can be unpleasant and potentially hazardous, especially for those with limited mobility,” wrote Bruce Barnes, PhD, Ron and Donna Fielding Director of the Eastman Museum in the Eastman Museum January/February 2019 Bulletin. To improve the visitor experience, new exterior and interior spaces will be reconfigured to be more welcoming, to increase accessible parking, accommodate buses, enlarge and upgrade the cafe, and renovate the Curtis Theatre into a multi-use space. 

The 1989 visitor entrance will move near where the current Dryden Theatre location is today, off of the main parking lot. Visitors will enter a glass and steel structure in front of the west facade of the one-story building, originally George Eastman’s garage and where the current museum cafe and shop are located. “The structure is designed to allow the historic facade of the garage to be visible from both within and outside the pavilion,” said Fraver. “Through the new entrance, visitors will be served by a new admissions desk, gathering spaces, a resigned cafe with additional seating in the historic Palm house, and a more misson-focused shop.”

Designed like a promenade, the new entrance will serve as the starting point for visitors into the Eastman Museum. The entrance to the Curtis Theatre, the museum shop, and the expanded cafe will all be designed around this visitor space. 

First Impressions

The Eastman Museum relied on visitor engagement data to help with decisions on transforming their own visitor engagement. Survey data from a Culture Track research study “of the changing behaviors of cultural audiences  illuminated the length of time it took visitors to experience art at cultural institutions and how that affects their overall experience. The Eastman Museum took a cue from its Kodak history and is transforming an unsightly wall (hiding cooling towers from the HVAC system) to create a “Colorama.” Kodak’s “Colorama”  was a large photographic display located on the east balcony inside New York City’s Grand Central Terminal starting in the 1950s to the 1990s that was used to advertise the Eastman Kodak Company. The “Colorama” at the Eastman Museum will feature advertisements for museum programming and events as well as commissioned public art murals. It will be one of the first things seen by museum visitors as they access the new main entrance. The Museum estimates that it will need to raise $375,000 to not only create this dynamic, first impression display, but to establish an endowment to ensure the continuation of its displays. 

New first impressions continue inside with interpretive panels that will introduce visitors to the museum. These panels will help illustrate the timeline of George Eastman’s life and the history of photography, including “Snapshot Photography” that will allow visitors to see themselves in the history of photography. With all of these new changes, there are also discussions on what these new spaces will mean for their interpretative plan which asks:

• What should the visitor experience first inside the museum? 

• Should they tour the hour first or explore the gallery space? 

• How do we animate the gallery space? 

• Is this where the tour ends? 

These questions and others are being asked as the museum looks to what comes during and after these major capital improvement projects to their facilities. Beyond creating a more welcoming visitor entrance and more dynamic spaces, how the visitor will interact past the admissions desk in its new space, is a critical next step and an opportunity for the Eastman Museum to re-evaluate its interpretative strategy. The Eastman Museum plans to apply for another IMLS grant to create a new entrance into the historic house through the kitchen rather than the dining room. “It’s where George Eastman’s kitchen was [the new entrance to the house] because what we would like to do… the whole photography for George Eastman started in his mother’s kitchen in his boyhood home. So how perfect to have something where you start in the kitchen to tell the story,”  said Eliza Kozlowski, Director of Marketing and Engagement at the Eastman Museum. “You’re in the kitchen and this is where it all began.”

Visitors entering through the conservatory during the temporary construction route of the Colonnade.

New Spaces and Staffing

This project will also transform theatre spaces like the Curtis into multi-function spaces by exposing the original carriage house windows and moving the entrance tohave easy access from the new promenade in the new visitor center. Blackout curtains and a drop-down screen will still allow this space to be used as a theater while also creating a new space for other programming and events.

The museum store is expected to reduce its size to around 400 square feet. Inventory has already been reduced and the museum will focus on selling items unique to the Eastman Museum–branding, photographers, Rochester based items, etc. rather than generic gifts.

The new location of the admissions desk will have the museum store office located behind, creating an opportunity for some shared staffing.  The museum already has four staff members that were originally part of the contract guard service but are now employed by the museum to serve as “guard/hosts” and the museum ideally would like to create more multi-role positions. 

New main entrance and visitor center plan. Image courtesy of The Eastman Museum.

Messaging and Marketing

“At one point we had this tagline that was ‘opening new doors’ that we wanted to have as part of this project but once it became this bigger visitor center we had to rethink that tagline,” said Kozlowski.  “Our challenge with the messaging is not over-promising in that we’re saying transforming ‘our visitor experience’ rather than transforming ‘the visitor experience’ because the rest of the experience is not going to be very different it’s the idea that being more welcoming, being more accessible the whole cafe, store, the new experience there...a new interpretive panel as an introduction to the museum...so were rethinking the map as far as how we position what the visitor will experience first,” said Kozlowski. 

The Eastman Museum has already released the initial announcement with renderings of the visitor center as well as introducing project signage throughout the museum. Additional promotion will be included in the museums’ e-newsletter and social media channels and will grow closer to January 2020 when the project will officially begin. Media announcements will be made as the project progresses until the mid-July ribbon cutting.

Kathleen Connor, Curator, George Eastman Legacy Collection, with museum signage regarding the restoration and preservation work.

Other signage regarding the restoration and preservation work of the historic mansion can be found throughout helping to guide visitors through temporary routes (calling them “construction detours”) but also educating the public about what kind of work is happening and its significance. Signs encourage further information available on the museum website.

“Construction Detour” sign for the new route into the historic mansion.

Restoration Priorities

Originally, the new visitor entrance was going to begin this year, but the museum was happy to delay in favor of critical restoration projects for the historic house. The historic Eastman mansion received two federal grants. The first was a Save America’s Treasures grants of nearly $500,000 for the restoration of the Colonnade of George Eastman’s mansion which began this past summer. This project will continue to transform the visitor experience into the historic house as the Colonnade is the only interior route between the museum’s main entrance and galleries and the historic mansion and Terrace Garden.

Historic Colonnade during construction.

Because of this massive project, the Colonnade was closed, re-routing visitors outside through the Terrace Garden and entering the historic mansion through the conservatory. The Dryden Theatre was also closed as the Colonnade serves as a path of egress for two emergency exits from the theatre. 

Historic Colonnade under restoration.

But this project was not only to help the deteriorating floor structure of the Colonnade but to create a more comfortable visitor experience year-round with a new insulated glass system and a new heating and cooling system. 

It is the largest project in the ongoing restoration. “Restoration has been completed on the Palm House, the Porte-cochere, the conservatory roof and clerestory windows, the North Organ, and the East Porch. The next project will be the restoration of 68 windows in the mansion. The Eastman Museum is currently applying for a grant from the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for the restoration of the historic garden structures—the pergola in the Terrace Garden, the Grape Arbor in the Rock Garden, and the loggia in the West Garden,” said Kellie Fraver. 

The new main entrance and visitor center will help to transform the visitor experience at the Eastman Museum. These projects will make the Eastman Museum “a more welcoming museum” as Executive Director Barnes remarked. Support from State and Federal funding demonstrate commitment to improving the visitor experience as well as d the economic and social impact that museums like the Eastman contribute to their communities. 

Further Reading / Resources

Director’s Note: Grants Enable Major Projects

https://medium.com/george-eastman-museum/directors-note-grants-enable-major-projects-22921bac0da8 

Restoration & Construction

https://www.eastman.org/restoration-construction

New Visitor Center

https://www.eastman.org/new-visitor-center

IMLS “Save America’s Treasures” Grant Funding

https://www.imls.gov/grants/available/save-americas-treasures

2019 “Access and Identity” annual conference Cassetti Scholarship Recipient

By Meredith Horsford, Executive Director, Dyckman Farmhouse

 

Meredith Horsford, Executive Director of the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum at the Otesaga Resort Hotel during the 2019 annual conference in Cooperstown, NY

I was honored to be named the inaugural recipient of the Cassetti Scholarship for the Museum Association of New York’s Annual Conference. This scholarship provided my small nonprofit organization with the funds necessary for me to attend and present at the April 2019 Museum Association of New York Annual Conference: Access and Identity.

As the Executive Director of the Dyckman Farmhouse, a small historic house museum built in 1784 and the last remaining farmhouse in Manhattan, our small budget and staff size often makes it difficult to set aside the time and financial resources for valuable professional development opportunities such as the MANY Annual Conference. It was a great experience to be able to attend the 2019 conference for many reasons. One of the most important reasons was the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum's ongoing DyckmanDISCOVERED initiative. We are beginning a new phase here at the farmhouse in which we are in the midst of fleshing out the narrative of the people that were enslaved by the Dyckmans. Our first step in this initiative is a year-long installation by local artist, Peter Hoffmeister, whose site specific artwork was inspired by the slave burial ground that was on the Dyckman property. Like many burial grounds of its kind, unfortunately, it was paved over, disrespected, and forgotten.. Today, of a NYC public school and a parking lot covers the site The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum has been working with elected officials to get a commemorative plaque for the site. Hoffmeister's art installation is the first time that the farmhouse has provided the public with information about the enslaved, as we have very little information in our records despite their large contributions to the farmhouse. The next phase of the initiative is currently underway. With the help of a grant from The New York Community Trust, The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance has hired a research assistant to do additional research on the enslaved on the Dyckman property as well as the enslaved in what is now Upper Manhattan, as it was quite different from lower Manhattan. Our next steps will include developing ways that this new research can be infused into everything that we do from public programs, to tours, to the objects in the period rooms.   

The DyckmanDISCOVERED initiative fit quite well with the theme of the 2019 MANY Conference and was a perfect place to make connections with colleagues, discuss these topics, challenges and achievements, and to think outside of the box, especially as it relates to the stories that museums tell and choose not to tell. Some of the sessions that stood out most to me were, "The Practice of Mindful Leadership," and "Accessing the Untold Stories of Slavery in Martin Van Buren's Home." It was wonderful to have the opportunity to see how other institutions are addressing similar themes and in the case of the Van Buren home, thinking about how small amounts of information can make a big impact in your organization's narrative. The conference was also the first time that I was able to present with a group of my colleagues about “Using Institutional Values to Center Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” at the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum and other peer institutions. This is a presentation that, as a group, we have re-presented different versions at two subsequent conferences. The sessions that I attended were useful to me not only in my day-to-day life as a museum leader but also in thinking about the institution’s next steps. Also, having grown up in Cooperstown, it was great to have an excuse to go back and visit the area, which is beautiful in the spring. I greatly appreciate the opportunity and look forward to attending the MANY Conference in the future.

Learn more about the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum.

Applications for our 2020 Conference Scholarships close on December 2. To learn more about scholarships available to attend The Power of Partnership 2020 annual conference in Albany, March 29-31 please visit: nysmuseums.org/conference-scholarship

Letter from Erika

But What do you Mean by Partnership?

Last week we announced the Call for Proposals for our 2020 annual conference that will be held in Albany March 29 -31. Pre-conference events on March 28 will include hands-on workshops, special architectural and behind the scenes tours and a day-long museums and folklore forum. The conference theme, “The Power of Partnership” was inspired by a group that called itself Partners for Albany Stories whose work which began a decade ago has fueled a blossoming cultural heritage initiative. As Albany is our host site, I wanted to spotlight the power that this group created by coming together to create real change in the city.

The theme was also inspired by Hannah Fox, our 2020 Keynote speaker. Hannah’s works in cross-sector collaborative projects put people at the heart of how places, products and services are co-designed. She is the Director of Projects and Programmes for Derby Museums (UK) and has embedded co-production and human-centered design methodologies into the re-development of Derby Silk Mill, the site of the world's first factory, as the UK’s new Museum of Making.

I am writing this letter from The Museum Institute at Great Camp Sagamore and our lead presenter Tonya Matthews mentioned the often cited proverb that I will paraphrase as “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Three of the key qualities that she believes define successful, inclusive leaders are that they are curious, cognizant, and collaborative. 

I got a call from a colleague the week we released the Call for Proposals. They asked me what we meant by “partnership.” I replied that I was looking forward to reading the proposals that will be submitted and learning how we all are growing and changing the field by working together.

Inspiring Funding for Small Museums

The IMLS’s The Inspire! grant program for small museums grew out of a special initiative from their Museums for America program and was first offered in 2018 for grants to be implemented in 2019. Inspire! grants help applicants build capacity without concern for matching funds. Although both Inspire! and the Museums for America grant programs fund similar projects, the difference is the funding available and cost-share required. The program goal for Inspire! is to support small museums in addressing priorities identified in their strategic plans.

Inspire! Project Categories

Lifelong Learning

• supports projects that position museums as unique teaching organizations. Projects include inclusive educational opportunities that address particular audience needs.

Collections Stewardship and Public Access

• supports the role of museums as trusted stewards of museum collections. This program category focuses on the desire to improve long term collection care. It funds conservation treatments, rehousing projects, cataloging, and increase collection access via digitization.

Community Anchors and Catalysts

• supports museums as essential partners in addressing the needs of their communities. This program helps museums leverage their expertise with their communities.

80 to 85% of the applications submitted for an Inspire! grant were for projects in the Lifelong Learning and Collections Stewardship categories; Community Anchors and Catalysts comprise the remaining 15%.

Lifelong Learning and Community Anchors projects often overlap with similar activities and project types. However, Lifelong Learning projects are internally focused and evolve from the museum's strategic plan or from museum staff. Community Anchor projects are externally focused and evolve from the needs within the museum's community, such as new Americans seeking help to reach job readiness. Museums can assist and provide the resources needed including space for meetings, technology access, and citizenship training. 

“Multiple community institutions will come together around this need,” said Reagan Moore, IMLS Museum Program Officer. “One successful community project that came from Lynchburg, VA children’s museum [Amazement Square] that identified the need to help with childhood obesity so it partnered with health organizations and schools. It saw a lot of people come together around that one need in the community.”

CASE STUDY: The Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor

Project Category: Lifelong Learning

The Whaling Museum & Education Center, Cold Spring Harbor

The Whaling Museum & Education Center received Inspire! Funding for their Reach! Initiative project that helped the museum expand educational programs to youth in underserved communities on Long Island.  IMLS funding helped the museum reach a new audience and increased their great impact in their community.

This was the first IMLS grant The Whaling Museum has received since 2000. Executive Director Nomi Dayan said that the museum was waiting for the right type of funder for this project.

“I felt like this worked because when we looked at their priorities it just seemed to align, even though their [IMLS] priorities are broad...they put a spotlight on reaching underserved communities. When I looked at past funded grants to see are they funding exhibits or are they doing more programming and I felt that this project dovetailed with a lot of previous programs that they had funded. I think the biggest change was judging small museums on their own and it makes such a difference,” said The Whaling Museum Executive Director Nomi Dayan.

Museums for America v. Inspire! Grants for Small Museums

“For many years we heard anecdotally that IMLS doesn’t support small museums, which isn’t true, but we understand that a lot of museums find it difficult to go through the process of applying for a federal grant,” said Moore “Small museums have been successful with Museums for America but we changed certain aspects of the process to make it simpler...like the narrative isn’t as long and the cost-share requirements isn’t required like it is in Museums for America.”

“The cost share difference is a big think,” said Mark Feitly, IMLS Museum Program Officer. “I think places not only had the correct perception that they were too small to receive federal funding but they could not come up with the cost share and that it was too much of a challenge for them. We removed that barrier for them to request IMLS funds. [These institutions] can include staff salaries or whatever for cost share and that’s fine, but it is not required and will not affect their [grant] review in any way.”

IMLS expected between 100 - 115 applications for the first round of Inspire! grants, but received over 200. They funded 30 totaling more than $1.1 million. This strong response confirmed the need for grant funding opportunities specific to small museums.

Operating through a national lens, it is difficult for IMLS to define  “small.” A small zoo differs from a historical society -- or a museum in Kansas may differ not only in collection size but in metropolitan area population and demographics  from a museum in New York State with the same physical plant footprint. “We’re asking museums to make the case for why they are small,” said Reagan.

Museums can use the following attributes:

• staff size (paid and volunteers)

• operating budget

• collection size

• building/property size

• audience served

• size relative to other organizations of similar discipline

• geographical region

CASE STUDY: Defining The Whaling Museum & Education Center as a Small Museum

“We identify as a small museum...our tagline is Small Museum—Big Story and we’re the smallest whaling museum in the country,” said Executive Director Dayan. The museum also specified their budget size, staff, and collection size. “Our collection is the smallest. We have 6,000 objects and the largest whaling museum has 3 million.” The Whaling Museum also incorporated public perception into their small museum identity. “A lot of our visitors who leave online reviews will write ‘small museum but…’ or ‘this place is small but with a huge knowledge of whaling.’ In half of the online reviews, people mention our size because our physical building is small and people are surprised by how small we are when they come, but there is a lot packed in here...so not only do we think we’re small but that’s the public perception too,” said Dayan.

What does IMLS Inspire! grants fund?

IMLS funding can support salaries for those working on the project. This can include existing staff or hiring new staff. A majority of applicants request funds to hire temporary staff for the project. For example, a museum could hire a curator for a two year contract position to help them execute the project.

Peer reviews will comment on the sustainability for salary costs.

"Reviewers will ask questions about the hire rate and what will happen to that person when the project is over. Successful applications discuss sustainability to keep that person on staff for as long as necessary," said Moore.

Other eligible funding categories include:

• supplies

• materials

• equipment

• travel costs

• contractors, or work with an exhibit design firm

IMLS does not fund construction costs or general operating expenses.

Advice from IMLS for First Time Applicants

“Successful applicants are the ones who have reached out to us...it’s not always the case but those who take the time on the front end to set up conference calls or email us to get feedback are more successful,” Feitly said.

“We’re happy to help. We can’t read full narratives...but we’re happy to answer as many questions as possible,” said Moore.

Moore also suggests having someone from outside the museum read through your application. “Often the application will use insider language, museum jargon, and if it gets to the panel stage in review, those reviewers from different disciplines might not understand.”

IMLS recommends looking at their website, joining a webinar, and reading project descriptions. Reading through other successful applications is also helpful. “If you read a description and there is something that you want to know more about, you can submit a FOIA request, the Freedom of Information Act, using a form on our website to access that information,” Feilty added.

He commented that the IMLS website is dense but it has a lot of resources. “We’re sharing exactly what we’re asking our reviewers to do in their assessment. You can see at what we’re asking our reviewers to evaluate and incorporate that into your narrative as well.”

CASE STUDY: What helped The Whaling Museum with their IMLS grant?

The Whaling Museum focused on a well-rounded project and looked at the needs of the community. Director Dayan was also a peer reviewer for IMLS for three years.

“I would encourage anyone to do that because it helps you get an insider’s view into the application process. When you read proposals side by side you start to see how applicants write a compelling case whether it’s the language they use or the content and approaches that they are taking," said Dayan.

Director Dayan added that judging applications improves your writing and grant planning.  Dayan also recommends looking at examples. “Under the Freedom of Information Act you’re allowed to request copies of any funded grant...Don’t go at it alone. Look at what other museums have done successfully and try to use that as inspiration in formatting your own grant.”

Other advice to a prospective applicant? “Communicating why the project matters and what community need it meets. A stranger will be reading this who has not been to your museum. For me it’s not enough to say kids will learn about whaling history but why it’s important for kids to learn about whaling history,” said Dayan.

The Whaling Museum connected its strategic plan to the project and cited data. Supporting your narrative with research also strengthens an application.

“The first thing we do when we have a grant idea is we call and pitch it to the funding organization… ‘is this something that you would fund? How can we strengthen this?’ Reaching out is so important to help you do the best job you can,” said Dayan.

Other helpful tips?

• Make sure your application components are consistent

• Place the narrative questions into your word document when answering

• Incorporate project impact throughout the narrative

• Use your supporting documents and help drive the reviewers to your supporting documents

Further Reading/Resources

Inspire! Grants for Small Museums

https://www.imls.gov/grants/available/inspire-grants-small-museums

FY 2020 Notice of Funding Opportunity

https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy20-oms-igsm-nofo.pdf

IMLS Apply for a Grant

https://www.imls.gov/grants/apply-grant/available-grants

Eligibility Criteria

https://www.imls.gov/grants/apply-grant/eligibility-criteria 

Sample Applications

https://www.imls.gov/grants/apply-grant/sample-applications

NYS IMLS Funding Report

https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/imls_funding_report_new_york.pdf

IMLS Webinars

https://www.imls.gov/webinars

An Introduction to Magnetic Mounting Systems

Gwen Spicer

At Spicer Art Conservation, we are passionate about magnets and the amazing possibilities of their use in museums and cultural institutions. Their use is especially beneficial where standard stitching techniques are not possible. However the use of magnets is not “magic,” there is actual science behind how a magnetic system functions, incorporating three key factors that must be considered:

1. The strength of the magnet itself. Magnetic strength is the amount of force necessary to pull the magnet straight from the surface of a steel plate. It is measured in Gauss.

<http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-is-your-base-knowledge-about-rare.html>

2. The receiving ferromagnetic metal, aka, what the magnet will attach to. Magnetized regions of the receiving metal are what allow the full potential of the magnet’s strength to be realized.

<http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-magnet-is-only-as-strong-as.html>

3. The magnetic field distance, or “the gap”. This gap is the space created by the layers in between the magnet and the receiving ferromagnetic metal. 

<http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2013/05/ferrous-attraction-and- science-behind.html>

Balancing these three parts is what determines a successful system. Once these three key factors are understood individually, as well as how they work in combination with each other, any system can be developed for a specific artifact. No one method appears to be prescribed. Instead each component is adjusted for each particular situation. This is further complicated by the wide variety of needs and requirements of each artifact. Hence, it is only by understanding the parts that make up a system, and their interactions, that a system can be created for a specific task. The developed system needs to be strong enough to support the artifact while not being so strong as to create damage. Each variable can be slightly altered to reach the desired effect. The solutions provided here are to be adapted to fit the needs of the artifacts at hand.

Most museum professionals use the rare earth magnet, Neodymium, due to its small size to high strength ratio. The use of rare earth magnets is still in its infancy, but this will change as the knowledge of how to create magnetic systems is better understood by the community. No one method has been created to support or mount all artifacts, nor should it be. In many ways a “one size fits all” solution is simply too much to ask given the variety and range of artifacts being mounted.

The often-overlooked component of the system is the ferromagnetic material, or what the magnet will attach to. It is the material that the magnet makes magnetic in its presence, i.e. a “soft magnet” or like a magnetized chain of paper clips. The magnet’s performance relies directly on the ferromagnetic material because the magnet will not be optimized if the ferromagnetic metal is not magnetically saturated. Therefore, if a steel sheet or metal foil is used but is too thin, there will be a diminished pull force and the magnet will subsequently behave as if it were of lower strength. The unfortunate part of this is steel is heavy and requires specialized machinery to cut or drill, which is not often found in conservation labs or small museums.

Image of steel gauge on magnetic field and strength with the same size disc magnetic. Image on the left shows a magnet with a thicker steel sheet where the magnetic flux remains within the plate making it a strong ‘soft’ magnet. Where as the image on the right is a thinner steel plate, in which the magnetic flux extends beyond the plate, making it a weak ‘soft’ magnet (K&J Magnetics).

The use of magnets in magnetic mounting systems occurs either as point-fasteners or to provide continuous large area pressure. Both methods have been used successfully.

The local point-fastener, the most common method, uses individually placed magnets. The selection of a specific magnet depends solely on the pull force and interaction of the magnet with the ferromagnetic metal, with no connection to a nearby magnet. The conservator can select a size and grade of magnet for ease of handling; adjust the gap layers between, and design the magnet to blend with the artifact. Magnets can then be added or subtracted based on what is deemed necessary for support. Typically, the artifact is large enough that the magnets used will not be placed close enough to any other neighboring magnets for the polar direction of the individual magnets to be of concern.

A drawback to the point-fastener method is the creation of local stress point in an artifact. For artifacts that have drape, introducing small stresses within the structure can lead to new weaknesses, but for rigid artifacts this approach works quite well. When considering the attachment of a single object to a mount for display, ensure that the pull force is sufficient to support the weight of the object.

The other method for creating a magnetic mounting system is the use of magnets in continuous large areas to create pressure supports to achieve the necessary pressure to hold the artifact in place. This is often done by using magnets with ancillary materials; magnets embedded within stiff materials, an attached webbing sleeve, or some combination of these. How the magnets’ poles are oriented or by their proximity to one  another in this auxiliary material will greatly affect the magnetic system’s strength, as well as the selected materials surrounding the magnet. These encased magnetic systems have the added benefit of being reusable.

Common Questions:

1. How do you secure a magnet to a mount? 

Using glue is a challenge as that it needs to be stronger than the pull force of the magnet that is being secured. This is even the case when a resin, like Acryloid B-48N, that is more attracted to metals is used. But depending on your substrate, strong adhesives like superglue or UV cured adhesive is best.

Actually fastening the magnet to a mount can be done. Some magnets come with counter-sunk holes for a flat head- screw. This method is used by SmallCorp Inc for their Magnetic Slat. Such magnets are secured to an aluminum “L”- shaped strip that actually holds the weight of the artifact, while the strong magnets ensure the hold of the slat to the ferromagnetic material. 

<http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2013/08/magnets-alternative-to- velcro.html>

The simplest, and perhaps strongest, hold could be the direct connection of a magnet to a ferromagnetic material (i.e. with no gap material in between). This is simply because a magnet attached directly to a ferromagnetic material is more strongly attracted than a magnet and ferromagnetic material with gap material between. A mount where a magnet is placed inside of a metallic cup amplifies this behavior creating an even stronger connection.

What ever method you use, make sure that HOT MELT GLUE is NEVER applied to the magnet! Rare earth magnets will lose their magnetism when exposed to extreme heat. For reference the maximum recommended temperature for a Neodymium magnet is about 500° F. More information about magnets and temperature is available from K&J Magnetics. <https://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=temperature-and-neodymium-magnets>

2. Where should a magnet be placed, on top, inside or behind the artifact? 

Part of this discussion is an understanding of care and handling of rare earth magnets for their optimal and continual performance. Areas of concern include the mechanical shock on the magnet, the heat and moisture of the environment, and a demagnetized field. Therefore, systems with a layer of padding material have the advantage of limiting damage to the magnet from the shock of suddenly snapping together, as might occur accidentally during handling when two magnets are drawn together quickly by their strong magnetic force toward each other.

How the practitioner handles the magnet is important. This also is the case with their storage. 

A few rules:

1. Separate the rare earth magnets from all other types of permanent magnets.

2. Provide cushioning between the magnets and prevent any shock.

3. Keep away from all heat sources.

Rare earth magnets should be protected. A successful method is to embed the magnet on the mount or within materials. Keeping the magnet surrounded by materials aids in their longevity by preventing demagnetization from both shock and heat. These embedded magnets or ferromagnetic materials can be placed on top or within an artifact as well as being used for the point-fastener or the continuous pressure methods.

Embedding magnets into a stiff material like a mat, or corrugated board is an obvious approach. At the Asian Art Museum, they have mastered the inclusion of camouflaged magnets within an outer border that supports the artifact while on display with the use of a modular system where block-shape magnets are embedded into strips of mat board and become the finishing outer perimeter of the display mount by being placed over the outer edge of the artifact.

<http://www.asianart.org/collections/magnet-mounts>

3. Should magnets be secured to the mount rather than incorporated with the artifact?

Yes. Probably the most practical reason is that the mount can be reused, and having the magnet positioned in place could potentially be useful. Whereas, if installed in the artifact's internal structure, the magnet might remain there, even after the artifact is returned to storage. The cost of rare earth magnets is ever increasing and the added expense of purchasing more and more magnets is not necessary. More importantly, the long-term effects are unknown; therefore magnets kept within artifacts might be ill advised. Also, keeping an "active device" such as a magnet inside the artifact may cause inadvertent harm. Magnets are always "on", and we at SAC often speak of the "one-mindedness" of magnets and how they will jump to a receiving metal as quickly as possible. If you did not know that an artifact had a magnet inside of it you could place it on, or near, something you actually do not want it to magnetically attach to.

4. How do I learn more about using magnets with my work?

There are many ways to learn more, one can always contact Gwen directly, read her blog posts and of course purchase the recently published book Magnetic Mounting Systems for Museums & Cultural Institutions available at https://spicerart.com/magnetbook/.

Gwen Spicer is a fellow of AIC and as been in private practice for over 20 years. Spicer Art Conservation specializes in the conservation of textiles, objects, and works on paper. Gwen uses magnets for innovative treatments and mounting of artifacts. To contact her, please email her at gwen@spicerart.com or visit her website where you will find additional information about Spicer Art Conservation and the use of magnets for both treatment and exhibition.

Editor’s note: Magnetic Mounting Systems for Museums and Cultural Institutions won the 2019 Greater Hudson Heritage Network publication award