To identify conservation needs, recommend policy
Brigham Young University’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures has been chosen to participate in the 2008 Heritage Preservation’s Conservation Assessment Program. The museum joins the 2,500 museums that have participated in CAP since the program began in 1990.
Heritage Preservation's CAP is supported through a cooperative agreement with the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. CAP assists museums by providing funds for professional conservation specialists to identify the conservation needs of their collections and recommend ways to correctly improve the conditions of collections.
Heritage Preservation’s President, Lawrence L. Reger, praised the Museum of Peoples and Cultures for “making the vital work of caring for collections and sites a priority at their institution and helping ensure that they are available to present and future generations.”
CAP provides a general conservation assessment of the museum’s collections. Professional conservators will spend two days surveying the museum’s collections and three days writing a comprehensive report that will identify conservation priorities.
The on-site consultation will enable the Museum of Peoples and Cultures to evaluate its current collections’ care policies, procedures and environmental conditions. The assessment report will help the museum make appropriate improvements for the immediate, mid-range and long-range care of its collections.
“By participating in CAP, we as a museum will be able to receive an outside evaluation of the success of our conservation activities over the past 15 years,” said Paul Stavast, interim director of the museum. “Using the CAP evaluation, we plan to set long-term strategies for continued success in caring for our objects.”
The MPC’s current exhibitions include “Touching the Past: Traditions of Casas Grandes” and “Kachinas of the Southwest: Dances, Dolls and Rain.” The museum is located at 700 North 100 East in Provo and is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit mpc.byu.edu for more information on the exhibits and other upcoming events.
Heritage Preservation is a national organization dedicated to preserving the nation’s heritage. Its members include museums, libraries, archives, historic preservation organizations, historical societies, conservation organizations, individual professionals and other groups concerned with saving the past for the future. To learn more about Heritage Preservation, please visit www.heritagepreservation.org.
Writer: Erika Riggs
