Central Conservation Section

To help public museums preserve their cultural artefacts, the Central Conservation Section completed the restoration of 1 176 items, including paintings, documents, prints, textiles, metals, ceramics, organic materials and archaeological finds. It also provided technical support for various thematic exhibitions and conducted tailor-made preservation programmes for museum collections, the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Art Promotion Office.

Conservation specialists mount a Cantonese opera costume for display in the Highlights of Yu Kai’s Donation exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

Following the success of the airport displays project, the Section again collaborated with the Airport Authority to stage five thematic cultural displays at the Hong Kong International Airport during the year. They were: Memories We Share — Hong Kong in the 1960s - 70s, Theatre Art of Cantonese Opera, The Art of Cantonese Opera, Bits of Old Hong Kong and Tea through the Ages.

To improve communication with conservation volunteers and generate public awareness of the Conservation Volunteers Scheme, the Section set up a Facebook account titled 'Conservation-Volunteers Hongkong'. Apart from sharing photos and information about volunteer work, this serves as another medium for the Section to engage the public. These volunteers contributed over 1 100 service hours in 12 conservation projects during the year.

The Section also organised 37 conservation workshops, guided tours and thematic talks, attracting a total of 1 892 visitors over the year, including 1 449 students from 28 schools and tertiary institutions.

A conservation volunteer helps students make a miniature frame in the Conservation DIY Workshop of the School Culture Day Scheme 2010/11.

A conservator of the Central Conservation Section (first left) briefs university students about their work.

To foster professional exchange with overseas counterparts and to keep in touch with the latest developments in the field, the Section presented papers on Conservation Education in Hong Kong, Strike a Balance — Repair or Replace, The Off-gassing Paint from Walls — its Composition and Damage to Paper Objects and An Integrated Structural Health Monitoring System for the Preservation of the Historic Fireboat Alexander Grantham, at the 22nd General Conference of the International Council of Museums, the 7th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historic Construction, Asian Seminar on Preservation and the Four Elements: Air, Water, Earth and Fire Conference on the Mainland, and the Metal 2010 International Council of Museums Conference in the United States.