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Conservation Office

The Conservation Office continued to provide public museums with essential preservation and conservation services for their museum collections, as well as the necessary technical support in mounting thematic exhibitions. During the year, the office was able to conserve a total of 532 cultural objects, including paintings, historical documents, textiles, photographs, metal objects, sculptures, organic objects, and archaeological finds. It was a busy but rewarding year for the office, which was heavily involved in a number of blockbuster exhibitions in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.

Colleagues from the Conservation Office and their Mainland counterparts join hands to install a terracotta chariot for the exhibition The Majesty of All Under Heaven: The Eternal Realm of China's First Emperor.
Colleagues from the Conservation Office and their Mainland counterparts join hands to install a terracotta chariot for the exhibition The Majesty of All Under Heaven: The Eternal Realm of China's First Emperor.

At the invitation of the Committee of Art Museums in China, in late 2012 our conservation staff delivered a series of lectures on conservation policy, service development, the role conservation plays in art museums, collection management, community engagement, and conservation education, for a national training programme for senior art museums professionals held at the Guangdong Museum of Art.

Conservation staff delivered numerous talks on conservation-related topics to Mainland counterparts during the year.
Conservation staff delivered numerous talks on conservation-related topics to Mainland counterparts during the year.

The office continued to offer a vibrant education and extension programme to help interested members of the public and school students better appreciate their conservation work. It ran a total of 38 programmes, including workshops for the School Culture Day Scheme, behind-the-scene laboratory visits, and lectures. More than 940 persons participated in these programmes, including 591 students from 21 school groups.

Students produce woodblock prints with guidance from a conservator, under the School Culture Day Scheme.
Students produce woodblock prints with guidance from a conservator, under the School Culture Day Scheme.

The Conservation Volunteers Scheme began in 2002, and under it this year the office recorded a record-breaking 4 612 hours of service delivered by some 70 volunteers. Tasks performed by the conservation volunteers included the installation of exhibits, preserving collections, conducting workshop demonstrations, and carrying out practical conservation treatment in various specialty areas.

A conservation volunteer removes stains from a calligraphic work on a suction table.
A conservation volunteer removes stains from a calligraphic work on a suction table.

To heighten the profile of the local conservation service and to foster professional exchange with overseas counterparts, the office presented two academic posters at the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works 2012 Vienna Congress in September 2012, one of which won the Best Poster Prize.


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