Conservation Office
During the year, the Conservation Office carried out treatment on 313 cultural objects including paintings, historical documents, textiles, photographs, metal objects, sculptures, organic objects, and archaeological finds, as well as being involved in scientific research and analysis activities. The office also developed and ran a series of 65 educational activities and extension workshops designed to heighten conservation awareness, including behind-the-scenes laboratory visits and hands-on workshops for the School Culture Day Scheme and for International Museum Day. These programmes introduced more than 2 900 participants, including 933 students from 21 school groups, to the pleasures and the challenges of heritage conservation.
During Muse Fest 2017, over 1 600 visitors were able to take on the role of conservator through an immersive Virtual Reality game, in which they navigated through the museum gallery and completed urgent conservation missions to save our cultural heritage.
Through the year, four new cultural displays were staged at various locations in Terminal 1 of the Hong Kong International Airport, themed around the cheongsam, Hong Kong posters, contemporary teapots and contemporary ceramic dinnerware.
The IIC-Palace Museum 2017 Hong Kong Symposium was held from November 24 to 26, 2017, under the theme Unroll and Unfold: Preserving Textiles and Thangkas to Last. Topics ranged across the artistic, historical, conservation and scientific aspects of textiles, with 18 distinguished specialists from different parts of the world sharing the latest methodologies, strategies, and best practices in preserving textiles and thangkas. The symposium attracted over 280 delegates from 24 countries.
Representatives from the office presented academic papers and posters at international conferences including TechArt 2017 held in May 2017 in Italy, the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works’ 45th Annual Meeting held in June 2017 in the USA, the International Council of Museums-Conservation Committee Conference held in September 2017 in Copenhagen, and the IIC-Palace Museum 2017 Hong Kong Symposium mentioned above.
