The Awards were presented at a ceremony and held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, London on 1 December 2010. Roy Clare (CEO of MLA), speaking at the awards, said: ‘The art and science of conservation are vital to sustaining public understanding and enjoyment of cultural heritage and collections of all kinds, for this and future generations. The profession faces growing demands to respond openly and ever-more creatively to new standards, technologies, public expectations and resource constraints. The context is challenging, but I welcome Icon’s re-invigorated determination to work with its members and many partners to shape effective strategies for ensuring a vibrant future for conservation.’
The Winners
The Anna Plowden Trust Award for Research and Innovation in Conservation is given for a completed research or development project that has advanced the knowledge of conservation. This year the judges decided that this year’s award should be given to two projects. Miss Susan Palmer OBE, Chair of the judges, commented: ‘The award recognises excellence in research and in innovation. The quality of applications was very high. We felt there was an outstanding example of scientific research in the Tate AXA Art project and similarly in practical, problem-solving innovation from Eura. We therefore decided, exceptionally, to have two winners.’
Winner: Tate AXA Art Modern Paints Project (TAAMPP) – Tate
The TAAMPP aimed at characterising the short and long-term effects of surface cleaning treatments on acrylic-emulsion-based works of art. The project has delivered multiple international publications, numerous presentations, and developed practical workshops to disseminate research findings and engage conservators in debate and discussion on the care and conservation of these works of art. This research project has wide applications to a huge number of collections.
Winner: The conservation of Edwardian tiled panels using a diamond wire saw – Eura Conservation Ltd
The traditional method of removal of ceramic tiles involves levering them from their substrates and so risks large numbers of breakages. This innovative and practical solution represents a significant advance on current practice for tackling such conservation problems, dramatically reducing the risks of damage during transfer. Furthermore, the project was carried out within the constraints of a working hospital environment.
Digital Preservation Award, sponsored by the Digital Preservation Coalition, recognises leadership and practical advancement in digital preservation that will ensure our digital memory is accessible tomorrow. Dr William Kilbride, Executive Director, Digital Preservation Coalition, said: 'Our generation faces a unique conservation challenge because long-term access to the sorts of digital resources we depend on is not assured. The apparently simple task of making digital files stable and robust can seem daunting. But the exciting news from this year's Digital Preservation Award is how far we've come since the award was first made. Applications this year were competitive and the shortlist was strong, underlining the really great tools and services which are now becoming available to support long term access. We're almost at the point where we can stop thinking of digital preservation as a problem and start thinking about it as a capability.'
Winner: The MEMENTO Project: Time Travel for the Web – Old Dominion University & the Los Alamos National Lab, USA
Memento is a simple yet powerful technology that adds a time dimension to the Web browsing. Memento maximises the use of existing Web Archives and Content Management Systems by deploying an under-used feature of the HTTP Web protocol. It allows a user to request a web page from a specific time then retrieves the closest match from whatever archived source might hold it.
This year the Digital Preservation Award included an open in which members of the DPC were invited to comment on the shortlist. Commenting on Memento, one voter said ‘The Memento project has identified – and more importantly, addressed – a key issue in the architecture of the Web, that has constantly bedevilled web archiving activities. Its wider adoption is likely to be of considerable benefit in the future.’
The Pilgrim Trust Award for Conservation is given to an outstanding project to conserve individual or collections of objects, or decorative, artistic or fine crafted elements of historic buildings (but not the building itself), or monuments and sculptures. Georgina Nayler, Director of The Pilgrim Trust and Chair of the judging panel, stated: ‘The Pilgrim Trust is delighted to be associated with the Conservation Awards once again. It was a particular pleasure for me to be Chair of the Judging Panel. The standard of entries was extremely high and we had a difficult task, but the winners stood out and I congratulate them all.’
Winner: Hanbury Hall staircase wall paintings of c.1710 by Sir James Thornhill - The Perry Lithgow Partnership.
A 10-year conservation project at the National Trust's Hanbury Hall has re-established the unity of this historic painted space, enabling the trompe l’oeil effects to be appreciated as Thornhill intended, and adding considerably to our understanding of English Baroque wall painting techniques. It was a bold move to let the public view the paintings via scaffolding, thus creating an excellent model for public access.
Commendation: The Codex Sinaiticus Project - the British Library
Codex Sinaiticus, written over 1600 years ago, contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. The Codex Sinaiticus Project is an international collaboration to survey, conserve and reunite the separated manuscript across four countries in digital form. The manuscript is now accessible to a global audience who can connect directly with this iconic object in many interactive ways.
The Award for the Care of Collections is given for an initiative leading to significant and sustainable improvements to caring for collections.
Winner: PRIMROSE: Photographic Records in Museums: Re-Organisation, Storage and Environment – Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Renaissance South West
PRIMROSE helped museums cope with their extensive photographic collections; many are at risk from poor storage, handling and display. Each museum committed to a 10-point Charter for collection care, sent staff and volunteers to a training day, and received £150-worth of materials to re-house their collection. The project sends a strong message about training, sharing, and enthusing keen volunteers - and it has had a positive and broad impact using minimal public funding.
The Student Conservator of the Year Award is given to an exceptional project completed by a student during their training, illustrating best standard in conservation, collections care or research and innovation. The submissions were all exemplary projects. However, there were two in particular that were very close:
Winner: The carbon footprint of museum loans – Simon Lambert & Cardiff University
Currently, museums are faced with the challenge of reducing their impact on climate change, and increasing loans activities on a reduced budget. The Carbon Footprint of Museum Loans project encourages conservators, registrars and other loan administrators to continue delivering social benefits through loans without downsizing activities. This is an innovative and extensive piece of work with wide benefits, an interdisciplinary project that will engage others outside the conservation community.
Commendation: An investigation into the Nature and Causes of Surface Whitening in Twentieth-Century Paintings at Dudmaston Hall - Laura Hinde & The Courtauld Institute of Art
Laura used state-of-the-art analytical techniques to examine the white surface material and materials used in the paintings from the National Trust’s Dudmaston property in Shropshire. These included scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), for which she collaborated with the Instituut Collectie Nederland research centre in Amsterdam, the Natural History Museum and King’s College London. Laura carried out much of the analytical work herself. |
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