The fifth European registrars’ conference, organised in the Auditorium of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid by ARMICE, was attended by 460 registrars, museum professionals and sector operators.

Several topics of great interest were discussed during the two-day conference, including: how to combine architectural design and museum requirements; the development of the professional figure of registrars in Spain, Italy and Switzerland; quality management in museums; the mobility of collections and the conclusions of the Manchester 2005 and Helsinki 2006 conferences; European governmental indemnity and much more.

Below is a summary of the programme extracted from the proceedings.

Museology plans and architecture: how to combine good architectural design with specific museum needs
Chair: Víctor M. Cageao Santacruz, Head of Infrastructure. Subdirección General de Museos Estatales. Ministerio de Cultura

Form, Purpose, Use: Architecture and Museum in Search of an Unfitting Medium
Luis Grau Lobo, Director, Museo de León

Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, S.L.
Fuensanta Nieto y Enrique Sobejano, Arquitectos

Tate Modern: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Stephen Dunn, Registrar – Tate Modern, London

Museum registrars: Does this profession really exist in Spain? The Spanish professional, similarities and differences with other European professionals
Chair: Cristina Mulinas Pastor, Head Registrar. Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM)

Documentation and Registration of Cultural Items in State-Run Museums
Andrés Carretero Pérez, Director, Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico

Neus Moyano Miranda, Registrar, Centro de Cultura Contemporánea, Barcelona (CCCB)

The Development of the Figure of the Registrar in Italy
Flaminia Bonino, Registrar. Azienda Speciale Palaexpo Palazzo delle Esposizioni & Scuderie del Quirinale, Roma

Nicole Rüegsegger

ARMICE – Spanish Association of Registrars from Museums and Cultural Institutions – Association launch and presentation
Julia Toffolo, Government Art Collection, London
Carmen Sánchez García, Chairman ARMICE

Session A: Beyond the work of art. Other types of collection(archaeology, numismatics, ethnography, science, contemporary art…) Specific problems, storage and control systems
Chair: Paloma Muñoz-Campos García, Curator. Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, Madrid.
Meetings and Partings in the Beyond. The ‘Other’ Collections and their Issues

Numismatic Pieces in Museums: Control, Storage Systems and Criteria for Classification in Reserve Areas
Carmen Marcos Alonso, Head of Numismatic Department. Museo Arqueológico Nacional

Installations: Documentation and Registration
Pureza Villaescuerna Ilarraza, Head of Art Store rooms, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

The Boijmans Print-Room, an Experiment in RFID
Paul Teunissen, Registrar. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Rótterdam

Session B: From quantity to quality: Quality management in Museums
Chair: Pilar Blesa, Head of Archive and Documentation. Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña (MNAC)

Quality as a Museum’s Thinking Tool: With Special Reference to Museum Registrar’s Departments
Pablo Hereza Lebrón, Head of Museum Documentation Department, Dirección General de Museos, Junta de Andalucía

Application of ISO Quality Management Standards at Spanish Museums
Rafael Azuar Ruiz, Director. Maritime Archaeology National Museum, Cartagena.

European Standardisation For Cultural Goods. The experience of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao with total quality management
Anne De Wallens, Registrar. Musée du Louvre

The experience of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao with total quality management
Roberto Cearsolo, Head of Administration and Finance, Museo Guggenheim, Bilbao

What do we do with our collections when there is a lack of storage space? Deposit/storage in and outside the museum: management, storage and control system problems
Chair: Eva Mª Alquézar Yáñez, Head of Collection. Subdirección General de Museos Estatales. Ministerio de Cultura

Managing the ‘Scattered Prado’: Change and Planning
Andrés Gutiérrez Usillos, Head Registrar. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Outside Storage at the Deutsches Historisches Museum – A Stroke of Luck?
Edith Michelsen, Registrar. Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin

Olga Ilmenkova, Head of Loan Agreement Department, The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Long Term Loans: Towards more Profitable Use of Collections
Susanna Pettersson, Senior Planning Officer, Art Museum Plan Development Department, The Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki

Informative session. EU Collection Mobility Project: conclusions of the Manchester-2005 and Helsinki-2006 Meet
Increasing the Mobility of Collections. A synopsis of the 2005 Manchester Conference
David McNeff, Loans Manager. National Portrait Gallery, London.

Mobility of Collections. Conclusions of the Helsinki-2006 Meeting
Anja Tullikki Huovinen, General Secretary. The Finnish Museums Association, Helsinki.

Lending: why and what for? Cultural goods loans: management problems and new lender requirements
Chair: Karina Marotta, Head of Exhibitions. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.Speakers

A Rationale for Loan Fees (and their Exceptions)
Joan Llinares i Gómez, Financial Manager. Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña (MNAC), Barcelona

Anti-Seizure and the Legal Immunity of Works of Art on Loan in the European Union
Anna O’Connell, Registrar, The Art Loss

Development of a Standard European Loan Form
Birgid Pudney-Schmidt Chair Registrars Deutschland, Dusseldorf

What Should be Your Challenges Concerning Mobility of Collections?
Astrid Weij, Policy Officer on International Affairs, Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, The Hague (Netherlands)

Informative session. Customs procedures: the current situation and new prospects
Protection of Cultural Assets
Dolores Gomez de Salazar, Customs Officer and Member of The Board of Assessment, Valuation and Exportation of works of the Spanish National Heritage

An Innovative Approach to Customs Management: The Experience of the Guggenheim, Museum Bilbao
Sonia Núñez, Registrar. Museo Guggenheim Bilbao

Informative session. Will a European Indemnity ever be achieved? TheState Guarantee: brief summary and update
Wishful Thinking? The Prospects for a European Indemnity
Freda Matassa, Independent Museum Consultant, United Kingdom

Will a European Indemnity Ever Be Achieved? The State Guarantee: Brief Summary and Update
Henrieta Galambos, Head of Legal and Registrars Department. Museums of Fine Arts, Budapest