ERC – pubblico

Registrarte, the Italian Association of Registrars, is proud to be hosting ERC 24. The conference returns to Rome 22 years after its first edition hosted in our Country.

ERC 24 is an opportunity to delve the past, the present and future of the Registrar’s profession, the formal recognition and its ethical nature, as well as giving us a chance to discuss key topics and trends in the field as MADE IN ITALY, SUSTAINABILITY and NEW FRONTIERS.

The essence of ERC 2024 lies in the power of collaboration. It is through our collective efforts, thoughtful reflections, and open discussions that we have brought this vision to life. United by a shared belief in our mission, we have fostered a community where ideas flourish and common goals are pursued.

As registrars, we embody this spirit of cooperation, fully aware that the successful orchestration of exhibitions and the safe transit of art are triumphs of teamwork. Our commitment extends beyond the immediate tasks at hand, as we strive to address the broader challenges of sustainability. We are dedicated to discovering innovative solutions and more efficient practices, knowing that it is through global cooperation that we can pave the way for a more sustainable future and have a positive impact TOGETHER.

Rebecca Romere, President

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Registrarte expresses its gratefulness to all delegates, sponsors, exhibitors, supporters, suppliers which made this conference comes true. A special thanks to the Association’s Board and Scientific Committee and to its partners for the evaluable work done during the last two and a half years.

Scientific Committee:
Rebecca Romere, President
Ghislaine Pardo, General Secretary
Enrica Passalacqua, Treasurer
Anna Chiara Ferrero, Facilitator
Daniela Sogliani, Communication
Alberto Mignani, Advisor

With the collaboration of:
Wendela Brouwer, Chair, Dutch Registrars Group
Jen Kaines, Chair, UK Registrars Group
Eloise Stewart, previous Chair, UK Registrars Group
Daniele Dragoni, Account Director, MCI UK
Adele Della Sala, Press Office
Andrea Leoni, Lawyer, Studio Legale Leoni
Arianna Brizzi, Financial Advisor, PROFASS, Professionisti Associati

(from the Conference Journal)

The 12th European Congress of Registrars took place on the revised dates of the 3 – 5 November 2022 at the Strasbourg Convention + Exhibition Centre.
The organization of ERC2022 benefits from the support of the city of Strasbourg and the Grand Est Region, as part of the Culture fund of the 2021-2023 Strasbourg European Capital Three-Year Contract.
22 years after the Second European Conference of Registrar held in Paris in November 2000, it is an anniversary that we celebrated together. This ERC allowed us to broaden the scope of our reflections on the professional challenges that we have to manage and for which we develop specific professional skills.
Our resilient capacity and our adaptation will have to be questioned and analyzed from a socio-professional point of view and through the working links that we have been able to maintain. The new normal, which is imposed on us, will have to be built on the memories of our old existences and link the global and the local.
The FUTURE OF TOMORROW could not exist without taking action on sustainable development and being involved in the eco-responsibility of our industry. These responsibilities for the registrars and the heritage professionals with whom they work.
Those involved in presentation and conservation have to respond by creating agencies, specifics training in universities to train new generations of collection and exhibition managers.
Moreover, Registrars do not only work in museums or heritage institutions. They are present in art galleries, private foundations, and universities so as better meet the needs and requirements of a changing international scene.
Together, through the programming of this ERC, networking and opportunities to explore the city that we propose to you, analyze these challenges in the present and those, which wait for us!

from the conference official website

Opening Plenary
Welcome from Ludovic Chauwin, AFROA, Robert Graham, Gallagher and Jean-Michel Floret, LP Art President

ERG Panel
Veronique de Alzua, Mudam, Cristina Mulinas, IVAM, Céline Rince-Vaslin, AFROA, Rebecca Romere, Associazione Italiana Registrar di Opere d’Arte, Szófia Molnar, Hungarian Association of Registrar, Tiril Krabbesund, Nordic Group and Eloise Stewart, UKRG

For a Museum that does good: Museotherapy
Nathalie Bondil, Institut du monde arabe

Heritage management and digital practices: current challenges of documentation
Francoise Dalex, Musee de Louvre

Condition state in cultural property conservation: semantic and conceptual clarifications
Grazia Nicosia, Musee de Louvre

EODEM: The Exhibition Object Data Exchange Model
Angela Kipp, CIDOC Documentation Standards Working Group

Why and how to share archaeological data?
Xavier Rodier, Tours University

Courier Training – Scenario Workshop (limited to 20 places, booking in advance required)
Kathy Richmond, Historic Environment Scotland, Edinburgh, Desirée Blomberg, Moderna Museet, Stockholm and Wendela Brouwer, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The implementation of a sustainable development policy within public institutions: the case of the Centre George Pompidou, Paris
Sandrine Beaujard-Vallet, Centre George Pompidou

The environmental role of the crate in the transportation of works of art
Stephane Pompidou, University of Bordeaux

Sustainability and Exhibitions, the experience at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum
Sonia Nuñez, Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, Bilbao

Introducing the process and result of detailed Information of CO2 emission of a museum as a whole and the registrar in particular
Caren Jones, Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden

Logistics of works of art: where are the options to minimize our environmental impact?
Valérie Bonard, CHENUE/LPArt

AFROA’s actions to raise awareness of risk management for collections
Anne-Laure Rameau, AFROA & Anaïs Desneaux, AFROA

GASP – Assistance group in the event of Heritage / Emergency, a outside helper to museum for risk management
Anthony Zurawski, La Fabrique de patrimoines en Normandie, Caenw

Emergency Plan for the collections of the Museion in Bolzano, Italy
Francesca Peyron, Mazzini Lab Società Benefit, Rome & Cristina Ferretti, Museion, Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bolzano

Cyber Attacks! The risks and lessons learnt
Jen Kaines, Royal Armouries, Leeds, United Kingdom & Katie Robson, Royal Armouries, Leeds, United Kingdom

Tips & Tricks for Sustainable Workloads (limited to 20 places, booking in advance required)
Joanne Smith

Registrars and sustainability: report of the AFROA’s symposiums in 2019 and 2020
Melanie Rivault, Etablissement public des musées d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie & Marie Fekar, Archives nationales

Developing eco-responsible and biobased prototype for preservation of museum collections
Yousra Zerarka, Institute of UniLaSalle Rouen, Biro Caroline, Réunion des musées métropolitains of Rouen, Gattin Richard, Institute of UniLaSalle Rouen and Shehzad Aamir, Institute of UniLaSalle Rouen

Reopening the KMSKA! Bringing home the collection in a sustainable way
Fleur van Paassen, KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp), Antwerp & Lisa van Gerven, KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp), Antwerp

The internationalisation and globalization of museums through the circulation of their objects, the example of Le Louvre
Sebastien Jacquot, University of Paris-Sorbonne & Anne Hertzog, Université de Cergy-Pontoise

Two women and a baby – large sculpture moves
Jacqui Austin, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh & Lena Pohlmann, Institute for Cultural Exchange, Tubingen, Germany

Challenges of opening a new museum in Hong Kong
Bernadette Lai, M+, Hong Kong & Joyce Li, M+, Hong Kong

Evaluating risks, monitoring and analyzing data of art in transit, Part 1 (limited to 20 places, booking in advance required)
Cecilia Winter, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles & Vincent Beltran, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles

The two key words for curating university collections : pragmatism and collaboration
Sebastian Soubiran, Strasbourg University, Jardin des sciences, Strasbourg & Samuel Cordier, Zoological Museum, Strasbourg

University collections study centres: The impact of use on collections care
Lizzie O’Neill, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, Glasgow

Vesalius – a new university museum for Leuven
Annelies Vogels, KU Leuven, Leuven

How to define a European framework of reference for training?
Helene Vassal, Institut National du Patrimoine

Restricted Collections, Sector Standards, and Collaborative Insights: Registrar Practice from the Perspective of a PhD Researcher
Stuart Bowes, University of Leeds and Royal Armouries, Leeds

The Framework, Practices and Training of Museum Collections Management in Taiwan
Pang Yen Cheng, National Palace Museum, Taipei

Sustainable Strategies for Future Proofing the Workforce I – A Case Study of over 10 years of a Strategic Partnership. Part 1
Jen Kaines, Royal Armouries, Leeds & Abigail Harrison, University of Leeds & Yvonne Hardman, Leeds Museums and Galleries & Laura Bell, Royal Armouries, Leeds

How an estimate is built?
Sylvie Michel, LPArt, Paris, Vanessa Vierkens, Kunsttrans Spedition GmbH, Austria, Patrick LaQuagila, Masterpiece International, USA & Ben Adams, Constantine, UK

Evaluating risks, monitoring and analyzing data of art in transit, Part 2
Cecilia Winter, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles & Vincent Beltran, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles

The virtual courier: New best practices in a post-pandemic world
Cayetana Castillo, Art Institute of Chicago & Matthew Norris, Art Institute of Chicago/ School of the Art Institute

Digital Couriers: What Worked, What Went Wrong and Ideas for the Future
Sabina Schumpf, Basel

Museum’s Registrars and Couriers at the post-Covid era: How do we go forward?
Isabel Bennasar Cabrera, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Courier: born to be there live
Valentina Brambilla, Museo Egizio, Turin & Roberta Accordino

The Rise of the Really (really) Remote Freelance Registrar
Karen Jakubec, Malmö & Lucy Findley, London

On the return of cultural objects: a long-term renewable partnership around a contested object in the V&A collection
Ana Muñoz, Victoria & Albert Museum, London & Dr Jaques Schuhmacher, Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The myth about the perfect Museum Climate
Thor Nørmark-Larsen, Statens Museum for Kunst / National Gallery of Denmark

We Don’t Talk about Fight Club: Securing the Future of Art Movement
Alyson Rolington, Tate Gallery, London & Kate Parsons

Towards a general transport quotation scheme?
Thor Nørmark-Larsen, Statens Museum for Kunst/National Gallery of Denmark & Wendela Brouwer, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Center for study and conservation / Museum Storage Facilities, the example of the Strasbourg Museums
Ludovic Chauwin, Musees de Strasbourg

Changing Spaces: Visible Storage through the WAG-Qaumajuq Vault
Nicole Fletcher, WAG-Qaumajuq, Winnipeg

Beyond Building ONE – The Future of Collecting and Storage at the Science Museum Group
Amy Brown, Science Museum Group, London

Renewing managing collections : The case of the Louvre Museum conservation centre
Raphaëlle Baume, Louvre Conservation Center in Liévin & Marie-Lys Marguerite, Louvre Conservation Center in Liévin

Sustainable Strategies for Future Proofing the Workforce II – ‘The New Normal’ Delivering Registrar Training in Partnership through Covid and Beyond. Part 2
Katie Robson, Royal Armouries, Leeds & Sarah Murray, Leeds Museums and Galleries & Jill McKnight, Royal Armouries, Leeds

Effective Registration for Co-curation
Joanne Smith, FREELANCE, London & Samantha Jenkins, People’s History Museum , Manchester

Share and/or Protect
Desirée Blomberg, Moderna Museet, Stockholm

CMS implementation and bilingual challenges, the case of the Royal Commission for AlUla
Marie-Astrid Martin, Royal Commission for AlUla

Storing European Past & Collecting European Future
Vladimir Čajkovac, House of European History, Brussels & Rocio del Casar Ximénez, House of European History, Brussels

Plenary Conclusion
Ludovic Chauwin, Musees de Strasbourg

Filled with enthusiasm in the summer of 2014, we – the Austrian Registrars Committee (ARC) – began the work of organizing the conference in Vienna. The European Registrars Conference is taking place for the tenth time in 2016. For you, our guests, and the event, we needed to create a fit and proper ambiance in “our” city.
To be sure, the vision of gathering 700 colleagues in Vienna spurred us on; but one thing was of utmost importance for us from the outset: Keeping things light and lively, and maintaining our sense of humor. That meant thinking outside the box and taking uncharted paths – literally and figuratively – with the conference organisation.
While putting the program together, we were especially diligent in searching out the latest developments in our branch, nurturing the exchange of experience and knowledge through panels, workshops and a conference app, as well as in the form of an interactive survey, in which we invite you to take part.
Art’s noble and lofty domain – and that epitomizes our conference humor – is brought down to eye level and observed head on.
We trust that the main program topics – Art and Law, Materials and Standards, I am … and Digital Museum – to each of which a half day is dedicated, offer inspiration, know-how and a platform for discussion to all participants. And the conference will also prompt us to “contemplate our own navels” by asking the question “Who are we?”

from the official conference program

Opening introduction
Christiane Rainer Chair of ARC and ERC2016 Steering Committee, Austria

Keynote Speech
Cultural heritage, the refugee crisis and building sustaina ble, peacefu l communities
Jasper Visser, Senior partner at VISSCH+STAM Strategic Services, Museum of the Future, Netherlands

Main topic: art and the law
International loan agreements: a comparison
Sandra Sykora, Lawyer, Art Historian, Switzerland

Immunity from seizure and due diligence: what registrars need to know
Freda Matassa, Director, Matassa Toffolo Ltd., Art Collections Management, UK

Loan agreements: necessary evil or frivolous legal games
Ernst Ploil, Attorney-at-law, Austria, ploil / krepp / boesch Rechtsanwälte GmbH

A registrar’s survival guide to the copyright jungle
Florian Schmidt-Gabain, Attorney, Switzerland

Main Topic: materialities and standards
Alteration or damage? developing an instrumental method for the precise monitoring of transportation damages
Christoph Krekel, Professor for Archaeometry, State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart, Germany

There is no best rental crate
Martijn de Ruijter, Conservator and Collections Manager, Royal Tropical Institute, Netherlands

Insect pests out of the box
Pascal Querner, Researcher, Univ. of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Austria

Inside the box. How to be museum standard, green and cheap?
Julian Fors, Storage Manager, National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design Oslo, Norway

Out of the dark into the light – considerations on light source and light levels
Stefan Röhrs, Deputy Director, Rathgen-Foschungslabor, Germany

Main topic: I am…
Backstage – What viewers shouldn’t find out
Julia Voss, Art Department Head, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany

Registrars: training for the future and gender perspectives
Abigail Harrison Moore, Head of the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds, UK
Jen Kaines, Registrar and Collections Manager, Leeds Museums and Galleries, UK
Laura Walsh, Registrar and Display Technicians Manager, Royal Armouries, UK

Main topic: digital museum
Use and re-use of data. How registrars impact the future of museum
Harald Krämer, Associate Professor, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

The transformation of the condition report: from color-coded pens to digital media
Jennifer Hefner, Head Registrar of the American Federation of Arts, Co-Founder of Articheck, USA

Professional digital asset manage ment systems
Dirk Lock, CEO, SOLVATEC Deutschländer and Lock GbR, Germany

Plenary Session
Presentation of our interactive registrars survey (collected during the conference)
ARC Austrian Registrars Committee

The european registrars initiative
Wendela Brouwer, Head Registrar’s Office at Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands
Veerle de Meester, Exhibition Manager, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium

Exhibition and collection specialists in Asia
Veronica Castillo, Head of Collection and Exhibition Services, M+, Hong Kong

Presentation by ARCS
Tamara Johnston, Treasurer and Founding Board Memeber of ARCS (Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists), USA

Workshops
Integrated pest management (IPM)
Pascal Querner Researcher, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Department of Integrated Biology and Biodiversity, Research Institute of Zoology, Austria

Application programming interfaces (API) – concepts and basic functionalities
Dirk Lock, CEO, SOLVATEC Deutschländer and Lock GbR, Germany

Display cases: are they truly impermeable?
Johannes Strecha/Markus Wiechert, Artex Museum Services, Austria

Cybercrime in the art world
Richard Nicholson, Executive Director & Head of Fine Art – UK & Europe, Willis Towers Watson

Beltracchi – the art of forgery
Filmscreening Documentary, Germany 2014 (93 minutes), German Film Academy Award “Lola“ for “Best Documentary“, 2014

Cultural heritage, communities and migration
Jasper Visser, Senior partner at VISSCH+STAM Strategic Services, Museum of the Future, Netherland

Do you actually get, what you need? design your own insurance contract
AON

Around 500 registrars, collection managers, curators and transport and insurance professionals gathered in Helsinki for the 9th European Registrars Conference, organised by the Nordic Registrars Group, the association of registrars from Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Under the leadership of President Kristina von Knorring (National Gallery, Finland), the conference offered an interesting and dynamic programme, with talks on security, risk management, courier services, transport challenges and art theft, art valuation and insurance, disaster preparedness and a look at the future of the registrar.

Opening introductions
Kristina von Knorring, Senior Registrar, Finnish National Gallery / Char of the ERC 2014
Jan Förster, Host, Director, Helsinki Kunsthalle, Finland

But is it art?
Daniel Birnbaum, Director. Moderna Museet, Sweden

Transport and document security
Trygve Lauritzen, Head of Security and Operations, Munchmuseet, Norway

Global risk art survey program
Simon Mears, Consultant – Security Risks and High Value Asset Protection, Denmark

Holistic risk management for museums
Pascal Matthey, Head Specialty Lines Risk Engineering, XL Group, Switzerland

The role of the courier
Thor Nørmark-Larsen, Section Leader Registrar’s Office, National Gallery of Denmark.

The Nordic way
Marika Reuterswärd, Curator and Registrar, Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden
Thor Nørmark-Larsen

Courier training at the Finnish National Gallery
Kirsi Hiltunen, Senior Conservator, Finnish National Gallery

Assessing risk in lending and borrowing
‘I look forward to hearing from you’: a lending and borrowing scenario
Kate Parsons, Head of Collections Management, Tate, UK
Jane Knowles, Head of Exhibitions, Chair, UK Registrars Group

Lending and borrowing – calculating risks
Eva-Lena Bergström, Department Director, Nationalmuseum, Sweden

Panel discussion

Shipping challenges
Public procurement rules – concluding a framework agreement on art transportation
Valtteri Nieminen, CEO of Finnish Procurement Lawyers Attorneys Ltd.

The European air freight security regulations – latest updates on fine art transportation
Hans-Ewald Schneider, President, Hasenkamp, Germany

Preventing the illicit trade of our cultural heritage – a shared responsibility
Mark Starling, Chairman ICEFAT / Managing Director PACART, Canada

Art theft and recovery
Art lost and found
Christopher A. Marinello, Director and Founder, Art Recovery International, USA

The robbery of the Scream and Madonna from Munchmuseet in 2004
Rune Sivertsen, Detective Superintendent, Norwegian Police

Valuation and insurance
Auction house valuations for sales and insurance purposes
Dr. David Bellingham, Programme Director, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, UK

Insurance – non insurance
Lora Houssaye, Exhibitions Registrar, Centre Pompidou, France
Aurore Basly, Exhibition Project Manager, Musée du Louvre, France

State indemnities and insurance – experience throughout Europe
Dr. Stephen Zilkens, Zilkens Fine Art Insurancebroker GmbH, Switzerland

Be prepared
Disaster relief / AIC-Cert
Julie Bakke, Chief Registrar, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA

Fire at the museum
Adina Ekbergh, Security Manager, Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, Sweden

Touring exhibitions
International touring – managing the unexpected
Renée Pfister, Renée Pfister Art & Gallery Consultancy, UK

Touring Turner from Tate: a travelling exhibition case study
Kathy Richmond, Collection Registrar, Tate, UK

Moving collections
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm: moving collections and organisations
Per Hedström, Director of Exhibitions and Deputy Director of Collections, Nationalmuseum, Sweden

Storage relocations at the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
Marie-Astrid Martin, Collection Coordinator, Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar

Collection management challenges of a new museum
Nancy Konstantinou, Registrar, Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar

Relocation of XXL collections – you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs
Joachim Hüber, Museum Consultant, Prevart Ltd, Switzerland

Tools for the future
Making the iPad work for the registrar
Brent Mitchell, Head Registrar, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, USA

Drones might fly – is the sky the limit for technology in collection management?
Sheila Perry, Collections Information System Manager, National Galleries of Scotland, UK

Finale
We were promised jetpacks: what does the future hold for registrars?
Trecey J. Berg-Fulton, Contract Registrar & Museum Consultant

The next generation: breaking barriers with the project Registrar Trek
Angela Kipp, Collection Manager, TECHNOMUSEUM, Mannheim/Co-founder of Registrar Trek, Germany

Closing session

Think smart!

Public resources are dwindling: this was the premise and framework of almost all the speeches at the conference in Edinburgh. The economic crisis is overwhelming public administrations in European countries and forcing museums and cultural venues to come up with new ideas and a new approach to work. How can collection directors and registrars cope with the enormous difficulties caused by cuts? This is the meaning of the Think Smart title of the conference.

Any proposals?
With dwindling resources, it is necessary to reinvigorate the cultural offer in simple and convenient ways. For example, by responding to the public’s demand for in-depth cultural information with a greater curatorial and popularising commitment.
In a brilliant talk, Paolo Viscardi, naturalist and curator of the Horniman Museum & Garden in London, demonstrated how to attract the public’s curiosity by deepening studies of objects in the collections to offer non-trivial information. Their museum chose to increase access to the collections in storage and to strengthen the benefits of collaborative work with projects such as ‘Object in focus’: single objects not particularly valued in the museum are reinterpreted and exhibited in small local museums that become co-organising partners. In other words, a smarter approach to lending is a way to maximise the potential of collections, developing collaborations between parties and supporting the sector and its own organisation.

Leeds Museums, on the other hand, focused on training and collaboration with the university and local government. In 2009 they developed a training model for future registrars, a specific museum internship project aimed at graduates with the objective of facilitating their entry into the sector. The training, which is of a very high quality and partly paid, is based not only on practical experience but also on knowledge of museums and disciplines related to museum work. The internship programme enables the student in the postgraduate schools of Art History and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds to gain experience of working as a registrar in national and local museums. And at the same time undergraduate study provides the necessary knowledge to place the role of registrar in the right context.

The intervention of a group of French registrars from AFROA was devoted to travelling exhibitions and collections, with which French museums seek new financial revenue. While until a few years ago, travelling exhibitions of collections mainly concerned museums under renovation, these are now projects that respond to the growing problem of self-financing.
The Grand Palais, which has no collections of its own and is only an organiser, co-organised 13 travelling exhibitions with collections of other museums in 2011-12. The Centre Pompidou and the Louvre opened new venues (Centre Pompidou Metz and Louvre Lens). Several projects aim at enhancing museum collections with exhibitions in national venues and abroad at co-organising institutions that are also interested in the know-how of French museums, which thus even ‘export’ curators and registrars. As in the case of the travelling exhibition organised in Azerbaijan by French registrars who were there for two months to plan transport and train the local team. From the former Soviet countries, which are quite rich and resourceful, comes a strong cultural demand for Europe.
For French museums, in short, it has become normal to share the organisation of incoming and outgoing exhibitions with other institutions. This implies a new management by the museum.
From the registrars’ point of view, how are these initiatives managed? How do they share responsibilities, costs and organisation? What are the new tasks of registrars?
In a workshop organised in Paris in June 2012, AFROA gathered the experiences of 30 registrars and exhibition co-ordinators on shared costs and responsibilities; loan requests; transport and escorts; contracts; insurance; conservation. The results of the survey will be published on the AFROA website.
The French registrars concluded by saying that the most useful tools to face the new challenges can be summarised as follows: anticipate – communicate – share.
Think fair! The registrar is increasingly a project manager.

Other speeches and parallel sessions covered specific topics, including the government guarantee in the relationship with private individuals, due diligence, immunity from seizure, European standards in the field of transport, and also a speech by a representative of the Egyptian committees of registrars, curators and conservators set up after the events of the ‘Arab Spring’ to inventory and document damage and draw up lists of lost works.

At the end of the proceedings, greetings from the various associations present and a farewell visit to Helsinki, venue of the next conference in June 2014.

Plenary Session 1: Think Smart! Partnerships and Sharing
Opening introductions
Jon Astbury, Chair of the UKRG

Reform and Cuts
Jeff Dunn, Glasgow Museums

Smarter Loans
Sally Colvin, Museums Association

Objects in Focus – Smarter Loaning
Helen Merret & Paolo Viscardi, Horniman Museum, London

Sharing Collections
Jacqueline Ridge, National Galleries of Scotland

All panel discussion and open floor debate
Chair Kate Parsons, Tate, London

Parallel Session 1: Think Smart! Partnerships and Sharing
Museum partners with model maker’s guild to save collection
Lynn-Marie Richard, Maritime Museum, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Think  Smart – Registrar training for the future
Jen Kaines,  A Harrison Moore,  & Cassia Pennigton

Due diligence
Freda Matassa, Freelance Registrar, London

The importance of materials & case construction
National Galleries of Scotland Technicians with Momart

Shipping & Couriering Objects by Air
David Giles, Momart and Duncan Capp, Constantine

Parallel Session 2: Think Smart! Digital
The narrative of objects: conservation, capture and collaboration
Arielle Juler and Paul McNulty, National Galleries Scotland

Towards a paperless print room
Sheila Perry and Ottavia Tonelli, National Galleries Scotland

The ups and downs of collections and technology
Tracey  Berg-Fulton, Pennysylvania, USA

Touring Exhibitions – Contracts and Public Bids from an Agent’s Perspective
Ben Adams, Constantine, LP Art, France and SIT, Spain

The importance of materials & case construction
National Galleries Scotland Technicians with Momart

Shipping & Couriering Objects by Air
Stuart Brown, Momart and Duncan Capp, Constantine

Parallel Session 3: Think Smart! Moral, Ethical & Practical Considerations
Shared Liabilities
Blackwall Green

Public Benefit and Private Interest
Daniel Slater, White Cube, London

After the Revolution
Ghada Tarek and Doha Fathy, Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran
Dean Baylis, British Museum

The New European Packing and Transport Standard
Freda Matassa,  Florence Caillieret,  Valerie Haerden, Cindy Zalm

Smarter Exhibitions
Jane Knowles, Royal Academy, London and Francesco Donadio, Constantine

Project Management for Museum decants
Mark Hunt, Constantine and the Imperial War Museum

Object Movement & Technical Project Management
John Kidd, Momart

Customs Awareness
Steve Gourley, Momart

Plenary Session 2: Think Smart! Income Generation
Maximising your collection: creating a touring exhibition with AFA
Jennifer Hefner and Anna Evenhouse, American Federation of Arts

Touring Exhibitions and Collections
M. Etave,  R. Beaujean-Deshamps,  L. Petit,  K. Cartacheff, V. Lagane, S. Maziere, France

Concessions for cash or the new way forward?
Janice Slater, National Gallery of Scotland

Closing Address and hand over to the 2014 Organising Committee

The 7th European Registrars’ Conference ERC2010 was organised by the Netherlands Registrars Group – NRG, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

The programme, centred on the theme Being Green, alternated between plenary sessions, workshops and seminars, which dealt with various topics such as sustainability in museums and the use of management systems, as well as “green” practices and procedures in the face of an increasingly complex legislative context concerning the circulation of works of art.

Below are the topics and interventions addressed.

Welcome, Introduction, Wrap up
Cindy Zalm, chair Netherlands Registrars Group
Michiel Nijhoff
Paul Spies
Max Meijer

Keynotes
Museums, Registrars and Sustainability
Maurice Davies

Air Freight Safety – European Legislation on Air Freight, Air Freight Safety and Cargo Screening
René Italiaander

TSA (Transportation Security Administration) in the USA
Scott Pfeifer

A Carbon-Neutral Research Centre for Beauty
Randy Klinger

Lending to Europe: an update
Frank Bergevoet

The Art of Transitions to Become Green
Derk Loorbach

Procedures at Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Beatrix Schopp

Sessions
Sustainability and Climate Control in Museums
Bart Ankersmit

New Approaches to Museum Depots
Hans-Ewald Schneider

Sustainable Storage as Result of a Preventive Approach
Wouter Hijnberg and Marco Martens

Green, Red, Black: Analysis from the Going Green Survey
Stephen Mellor

The Greening of Fine Art Transportation: What Colour is your Crate?
Greg Gahagan, Klaus Hillman and Jonathan Schwartz

Registrars at the Centre of Collections Mobility
Marjolein Cremer

Will Being Green Influence Fine Art insurance?
Stephan Zilkens

The Loan is Insured = Green Light?
Cees Kortleve

From Manual Inventory Books to Digitized Inventory Records: A Preliminary Exploration of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan
Pang-Yen Cheng

Vibrrrrrrrrrrations. – The Impact of Vibration on Works of Art
Bill Wei

Energy-optimized Rebirth: The Renovation of the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum in Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Reinhard Spieler

How to Find a Needle in a Haystack? Implementation of RFID as an Improvement in the Management of a Scientific Collection: the Case of Institut Català de Paleontologia, Barcelona
Laura Celià

Experience with RFID Technology at Apice in Florence
Laura Reina

An International Concern: The Bizot Group Questionnaire and the V&A’s Approach to Becoming a Greener Museum
Sandra Smith

Panel discussion
Towards a new European Organisation: Sustaining the Knowledge of European Collection Mobility

Workshops
Tracking the Collection: Integrating Location Administration in Your Adlib Database
Judith van Gent, Annelies de Mey and René van de Heuvel

Registrar, a Reference Description
Herma Hofmeijer

The sixth European registrar conference was organised by swissregistrar at the Congress Center in Basle.

During the two days of the conference, the following topics were addressed: different types of art spaces; collectors and museums; problems and opportunities arising from new museums in the Middle East; documentation and archiving of museum work; collecting, inventorying and exhibiting new media; ethical issues in museum work: laws, controls and procedures; museums and living artists: potentially conflicting interests?

Below are the themes and papers addressed, extracted from the conference programme.

Welcome address
Michael Koechlin, Head of Culture, Department of Education Canton of Basle City, and Elaine Vogel Keller, President of swissregistrars

A Different Type of Space for Art
Schaulager: A Different Space for Art
Theodora Vischer, Director, Schaulager, Münchenstein/Basel

Unlimited Accumulation? From Considerations of Preservation Principles to New Ways of Exhibiting
Catherine Duruel, Head of Collections, Centre Pompidou, Paris

Panel discussion:
Collectors and Museums – Towards a Better Partnership
Presentation: Bice Curiger, Curator, Kunsthaus Zürich
Maria de Peverelli, Art Consultant, Zurich
Thomas Koerfer, Collector, Zurich

New Museums in the Middle East: Issues and Opportunities
Dubai’s Aspiration to Become a Center for Global Culture
Michael Schindhelm, Director for Culture, Arts and Heritage, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority

Building the Future in Abu Dhabi: The Case of Saadiyat Island
Maria Paula Armelin, Registrar, Guggenheim Museum, New York

New Directions: The British Museum’s Loans and Travelling Exhibition Programme
Jill Maggs, Loans Manager, The British Museum, London

United in Diversity
Paul Williamson, Director Museums and Galleries, and Mark Hunt, Technical Manager, Constantine, London

Insuring Works of Art in the Emerging Markets of the Middle East
Robert Graham, Blackwall Green, London

Preserving for the Future: Documentation and Storage of Museum Work
PEVIAR, a Digital Storage Solution for Long-Term Archiving
Rudolf Gschwind, Head of Imaging& Media Lab, Basel

Small and Large Scale: Digital Preservation in Museums and in ICOM-CIDOC
Stefan Rohde-Enslin, Head of Institute for Museum Research – SMB-PK, Berlin

New Media Art: Collecting, Inventorying and Exhibiting New Media
The Preservation of Video Art: Collecting Data, Archiving, Lending
Agathe Jarczyk, Conservator, Videocompany Zofingen, Switzerland

Building-up a Permanent Collection of Audio-Visual Work
Elena Volpato, Curator Video Collection, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, Turin

Ethical Issues in Museum Work: Laws, Controls and Procedures
Art without Borders? Ethical Challenges for Museums
Jean-Frédéric Jauslin, Director, Federal Office of Culture, Bern

CITES and Museums: How do Endangered Species Regulations Affect the Work of a Registrar?
Stephen Nash, CITES Secretariat, Geneva

Legal Immunity for Artworks for Temporary Loans to Switzerland
Benno Widmer, Head Specialized Body for the Transfer of Cultural Property, Federal Office of Culture, Bern

Panel discussion:
Museums and Living Artists: Potentially Clashing Interests?
Presentation: Stephen Dunn, Registrar, National Gallery, London
Sabina Lang, Artist, Burgdorf
Luca Trevisani, Artist, Berlin
Fabienne Eggelhöfer, Curator, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern
Luisa Mensi, Conservator, Turin

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

The conference, organised by the German registrars’ association, addressed topics such as government indemnity, the opportunities and challenges posed by the enlargement of the European Union, cost reduction in the organisation of exhibitions, working with materials and objects unconventional in quality and size, and more generally with contemporary works of art.
Here is the programme of the interventions of the two days.

Conference opening.
Gijs van Tuyl, Director, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg.
Birgid Pudney-Schmidt, Manfred Müller, Registrars Deutschland

Government Indemnity: The financial benefit to loans and exhibitions.
Chair: Stephen Dunn, Registrar, Tate Modern, London.

UK Indemnity
Hillary Bauer, Head of the Cultural Property Unit, Department Culture, Media an Sport, London.
US Government Indemnity
Alice Welihan, Indemnity Administrator, National Endowment for the Arts, Washington
National Indemnity in Denmark
Henrik Bjerre, Danish Ministry of Culture, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Spanish Government Indemnity
Veronica Castillo, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid
Italian Indemnity
Emanuela Fiori, Soprintendenza per il Patrimonio Storico, Bologna
German Federal and State Indemnities
Stephan Zilkens, Oskar Schunck AG, Cologne

The Opportunities and Challenges of the Expanding European Union.
Chair: Eva Gebhard, Head of Art Handling, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg.

Working with the treasures of the Moscow Kremlin
Maria Bogoslovskaya, Exhibitions Coordinator, State Kremlin Museum, Moscow
International loans from Polish Museums
Tomasz Zaucha, Registrar, Muzeum Narodowe W Krakowie
How to organize shows whithout a registrar
Riitta Rajalin, Exhibition Technician, Kiasma Museum, Helsinki
The situation of the museums in Greece
Lila de Chaves, Hellenic Federation of Friends of Museums, Athen

Maximum Value, Minimum Cost: Reducing exhibition costs.
Chair: Tina Köhler, Exhibition Organisation, Haus der Kunst, Munich.

Budgeting exhibitions
Martine Silie, Chef du Service des Manifestations. Centre Pompidou, Paris
Estimates – how to ask for, how to read them
Markus Dennig, Masterpiece International Ltd, New York
Shipping and Couriers
Dr. Manfred Müller: Project Manager, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Reducing insurance cost
Michael Kuhn, Kuhn & Bülow Insurance Brokers, Berlin

Beyond Oil on Canvas: Working with unconventional materials.
Chair: Katharina Nettekoven, Registrar, Kunstsammlung -Nordrhein-Westfalen, Duesseldorf.

Issues with the Inventory, Packing and Storing of Contempory Art – Example “Uno Momento” by Jason Rhoades
Laura Bechter, Registrar, Hauser & Wirth Collection, St. Gallen
Challenges of modern art and new materials
Pip Laurenson, Media Conservator, Tate Modern, London
Moving Beuys from Mönchengladbach to Berlin
Ernst Fuchs, Fuchs Realisation GmbH, Bochum
Handling Contemporary photographs: Challenges and Comforts
Martin Jürgens, Photo Conservator, Hamburg

Current collection and exhibition management systems.
Chair: Anne Barz, (Leitung Fachliche Dienste), Hamburger Kunsthalle.

MuseumPlus at K20K21 – Organizing the Chaos
Dr. Maria Müller-Schareck, Curator, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Duesseldorf
Gallery Systems – planning implementations to meet your objectives
Tim Henbrey, Gallery Systems, London
ArteFact
Wolfgang Müller-Kaufmann, CBM Informationslogistik GmbH, Vienna
Rapid Exhibitions
Jeremy Gilmore, CJG Consultants Ltd, London

Too big, too difficult, too heavy: Moving and installing problem objects.
Chair: Birgid Pudney-Schmidt, Chair Registrars Deutschland e.V.

Maurizio Cattelan – How to bring an olive tree into a Staircaise
Eva Gebhard, Registrar, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Moving Rembrandt’ s “Nightwatch”
Wim Hoeben, Head of Material Collections Management, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Moving Concorde – The Impossible made Possible
Alistair Dodds, Curator of Transport, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh:
Moving with Damien Hirst
Guy Morey, Momart Ltd, London