13th Museum Conservation Science Seminar
The above seminar was hosted by the Museum Conservation Science Seminar, Mie Museum Association and National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo in Mie Prefecture on February 13 and 14. Seminar participants included people who had curator training and museum curators in the prefecture. Seminar activities included information exchange and lectures on practical conservation activities in cultural property-related facilities. On the first day, a debriefing was conducted in the Mie Prefectural Art Museum (60 participants). First, visiting researcher Mr. Miura Sadatoshi gave a keynote lecture entitled “The Past and Future of Creating a Conservation Environment”. Then the four museum curators in Mie Prefecture and researcher Mr. Inuzuka Masahide reported on facility environment control, upgrading, and maintenance; this report was met with active questions and answers. On the second day, we visited Kogakkan University, Sagawa Memorial Shinto Museum, Jingu Chokokan Museum, Jingu Agriculture Museum, and Jingu Art Museum. The participants compared the conservation environments of each museum, and took part in information exchange and discussions from various angles. This seminar provides alumni society-style atmosphere in which long-time museum curators renew old friendships and others have the opportunity to interact with each other. Another great feature is that curators see the field sites of cultural property conservation in local districts with which they usually do not have contact, and compare these with conservation in their own museums. We deeply express our thanks to the many people who cooperated with the implementation of this seminar.