From Long Island to Niagara Falls, these funds will provide treatment by professional conservators to aid in stabilizing, preserving, and making accessible to the public an array of unique objects in collections of New York State's museums, historical, and cultural organizations of all sizes. The 2020 grants will support conservation needs of the many types of artifacts typically found in art and history museums and historical societies throughout New York State, including a large shadow box wreath, a large bandbox c.1830, Eastern Woodland style traditional Seneca ash basket, Masonic tracing board, signature quilt c.1810 and a selection of works of art on paper, textiles, paintings on canvas, and decorative arts.

Grants are awarded for prioritized, urgently needed conservation of objects that, once treated, will impact public interpretive programs, exhibitions, and education. Non-profit organizations with stewardship responsibility for cultural collections (but without in-house conservation staff), were eligible applicants; state or federally owned collections are ineligible for support. Grant funding can treat paintings, works on paper, textiles, furniture, sculpture, ethnographic, historical, and decorative objects, and may also support accompanying professional treatment of frames, supports, stands, and mounts if integral to the final public presentation of the object after conservation.

GHHN strives to provide support for conservation treatments that are executed on the highest professional level. The field of conservation is continually changing, with pioneering research and dissemination of findings on innovative materials and techniques. Although there are many paths into the field of conservation, we acknowledge practitioners who have demonstrated high levels of proficiency and advanced knowledge, adherence to the ethics and standards of the American Institute of Conservation (AIC), and are recognized for their expertise in the museum field. In 2020's grants, treatment will be provided by 16 individual conservators.

 

These grants lead to public impact outcomes beyond the actual conservation of museum objects, including new interest in the state's incredibly varied collections, increased public awareness of the museum's role as steward, and have proven a spark to further institutional, strategic, financial, and long-range conservation planning. Beyond these outcomes, grant recipients report that Conservation Treatment funding prompts greater use of collections (for exhibition, web content, and loan), enhanced interpretive capability, and expanded opportunities to educate the public about art, history, humanities, the science of conservation, and museum work itself.