A Conservation Strategy Plan for Vietnam National Fine Art Museum

Ref.: 212
Área temática: 03 Integridad visual de los paisajes urbanos históricos
Fecha de recepción: 13/11/2008

AUTORES (* Autor principal)

FRY, Caroline * (Australia) - University of Melbourne

ABSTRACT

Australian conservators from The Centre for Conservation of Cultural Materials, at The University of Melbourne, have been delivering conservation treatment and training programs to various cultural institutes in Vietnam for the past 4 years. Conservators from CCMC have found a highly receptive audience of museum professionals eager to learn skills required to preserve their patrimony. There is a sense of urgency to build a workforce of skilled Vietnamese museum professionals and conservators to supply the needs of a collecting institutes such as libraries, fine art galleries, army museums and museums of ethnographic objects, in addition to training in heritage preservation for allied professions such architecture and urban planning which are the main fields of discussion in this conference.

This paper will articulate observations made by an Australian conservator who worked at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi in 2004. The discussion draws on the experience gained during the conservation treatment of a small but nationally significant an oil painting. The painting, Em Thuy was painted by a renowned Vietnamese painted in 1943. This project marked the beginning of the involvement of The University of Melbourne CCMC of conservation training to Vietnam. The treatment provided the opportunity to engage the public, museum professionals, and government agencies in o0en debate about the importance of preservation of cultural heritage as a means for maintaining cultural identity. This paper will briefly discuss the conservation treatment of the painting, with respect to a larger discussion about preservation of material culture in tropical environments, and the need to adapt `western' conservation practice to provide flexible, culturally appropriate, and locally achievable options suitable for South East Asia.

The culmination of the placement involved developing a conservation strategy plan for various collections at VNMFA, a large historic building on Nyugen Thai Hoc Street. The strategy plan outlined priorities for adaptation of the building for display and storage of art collections. Issues such as fenestration, glazing and controlling ingress of daylight and UV light to museum standards could be achieved simply and cost effectively without compromising the built structure. Regulating and controlling internal air quality was a major concern, considering high temperatures and high humidity which impact of the condition of collection materials. Recommendations included display and storage of the vulnerable materials in the most environmentally stable areas of the building. These decisions are made in close collaboration between curators and conservators, working with knowledge of collection materials and sensitive consideration of the historic façade, design and amenity of the building. Since 2004, under the leadership of Dr Quoc Truong Binh, staff at the museum have implemented many of the recommendations, with significant improvement to the overall condition of the collection. The changes made by VNMFA provide a model for minimal and informed adaptation of an existing structure which preserves the historic integrity of the building without compromising its new role as a repository for cultural collections.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA