Today I got experience a little of what happens “behind the scenes” in Australia’s premier conservation company “Artlab Australia” … yay! And to say it was way cool would be such an understatement. Now first up let me tell you that Artlab Australia is one of those places that works behind the scenes. You see their work, but rarely see them. They are conservators, and they are who the galleries, museums, libraries, other cultural institutions as well as private individuals and call regarding repairs to treasures that they have. And not just Australia, but from around the world. So everything from paper documents, to photographs, to paintings, to books, to tapestries, to ceramics, even statues along with everything in between, is all part of the regular conservation work that Artlab does. Artlab Australia kindly opened their doors to the public as part of Open House Adelaide, which is also on as part of About Time: South Australia’s History Festival (our history month) which runs all of May. I saw it was on, booked, and went along with MyrLonetester. So after leaving our bags and cameras in a locked up room as they’re not allowed to be taken on the tour, we were introduced to Artlab Australia’s Director, Andrew Durham. He led the tour around this fascinating place. Over 3 or 4 floors (I lost track), we were shown the five conservation sections: the large projects, objects, paper and books, and paintings, and textiles. The tour was designed to “give you the opportunity to view a conservator’s world and see where historical items and wonderful artworks are conserved and maintained” and it sure did that, and hour+ tour just flew by. It was fascinating to see not only that a...
