Friday, November 8, 2024

12:05 - 12:30

Teatro Studio Borgna

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Details

Valerie Kohler-Regel and Ana Muñoz Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom As a long-standing member of the BIZOT Group, the V&A is updating their courier policy in line with the refreshed BIZOTGreen Protocol with the aim to reduce the need for couriers through a process of risk assessment and implementation of mitigation measures. The V&A maintains a general presumption against sending couriers unless the condition of the objects or the circumstances around the loan demand a close supervision. As many other institutions, during the pandemic the V&A adopted the use of virtual couriers, which continues today. Post pandemic, and in the context of the climate emergency, we are exploring a wider range of sustainable alternatives, including local (bookend) couriers and sharing courier responsibilities with other institutions. In this presentation, the V&A will share our updated couriering policy and decision-making tree. These changes have not been accepted by all departments unquestioningly, and we will outline the steps that were taken to bring colleagues from all pertinent departments on board with the new policy. Using case studies of recent loans, we will explain the role of each internal body in the making of a final decision (i.e. curatorial, conservation, technical services, the loans section, and finally the Loans Committee) and will reflect on the opportunities and challenges each method presents.

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Speaker