Thursday, November 7, 2024

14:50 - 15:30

---

Details

Panel with: Meryl Cohen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA Claire Hallinan, The National Gallery, London, United Kingdom Janet Moore, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA In 2021, the National Gallery, London, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, joined together to discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing that the museum sector's responses had provided them with a generational opportunity to reflect upon standard practices related to couriering artwork. At this time, robust discussions were taking place between registrars, managers, conservators, curators, museum directors, art shippers and insurance brokers concerning best practices, sustainability, and the way to decide if a physical courier might be needed, or whether a pandemic-tested alternative could be employed. These three museums found themselves in alignment in their commitment to reduce the number of couriers; also in the way they were evaluating the need for a courier. They prepared an institutional, shared statement and developed a Loan Out Assessment form–a series of questions to help make decisions about individual loans and objects. Three years on, this rubric is still a useful, empowering tool. It reflects a measured, hybrid approach helping to weigh-up arguments for no courier, or a remote courier (virtual/bookend) or a shared courier, but it recognizes that sometimes an in-person courier is necessary. The registrars from these museums will talk about the rubric, and reflect on how the situation has shifted for them in the past three years. They hope that this will lead to lively round-table discussions between registrars at the conference, and a sharing of information about how their institutions evaluate courier-needs for outgoing loans.