Abstracts due Aug 9

The Summit is Virtual in 2021!

Now accepting Abstracts for the

2021 Safety and Cultural Heritage Summit: Preserving Our Heritage and Protecting Our Health - Virtual Professional Development Seminar

The Potomac Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Washington Conservation Guild, the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Safety, Health and Environmental Management, and the Smithsonian National Collections Program will once again collaborate with the Lunder Conservation Center to host a Safety and Cultural Heritage Summit.

Half-days

Tuesday, 19 October, and Wednesday, 20 October 2021

Presented On-line – FREE Registration!

We are now accepting abstracts focusing on controlling health and safety risks from preparing, treating, managing, and exhibiting artistic, historic, and natural science collections as well as abating structural hazards and responding to disasters impacting collections, including challenges of the pandemic. We welcome case studies and action plans, and we encourage joint presentations by conservators, collections care professionals, AND health & safety professionals!

Safety challenges in installing and managing gallery exhibits--working at heights or outdoors; with heavy, large, or hazardous objects; with touchable/interactive exhibits.
Strategies for building constructive, working relationships between safety and collections professionals, illustrated by case studies, with action steps to resolution.
Identifying and managing hazardous materials in collections.
Safety strategies at both staff and management levels.
Identifying risks posed by conservation treatments and implementing safe work policies for conservation laboratories, with object- and material-specific hazards and management.
Emergency preparedness and response in collections, with action steps.
Pandemic response strategies, including closing down an institution and re-opening with modified procedures.
Scalable solutions for small and large institutions with small or large budgets.

Presenters have 4 submission options:

An abstract for a 20-minute presentation. Additional time will be allotted for questions.
An abstract for a 10-minute presentation. Additional time will be allotted for questions.
An abstract for a 60 or 90-minute panel with multiple speakers; either time-frame must allow for 15 minutes for speaker/audience discussion. Abstract to include names of moderator and panelists.
An abstract for a virtual poster. Poster format requirements will be provided after your submission is accepted. The poster will be included on the Summit Virtual site; no presentation needed.

Abstracts must specify your submission preference, a provisional title, names and contact information for each submitter, panelist & moderator, and not exceed 400 words. Presentations may be delivered live or prerecorded.

Questions Welcomed! Please send your presentation abstracts to summit-abstracts@washingtonconservationguild.org by August 9.