Conservation Guidance

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Introduction

The following is the Environmental Policy for Rye Art Gallery (RAG). As with all policies, it is reviewed periodically. These are general guidelines for the maintenance of an acceptable environment for the permanent collection of RAG. For the new development, RAG will provide a specification of any conditions required.

The Aim

Art works must be displayed and stored in an environment which minimizes their rate of deterioration. The factors which need to be controlled are:

- Temperature
- Humidity
- Light and all forms of radiation
- Pollution - gaseous and particulate
- Vibration
- Handling

The limiting factors are:

the location of the site in an urban environment
the historic buildings
the varied nature of the collections
a restricted budget.

These constraints force RAG to take a pragmatic approach.
The Policy: The following applies:

• The new development within RAG must provide acceptable conditions (see The Practical).
• Any movement of an object should result in its being placed in a better environment than previously.
• Objects should be illuminated only when it is necessary for display or study; at these times the illumination should be no more than that needed for the task.
• Radiation other than visible light (e.g. ultra-violet radiation) should be limited.
• The internal space of the Gallery must be properly insulated from external conditions.
• Cleanliness must be maintained within the building at all times.
• The new scheme in the Gallery should include the provision for environmental monitoring.
• Objects must be protected from any undue vibration or shock.
• Objects borrowed by the Gallery should only be accepted when the Gallery is able to provide the conditions specified by the lender. RAG must insist that objects loaned from the Gallery are provided with conditions which match those within RAG.
• While objects are in transit the ambient conditions around the object should be maintained.

The Ideal

The aim is to maintain a stable environment, with no light falling on an object except when it is on view, e.g. during RAG opening hours. While some materials are not affected by fluctuation of humidity and temperature, others are. Thus, a steady, controlled environment would be ideal.

Environment parameters for a mixed collection:

• These environmental parameters would be least damaging to a mixed Collection:
o Temperature range 19 Å 1_C
o Humidity range 50% Å 2%rh [NB. this represents the best control of rh that can be achieved]

• Ultra-violet radiation less than 75 W/lm (microwatts per lumen)

• Illuminance light levels should be in the region 50-250 lux

• Filtration
• Particulates, pre-filter to give 98% efficiency at 5 m [BS 6540]

• High efficiency filter to give 99.97% efficiency at 0.6 m [BS 3928]

• Gases: all pollutant gases should be removed.

• The Practical

It would be difficult in the RAG to achieve the ideal conditions within all gallery spaces. It is also labour-intensive and expensive to maintain. We know that the rapid fluctuations of rh, which are particularly damaging to much material, can be effectively dampened down by enclosing the exhibits within showcases. This also provides security for the objects.

Environmental parameters within the gallery space should be kept within reasonable limits, (assuming objects are enclosed within high quality cases with passive conditioning, e.g. silica gel):

• Temperature: always within the range 18-25_C
• Humidity: within 40%-65% rh, with fluctuations of no more
o than 5% within 1 hour
• Filtration: 85% efficiency at 5 m

Light and ultra-violet radiation are easier to measure and control than temperature and humidity. This means that it is practical to stipulate standard conditions (see above). Light intensity may be calculated as an overall maximum continuous dose, or with restricted viewing on a lux.hour calculation.

A maximum annual exposure of 200,000 lux. hours for highly light sensitive material is acceptable. This gives more flexibility, but requires better supervision.

It is questionable whether any highly light-sensitive objects should be on permanent display. These objects would be best grouped in areas of the building where there is little natural light and the display regularly changed. Where an object is known to have had a very low light exposure during its lifetime, it should not be put on display without due consideration.

Gallery Design

The design of a gallery takes into account the needs of movement and placement of objects, e.g. the cases should not be placed too close together, the floor must be smooth.

Protective measures against vibration and shock

Objects should not be subjected to undue vibration or shock. Maximum velocity of vibration to be no more than 4mm/sec within any Museum building. Drilling operations should be tested before use so that the risk can be assessed.

Environmental monitoring

Control is achieved by monitoring conditions, which
builds an environmental history of areas of the Museum. This monitoring provides a history of the conditions which have been maintained around certain objects.

Sensors are used to monitor temperature and humidity. Sensors for light intensity and gaseous pollution are employed periodically in selected areas. There is a distributed series of data loggers to gather the data from sensors placed within gallery spaces and showcases.

The plant within the gallery has proper maintenance contracts and backup facilities, contributing to the overall picture for the gallery.

Chair RAG Trust
Nov 09