AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has become increasingly focused on issues of object access and sustainability, while its Conservation department continues to preserve and maintain the 2.8 million objects in its collections to the highest level possible. This has conventionally presented a conflict and tension between departments within museums. This conflict has felt particularly acute during turbulent times, when the unexpected is the most frequent occurrence and the stakes seem high. For example, the V&A no longer assumes couriers will accompany loans out and tours, which has encouraged debate about how we in Conservation will continue to meet our preservation aims while also being pragmatic.

This presentation is about the implementation of a novel approach to risk management within the Conservation department at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, specifically in the context of exhibitions and loans out decision making. This approach now allows the museum to default to ‘yes’ more often with a confidence that collections care and object protection remain our top priority, while also encouraging sustainability and more innovative conservation practice.

Using specific examples and use cases, the presentation will outline how concerns that are rooted in conventional 20th-century conservation practices can be alleviated, as well as the benefits and outcomes of using 21st-century strategic risk approaches that make best use of technologies and expertise to help an institution more easily achieve its wider goals of access, inclusion, and education. A risk-based approach does not allow us to control the outcomes of a project or event, but it does allow us to adequately plan for the unexpected.