By Martin Brückner

In June 2022, the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (WPAMC) and the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) launched their first joint recovery mission in response to climate disasters. A team of students and faculty traveled to the Ahr Valley, Germany to help recover local museum collections destroyed by the devastating flooding of July 2021. Following the programs’ offer to help, and upon the invitation from local museum curators, the WPAMC-WUDPAC team spent a week providing vital disaster relief for the collection belonging to the Stadt Museum in the city of Ahrweiler. Our work ranged from sourcing supplies and workspace planning, to devising and implementing treatment and documentation protocols, to preparing condition report forms and an after-action report.

Over the week, we re-cataloged and cleaned nearly 100 objects in a mobile storage and lab space provided by the city. In addition to textiles and metal objects, the team dealt mostly with glass and ceramics which played a big role in the region; they were often produced as souvenirs from the spa towns, such as nearby Bad Neuenahr, where people would come to drink mineralized water for their health (these are the same springs that produce the Apollinaris mineral water). Community pop-up clinics were a core part of our mission. Area residents were invited to bring in personal treasures affected by the disaster for advice from the team. Over the course of two days, the team saw everything from Indonesian paintings and ceramic figurines, to leather baby shoes and an 18th-century leather-bound family bible. Each object came with unique conservation needs and an individual story about family members, friends, or community history. Team members provided advice about surface cleaning, water damage, and mold remediation, reminding us all that it is worth preserving the things that matter to each of us.

Beyond helping people from the region, the team’s visit proved to be critical for attracting future help. A visit from the Cologne Institute of Conservation Science (CICS) has now turned into long-term support under the guidance of Prof. Friederike Waentig (co-founder of the German Blue Shield initiative). Local media reports of our visit provided a timely reminder to maintain continued state and federal support. A day trip to the Historic Ship Museum and the Cathedral Museum in the state capital, Mainz, allowed students to connect with regional conservators, exhibition specialists, and curators, who not only gladly shared their insights into preventative care and exhibition strategies, but also expressed great interest in future collaborations.

The experience was humbling, moving, and exhausting. The team included Emily Bach (WPAMC 2022), Rachael Kane (WPAMC 2022), Allison Kelley (WUDPAC 2022), Ashley Stanford (WUDPAC 2024), and was co-piloted by Preventive Conservator Maddie Cooper (@conservationcenter) and Martin Brückner (Director, WPAMC). The mission was made possible thanks to generous support from the WPAMC and WUDPAC programs, the UD College of Arts and Sciences, the Society of Winterthur Fellows, and The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts.

(See all the images and article in the October-November 2022 "News in Conservation" Issue 92, p. 9-10)