Collection Storage: A Window into the Richness of Cultural Heritage.

Abstract

Gaël de Guichen is a key figure in the world of conservation and collection storage. His career has taken him from the Lascaux cave in France's Vézère Valley to the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) in Rome, Italy. At the latter, he developed the concept of ‘preventive conservation' and set up numerous study programmes for heritage preservation, including the RE-ORG method, which has since become an international standard in collection storage. In his words, ‘a museum's storage room is the place where unexhibited collections are brought together in optimal conditions, ready to be displayed in galleries, studied by specialists, and, if possible, seen by the public.’ In this interview, he tells us how he came to this definition and what it implies. His journey, however, is part of a larger story: one that also paves the way for the future of collection storage around the world.