Have you completed a collections move and found yourself left with a plethora of foam, polyester fiberfill, and boxes that you would happily share with another institution? Or maybe you’re moving out of storage space or just closed an exhibition and have furniture you can no longer use? Repurposing archival materials and museum furniture takes time and effort, which is often not built into our job descriptions.
As stewards of cultural heritage, we must be conscious of protecting our environment by not creating unnecessary waste. This presentation will focus on creative and efficient ways to share unwanted goods through community resources, furniture vendors, social media, and online classifieds.
2. Speakers
• Katie Fleming: Gallery Manager and Education
Coordinator, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
• Barbara Hanson Forsyth: Senior Manager of Collections
and Exhibitions at Mingei International Museum
• Lisa Schmidt: Ambassador at CultureNut Xchange, a
division of Exhibits Development Group
3. Buried in Batting!
Katie Fleming
Gallery Manager &
Education Coordinator
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum
of Anthropology
Berkeley, California
8. • 1500lbs of polyester fiberfill
• 5,000+ cardboard boxes
• 200+ plastic pallets
• 10,000+ sheets of packing
paper
• 3,000+ feet of bubble wrap
Packing Materials
by the Numbers
9. Reuse During
the Move
Sorting, labeling and re-using packing materials
Fabrication of storage mounts for safety both during
travel and long-term
Modifications of storage furniture for travel
Daily inventorying of materials
Daily scheduled time for materials management
Modifications of storage furniture for maximum
reuse and functionality in new space
10. Redistribution Project – Finding Recipients
Professional
networks
Social platforms Community Reuse
Organizations
Long shots!
14. Long Shots!
PTAs, teachers and schools
Independent arts and community organizations
Retirement communities
Local makers
Shipping organizations and movers with storage space
16. Takeaways
• Build a reuse and redistribution plan into your
move or project
• Use modular and durable materials whenever
possible
• Expect the unexpected
• Build time into your work day for materials
management and logistics
• Develop and leverage community networks
• If space allows, retain materials for your next
project
17. There’s no such thing as a
green collections move…
But one can find creative solutions to reuse and
repurpose furniture and other resources
31. Using drawers as boxes
• Objects packed in place with plenty of tissue
• Barcode stickers placed on each drawer
• AWSD built custom inserts to go between the drawers
so they could be stacked and placed on pallets
32. Left: Custom-made racking for rug storage serves as primary rug
storage during renovation and overflow storage upon re-opening
Right: Rolling “chest” of Spacesaver drawers
39. Platform Model
Buyers
FREE TO US
the platform to browse, list in
search of, and buy
Platform
Sellers
FREE TO LIST
Items for sale on the platform
39
40. The Problem:
We watch museums and science centers throw valuable
assets and products into the trash every day.
● Museums have little time to devote to deaccessioning
○ Removing the items is time sensitive
● Museums have numerous idle assets
○ Limited storage space
● Museums want Green solutions, but don’t practice what they preach
● There is no easy way to connect museums who are looking to buy/sell
used exhibitory
● There is no existing marketplace platform to address their specific needs
42. More museums are focusing on sustainability, leverage
CultureNut’s green nature to reach customers
“Museums hold the diverse physical and intellectual resources, abilities, creativity,
freedom, and authority to foster the changes the world needs most.”
- The Museum Journal (April 2017)
Take the pledge!
Green efforts are increasingly important
Museums will proudly display the CultureNut logo
if they pledge to:
● Reduce waste during deaccessioning
● Recycle or resell 30% of no-longer used
exhibitry items