International course on paper conservation in Latin America

8 February. Twelve participants from nine countries from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered at the National Conservation Centre in Mexico City (CNCPC-INAH) to attend the “First international course on paper conservation in Latin America. Meeting with the East” from 17 to 30 October 2012.

The course aimed at providing the basic tools of Japanese materials and techniques for paper conservation, and improving participant understanding of the Japanese paper tradition. The course also aimed at offering opportunities to build bridges between Japanese and Western paper conservation traditions, and to assess the applicability of the Japanese approach, materials and techniques to non-Japanese cultural heritage, with particular reference to Latin American paper heritage. Finally, the course also promoted the exchange of experiences and information on paper conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This two-week course provided intensive sessions combining theory and practice, through lectures and practical work. The resource persons team was composed by paper conservation professionals from Argentina, Japan, Mexico and Spain. The activities were divided in two main stages. The first one was dedicated to Japanese conservation materials, tools and techniques, traditionally used for Japanese paper heritage. The second stage presented some alternatives of materials and tools which can be found more easily in the Latin American context, as well as conservation techniques and methods tailored for Western paper heritage.

The course was jointly organized by CNCPC-INAH, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Tokyo, Japan), under the ICCROM LATAM Programme for the conservation of cultural heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This first course provided a rich platform to exchange information and experiences, and the course participants and teaching team will explore possibilities to maintain and expand the network of paper conservation professionals, as well as means of exchanging information. The course is expected to be replicated in the future.

Member States represented: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Venezuela

updated on: 11 February, 2013