Cultivating Sustainable Collections is gathering in canada on 11-13 September 2026.
Price: With lunch CAD $45 (includes all events and 2 workshops); Without lunch CAD $20 (includes all events and 2 workshops) ; Online (panels only) Free (registration is required)
Cultivating Sustainable Collections is a gathering focused on advancing sustainable practices in collection management and preventive conservation. As community gathering places, museums, galleries, and other heritage institutions can play a crucial role in supporting the deep changes required to confront climate change and environmental degradation. Yet, many accepted conservation standards designed to protect and preserve material culture are energy- and resource-intensive. Cultivating Sustainable Collections responds to the urgent need for systemic change in how cultural institutions preserve, use, care for, and understand collections in the face of the climate crisis.
Building on the successful first gathering, hosted by Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Fall 2025, the symposium will strengthen and expand an active network for collaboration and advocacy, offering opportunities to share research, solutions, and questions. Topics range from rethinking climate control requirements to environmentally friendly packing materials, the energy footprint of digital preservation and solar-powered alternative archives, preparing for climate-caused disasters and collecting in the aftermath of wildfires, dealing with hazardous materials lurking in collections, and reimagining collections entirely through Indigenous, queer, and disabled perspectives. How can collections be managed and developed in ways that weigh past omissions and oversights against the impossibility of infinite growth? What examples exist of unique approaches to acquiring, caring for, ethically deaccessioning, and reimagining collections? The work undertaken through these events challenges traditional practices while highlighting the importance of integrating Indigenous, local, and community knowledge with scientific approaches to encourage regenerative, inclusive, and low-impact collection care.
*registration is required for in-person and online attendance