Chazen Museum of Art Risk Analysis Project

FAIN: PG-50277-08

University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, WI 53715-1218)
Russell Panczenko (Project Director: May 2007 to January 2010)

A conservator's assessment of the collections of the Chazen Museum of Art to identify potential risks and recommend preventative measures to protect the collections during the construction phase of a building expansion and renovation. The assessment would also guide revisions to the museum's plan for disaster preparedness and response. The museum holds an international collection of approximately 18,000 art objects from antiquity to the present including works on paper, paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts.

With the Preservation Assistance Grant, the Chazen Museum of Art will contract with conservator Wendy Jessup of Wendy Jessup and Associates, Inc., to develop a plan for protecting the museum's art collection through an upcoming building expansion. This project includes: 1) a site assessment and recommendations for preventative measures during construction; and 2) an update of the museum's Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. The museum's new 62,000 square foot addition will almost double available exhibition and storage space. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2009 and continue through 2011. This proposed project will prepare the museum for the upcoming expansion and related construction by identifying and mitigating potential vulnerabilities of the collections, and updating the Emergency Preparedness Plan.