TACG
Toronto Area Conservators Group
TACG Events
Our events as well as informational links and resources relating to the events will be posted here as they arise.
*Please note: We continue to solicit suggestions for our upcoming Winter/Spring 2019 program: formal or informal presentations; tour ideas; discussions and resource sharing; social events; potential meeting venues. We would love to hear from you, so please send us an email. Thanks!
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UPCOMING:
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Please check back soon as we work on our Spring 2019 schedule!
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PAST EVENTS:
Saturday, February 9, 2019, 1:30 – 5:00pm:
TACG Forum: Preventive Conservation: Conservation in Collections Management
Birkbeck Room, Ontario Heritage Centre, 10 Adelaide St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1J4 Canada
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Monday, January 28, 2019 6pm:
Presentation by Mojtaba Mahmoudi Khorandi
Mr. Khorandi will be presenting his findings related to the use of non-destructive XRF analyses on various illuminated manuscripts from his recent research at the Aga Khan Museum.
The Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor Street West, Toronto
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Thursday, December 13, 2018, 6-9:30pm:
Annual TACG Wine & Cheese Potluck (Holiday Edition)
The Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Wednesday, November 28th, 2018, 6-8pm:
Aga Khan Tour
Tour of the Aga Khan Museum's conservation lab and Collection Hall with Collections Manager
Ghazaleh Rabiei and Conservator Melissa Potter.
Thursday, October 25th, 2018, 5:30-6:30 then pub:
Osborne Collection Tour & Fall Pub Night
Tour of the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books with Conservator Nick Hamilton, followed by a pub night at the Red Room.
Friday, May 25th, 2018, 6:00-7:00pm
Talk & Tour Night at Kelly Library Conservation Lab
This event will be held at the brand new John M. Kelly Library conservation lab at the University of Toronto. The evening will include a behind-the-scenes tour of the newly designed lab space, along with a display of some select items from the Kelly Library's Special Collections with the Manager of Conservation, Natasa Krsmanovic. Following the tour will be two presentations from our own TACG members Nick Hamilton and Ruth del Fresno Guillem.
Presentation Topics:
Nick Hamilton will be talking about his experience as a conservation intern at the Toronto Reference Library in addition to discussing one of his projects: the treatment of a c. 1913-1915 journal of the homosexual brother of the Duke of Leeds who was living in Niagara Falls at the time.
Ruth del Fresno-Guillem will be presenting her recently defended PhD thesis entitled: "The Interview to the emerging artist as a way for preventive conservation". Her thesis delves into the lack of information about some aspects that determine the conservation of a contemporary artwork and how it can endanger the conceptualization and the physical artwork itself. If this information is not acquired in a direct and appropriate manner, it could lead to situations of professional negligence that endanger the existence and the respect for the work. The purpose of this investigation is to establish early and safe preventive conservation guidelines.
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Thursday, February 1, 2017
TACG Wine & Cheese
Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1W7
Saturday December 2, 2017, 6:00-10:30pm at Gladstone
The Gladstone Forum: An Evening of Innovation in Paper Conservation
Second Floor Gallery, Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1J6 Canada
Presenters: Lorraine Bigrigg, Rosaleen Hill, Crystal Maitland, and Kyla Ubbink
Sponsors: Canadian Association for Conservation, Canadian Association of Professional Conservators, Japanese Paper Place
Wednesday, November 15th and Friday, November 17th, 7:00-10:00pm
A TACG Tour of a Teaching Bindery with Betsy Palmer Eldridge
Limited to 10 people each date
Thursday, August 3rd, 2017, 6-8pm
Presentation by the owners/engineers of Sollum Lighting of Montreal
Bata Shoe Museum's address: 327 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1W7
Jennifer Cheney has arranged for a presentation to TACG by Sollum Lighting, a new engineering lighting firm in Montreal specializing in LED technology.
Thursday, July 12th, 2017, 6:30pm
End of Season Pub Night
Hemingway's Restaurant (upstairs on the rooftop patio)
142 Cumberland St, Toronto, ON M5R 1A8 (Bay Subway Stn)
Thursday, May 4th, 2017, 6-8pm
Tour and Talk at the Archives of Ontario
134 Ian MacDonald Blvd, North York, ON M7A 2C5
We will go on a tour of the Archives, including the vaults and preservation lab - plus a hands-on talk with our own TACG members Adriane VanSeggelen and Elspeth Jordan. Adriane will be telling us about a workshop* she recently attended on book conservation for paper conservators and Elspeth will be taking us through the process of rewrapping lantern slides.
*The course Adriane attended was held by Caroline Scharfenberg in Scotland, UK. She trained at Camberwell and has been accredited with ICON since 2003. Download resources from the workshop here:
Thursday, February 23rd, 2017
Annual Wine & Cheese Putluck
Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1W7
Wednesday, December 14th, 2016, 7-9pm
TACG's 10th Birthday: Sue Maltby presents "The Conservation of Richard Serra’s Tilted Spheres: When Public Art Becomes Too Public"
The Japanese Paper Place *NEW LOCATION*
103 The East Mall #1, Etobicoke, ON M8Z 5X9
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TACG is celebrating its 10th birthday with a metals themed night! Sue Maltby will present her paper titled “The Conservation of Richard Serra’s Tilted Spheres: When Public Art Becomes Too Public”. This paper was delivered at ‘Metal 2016’, the 9th interim meeting of the ICOM-CC Metals Working Group in September 2016, New Delhi, India.
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016
TACG Pub Night
Pauper's Pub
539 Bloor St. West, Toronto ON M5S 1Y5
Tuesday, October 11th, 2016 - 6-8pm
Toronto Reference Library lab tour + "Tips 'n Tricks"/Supplier Review
Our first event of the Fall season will be a conservation lab tour of the Toronto Reference Library - care of Wendy McPhee - plus a review of our ongoing Supplier List. Perhaps reviewing the Supplier List and being in a lab may prompt some 'tips 'n tricks' discussion or bring other suggestions to mind.
Thursday, June 30th, 2016
TACG Pub Night
Hemingway's Restaurant (upstairs on the rooftop patio)
142 Cumberland St, Toronto
Thursday, June 9th, 2016, 7pm - 8:30 (with presentation starting at 7:15pm)
Webinar (free event via Skype)
Presentation about Korean Hanji paper through Skype by Joanna McMann, Conservator of paper and archival materials at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, NT.
Monday, March 14th, 2016 - 6pm
Presentation Evening: Free Event
(Complimentary Drinks and Snacks and Discounted Products were graciously provided by our hosts the Japanese Paper Place)
The Japanese Paper Place
77 Brock Avenue, Toronto (This was our last meeting in the old home of JPP. Please note they have now moved to Etobicoke!)
1) Stephanie Porto, Niagara Art Conservation (NAC), Niagara Falls, Ontario
Paper: “All Over the Map: Bringing Buffalo's Stars of Cartography to Light One Lining at a Time”
To be presented at the AIC-CAC conference in Montreal in May of 2016
2) Karla Livingston and Kristiina Lahde, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario
Paper: “Magnets and Textile Mounting Systems at the Royal Ontario Museum"
Presented at the ICOM Costume Conference in Toronto in September of 2015
3) John Slavin, John Slavin Paper Conservation Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario
“J. Constable’s drawing fixative: Identification of a proteinaceous surface coating by peptide mass fingerprinting” (Daniel Kirby and John Slavin)
Presented at the IADA Conference Berlin, International Association of Book and Paper Conservators in October 2015
Thursday, February 4th, 2016, 6 pm - 9 pm - *ANNUAL EVENT*
Annual Wine and Cheese and Potluck Social at the Bata (Cost $25.00)
Bata Shoe Museum
327 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON
Attendees were encouraged to bring in a canned food item for the Daily Bread Food Bank. We would like to thank
Ada Hopkins and the Bata Shoe Museum for graciously hosting us this evening.
Download a copy of the wine and cheese list here:
Thursday, November 5th, 2015 - 6pm
Presentation Evening: Free Event
(Complimentary Drinks and Snacks and Discounted Products were provided courtesy of our gracious hosts the Japanese Paper Place)
The Japanese Paper Place
77 Brock Avenue, Toronto
1) Wendy McPhee of the Toronto Reference Library discussed highlights from the "Don't Rock the Cradle" symposium on books in exhibitions focusing on book cradles and book supports that was held at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. in April of 2015.
2) Rod Stewart and Masumi Suzuki from Historic Plaster Conservation Services gave an overview of the cleaning of a very large Art Deco gilded ceiling in a historic building in Ottawa. To complete the project within budget, they developed a new product – Tri-Funori – a 3 liter bag-in-box format of traditional funori which they administered in a poultice made of rolls of Japanese kozo. Subsequently, over the next few years they developed a freeze dried version of TRI-Funori that is crystal clear and has a long shelf life. It is intended for use in book and paper and museum objects conservation. They also gave us a demonstration of the product!
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Resources:
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"Don’t rock the cradle: mounts, materials, and economy" by Wendy McPhee:
Thursday, May 30th, 2013
Tour of the Preservation and Digitization Services at the Toronto Reference Library
The tour will include a visit to the Conservation Lab as well as a tour of Digitization by TRL staff. Tour will start at the TD Gallery on the main floor at 6pm for a quick tour of the show "War Stories: Toronto and the War of 1812-14". After the tour, we will retire to The Pilot for a bite to eat and a pint.
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013
Event at the Ontario Heritage Trust's Parliament interpretive centre (PIC) on the site of Ontario's first Parliament
The tour will include a visit to the Conservation Lab as well as a tour of Digitization by TRL staff. Tour will start at the TD Gallery on the main floor at 6pm for a quick tour of the show "War Stories: Toronto and the War of 1812-14"
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Wendy McPhee, Historic Interpreter at PIC, has graciously offered to conduct a brief group tour on the exhibit's highlights and discuss some of the challenges of the site and conservation concerns. War of 1812 figure General Sheaffe's newly conserved uniform and related items will be on display. Wendy will also talk in general about the Ontario Heritage Trust and its varied activities as well as conservation issues specific to the first Parliament Site. This will include their approach to preventive conservation at the site, and some of their challenges with the unique situation of sharing the southern half of the building with another tenant.
Socializing to follow at Betty's on King just east of Sherbourne.
Thursday, November 22nd, 2012
TACG/JPP Night - Trade Secrets of Using Washi
The Japanese Paper Place welcomes TACG members tonight for an evening full of washi delights!
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10-minute video of 1930's footage of making washi - as it is still done today
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2 presentations by conservators Joanna McMann and Beatrice Stock on unusual past projects using washi. Have interesting examples yourself? Please bring your stories with you!
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A look with samples at 8 classic "Must-Have" types of paper for conservation, and explanation of the names and current production issues.
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An opportunity to buy a variety of papers and tools at 10-15% discount.
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Mixing and mingling with wine and washi!
Graciously hosted by Sigrid (Fine Paper Manager) and Nancy (JPP President)
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Tour of the conservation labs at the Art Gallery of Ontario
The AGO conservation staff have generously offered to give TACG members a 1/2 hour tour of their labs. Since there is a limit of 10 people in a tour, there will be two tours you can choose from – one at 5:30pm and one at 6:00pm.
As Wednesday nights are free for the public at the AGO, you can visit the galleries after the tour. Afterwards, we will go for drinks at The Village Idiot Pub.
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Re-visiting a Restoration: Spadina Museum Historic House and Gardens
Neil Brochu has been working along side site curator Karen Edwards for the past three years on the project planning and plan execution for the re-restoration of the Spadina Museum interiors, changing the focus to 1920s. With the majority of the restoration work complete, the tour will address issues of curation and conservation as they relate to historic house museums and the interpretation of family and local histories.
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
Pub Night
The Bedford Academy
36 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto
Thursday March 25th, 2010
Discussion at the Bata Shoe Museum on fibre optic lighting
In October 2009 the BSM received a Cultural Spaces Canada grant to replace the obsolete and failing halogen system used in the galleries. Matthew Miller will talk about the current fibre optic technology and Glenn Davidson will discuss his research that went into selecting this new lighting format vs other options on the market.​
Friday, April 29th, 2010
Conservation in Antarctica
Therese Charbonneau, Senior Conservator for the City of Hamilton, will bring us on an amazing journey with a team of international conservators working in Antarctica.
September 22nd, 2010
Presentation at the Royal Ontario Museum
Conservator Heidi Sobol will present on the digital x-ray machine acquired by the museum. The gathering will include a PowerPoint presentation, followed by a tour of the x-ray suite. After the presentation, we will continue the evening at the Bedford Academy located at 36 Prince Arthur Avenue.
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Pub Night
The Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street, Toronto
Friday, April 29th, 2010
"Against all odds: heritage challenges in Ecuador"
Bata Shoe Museum
Stephen Poulin will present on the restoration of an 18th Century Franciscan chapel in Quito, Ecuador.
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Pub Night
The Bedford Academy
36 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto
April 23rd, 2009
Screening of "The Restoration of Books. Florence 1968" at the Bata Shoe Museum
Screening of "The Restoration of Books. Florence 1968", originally produced by the Royal College of Art, London, 1968 (39 min.)
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
TACG's 3rd Birthday
The occasion will be marked with a tour of the Harbourfront Craft Studios with an emphasis on the glass studios!
The tour will be of both the Craft Studios with an additional tour of the gallery spaces at Harbourfront. The tour will be conducted by Melanie Egan, Head of Craft. A maximum of 40 people can attend. The tour will start at 6pm and take roughly 1 hour.
For those who are interested in continuing the celebration, we will then head over to Pearl Harbourfront Restaurant for Dim Sum!
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Talk by Betsy Palmer-Eldrige at the Archives of Ontario
Betsy Palmer-Eldrige presents a discussion her 1999 visit to conservation labs in Bogota, Columbia. Betsy will share slides and stories from Columbia's "white libraries" and Bogota's conservation centre. We will then head over to a nearby pub to continue the discussion and visit.
Thursday, March 29th, 2007
An Evening with Sue Maltby at the Fisher Library
Conservator Sue Maltby presents a discussion of a unique preservation setting – cemeteries! Sue will present slides highlighting some of her experiences with historic cemeteries, including developing a conservation “masterplan” to survey and assess headstones, and the move of an entire cemetery from the grounds of Pearson International airport.
July 16th, 2007
TACG's 1st birthday
We'll mark the occasion with an origami workshop - after all, this is our paper anniversary! The Origami Society of Toronto has offered us an exclusive, two-hour event to be hosted by the Bata Shoe Museum. We'll follow up the workshop by stopping by a local pub to admire and show off our creations.
February 21st, 2007
Event at the Japanese Paper Place
Nancy Jacobi will discuss "Assessing the Quality of Japanese Paper" and present some slides showing the processes taken in the papermaking villages of Japan. We will have the opportunity to examine some paper samples to gain some tips on recognizing the varying qualities of handmade and machine made Japanese papers. Shared discussion of how Conservators in attendance use Japanese papers will follow the presentation. Time permitting, there will be an opportunity to tour the warehouse and some of the Japanese Paper Place’s art collection.
Nancy will be joined by Kayoko Moriki, daughter of one of the JPP's supplier's and who has been studying paper conservation in Tokyo. Kayoko is very knowledgeable about the paper for use in conservation and we will certainly be enriched by her participation.
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
Distillery District Tour
Walking tour of the Distillery District followed by a late lunch at one of the District's restaurants.
The walking tour includes both a beer tasting and a chocolate tasting. The cost is $15 per person, plus your meal.