An updated edition of this essential practical handbook for all those involved in or studying the dynamic field of curating.

The Museum Curator's Guide is a practical reference book for emerging arts and heritage professionals working with a wide range of objects (including fine art, decorative arts, social history, ethnographic and archaeological collections), and explores the core work of the curator within a gallery or museum setting. Nicola Pickering provides a clear introduction to current material culture and museum studies theories, and shows the practical application of these theories to museum collections. She considers the role of the curator, their duties and interaction with objects, and also examines the care or preservation of objects and the ways they can be catalogued, displayed, moved, arranged, stored, interpreted and explained in museums today. The Museum Curator's Guide represents an essential and lasting resource for all those working with the collection, preservation and presentation of objects, including students of collections management and curatorship; current gallery and museum professionals; and private collectors.

The definitive guide on everything one needs to know about commissioning contemporary art In an age of blockbuster exhibitions and public art projects, the most exciting artworks are often those that have been specially commissioned for a specific site or event. This invaluable guide reveals and demystifies every stage of the commissioning process—from the initial invitation to an artist and the financing of a project to the final installation of works. Combining theoretical and conceptual considerations with practical ones, the text is supplemented with copious quotations and insights from some of the best-known artists, curators, commissioners, and museum directors of today. It is an essential guide for anyone involved in the process of commissioning new art—private collectors, foundations, public bodies, museums, galleries, and artists themselves—as well as those fascinated by the inner workings of the contemporary art world.

Written in accessible, nontechnical language, this book's twenty-three essays provide invaluable conservation guidelines for a variety of materials and media. Focusing also on proper storage techniques and environmental control, contributors offer information on emergency planning, disaster management, and identifying damages that may require professional treatment.

Author David Saunders, former keeper of conservation and scientific research at the British Museum, explores how to balance the conflicting goals of visibility and preservation under a variety of conditions. Beginning with the science of how light, color, and vision function and interact, he proceeds to offer detailed studies of the impact of light on a wide range of objects, including paintings, manuscripts, textiles, bone, leather, and plastics. With analyses of the effects of light on visibility and deterioration, Museum Lighting provides practical information to assist curators, conservators, and other museum professionals in making critical decisions about the display and preservation of objects in their collections.