AIC Quebec City Trip Travelog Part 2

The second day’s itinerary was briefly delayed by a government strike, although late start was greeted thankfully by many of us. When the 1.5 hour strike concluded, we travelled to the Centre de Conservation du Quebec (CCQ), a government-sponsored institution that provides conservation services and advise to organizations across the province of Quebec. The facility services the national museums of Quebec, the National Library and Archives of Quebec, and the Ministry of Culture and Communications among other museums and archives. The CCQ is one of the largest conservation centers in North America and employs over 30 conservation professionals specializing in furniture, sculpture, paper, textiles, painting, photographs, archeology and ethnology, metal, stone, and wood. The center also conducts research related to conservation and art materials, documents museum objects, and publishes frequently in French and occasionally in English. Numerous publications are available on the CCQ website on the “centre de ressources” page under the the publications tab: http://www.ccq.gouv.qc.ca/
 
The director of the CCQ warmly welcomed us, after which the labs were free for us to explore in an open house format. The majority of CCQ conservators spoke excellent English, and we were able to discuss their current projects and discover the facilities at our own pace. From frames and sculptures to musical instruments and religious artefacts, the items undergoing conservation at the CCQ spanned hundreds of years of creativity and presented a wide range of complex treatment concerns. Staff from each specialty expressed how rewarding it is to work alongside and collaborate with such a large team of conservators and how helpful that can be while tackling difficult and complex problems.
 
One such collaboration on display at the CCQ resonated with the conference theme,  Emergency! Preparing for Disasters and Confronting the Unexpected in Conservation. A recent fire at a museum collection was quickly extinguished by firefighters. While the emergency responders were well prepared and managed to drape the majority of the collection with plastic sheets, a few archeological and ethnographic objects were severely water damaged. Conservators at the CCQ’s textiles lab and archeology and ethnography lab worked together to slowly dry and stabilize the objects before performing exquisite treatments to bring the objects back to life.
 
Apart from the labs, the CCQ invited us to their rooftop to see three current research projects that explore the durability of various materials in the highly variable climate in Quebec City. One test is investigating the effectiveness of various paints and coatings on cedar shingles, another is testing the effectiveness of several varnishes as anti-graffiti coatings for use on outdoor acrylic murals, and the third is looking at the performance of several mortar recipes for use with limestone masonry. The CCQ is very passionate about finding answers to pressing conservation questions and sharing their findings with those individuals and institutions, especially those who may not have the resources to conduct equally technical studies.

 
After our tour of the spacious facilities, we enjoyed lunch with the conservators at CCQ. With the warm conversations, an invitation to a conservator’s classical music performance that evening, and a lively infant who joined us, the room where we dined was full of a familial spirit. Though we could have spent the entire day at the CCQ, we gathered for a group photo and departed for the Musée de la Civilization. A special thanks to Michael O’Malley for arranging the group visit to the CCQ.

 
The Museum of Civilization is located in Quebec atop an historic waterfront which gradually expanded through rubble and earth in-fill over the past centuries. The museum’s design by Moshe Safdie dates from 1988, his first building in the province of Quebec since his Habitat 67. We had a guided tour of two exhibitions that highlight many of the museums inititatives. The first, This is Our Story, walks visitors through Inuit and first nations’ histories and contemporary experiences while posing questions about the future of over 90,000 individuals from eleven Aboriginal nations currently living in Quebec. The second, Lifelines, features indigenous contemporary art from Australia that grows out of a dynamic range of political, cultural, and aesthetic ambitions.  A special thanks to Annie Beauregard for arranging the visit to the Museum of Civilization and the two Friday tours.

 
We met David Mendel at the museum after visiting the exhibits and set out for a walking tour of the lower town. The urban fabric of Quebec City cascades over the extreme topography near the banks of the St. Lawrence, creating a series of stepped town squares and magnificently composed views of cobblestone streets. David brought drawings from the 17th and 18th century that highlighted the dramatic changes that the lower town has seen over the years. With his deep involvement in the architectural preservation of the city, David also shared some of the political conversations and decisions that resulted in the cities current approach to restoration. The city has opted to preserve as much history as possible without choosing to build new structures in a historical style, which many were worried might produce an inflated sense of architectural heritage.

 
The tour terminated at the Musée de la Place Royale, a building that succinctly embodies the city’s attitude toward preservation: historic walls remain preserved while a series of architecture modifications in explicitly contemporary materials allow the building to be simultaneously historic and new. We enjoyed a reception at the museum with refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and wonderful views of the quaint square and church adjacent to the museum. After the reception, several of us ventured back into lower town in search of a regional dessert called beaver tail. After meandering through the twisty streets, a large beaver carved in wood led the way; we found our fried dough with cinnamon and sugar, and found the confection especially delicious with a squeeze of lemon!