Second Deployment of National Heritage Responders to Puerto Rico 

Two teams of FAIC’s National Heritage Responders are wrapping up a week of work in Puerto Rico. This is the second wave of team members to visit collections on the island affected by Hurricane Maria. 

Mold growth continued to be the primary issue facing most of the institutions visited. With such lengthy power outages, many collections faced exposure to extremely high temperatures and relative humidity. Even as power is restored for some institutions, assessing any incursions of mold remained a priority task. Team members continued to stress the importance of personal protective equipment for staff members working with collections, providing guidance on how to safely address the mold. 

While site visits made up the bulk of the work completed by the teams, one group held a workshop for local artists and institutions on salvaging works. The Museo de las Américas, a museum in San Juan visited by the first deployment team in late November, graciously offered their space to host the workshop. Over thirty individuals attended to learn about how to handle their affected objects.   

FAIC will continue to work with affected collections and provide resources. You can learn more about our emergency programs here http://bit.ly/2okwlX1 and see previous updates on recent emergencies here http://bit.ly/2AErjb5. Stay tuned for more information about this group’s deployment and the team members who participated!