LA Wildfires: Saving Art and Precious Objects

By Annika Erikson, Founder and CEO of Articheck 

 

As an LA girl and art conservator who has dealt with disaster, I want to help with some practical advice. Many folks with precious objects don’t have a detailed and up-to-date disaster plan, so here we go: 

 

Step 1: Check if it’s safe.

Once you are satisfied that there are no immediate risks to people’s safety, you can survey an area that has already been affected by fire or may be at risk of fire in the future.

 

Step 2: Recruit help, survey, and prioritise.

You may have a list or some indication of what artworks to look for, or you may actively be looking for artworks of an unknown type or quantity. If you can, get a list, and get an expert on the list to indicate the most significant pieces. What are the top 5-10 artworks that should have priority evacuation/stabilisation? Who is helping you with this? Get experts where possible, and willing pairs of hands where not, but you or an expert may need to train these willing pairs of hands quickly first, and guide them along the way. Experts that provide disaster recovery services are out there: fine art shippers, conservators, museum staff, etc. They may be rather busy just now, so make the call if you can wait and have a budget to do so.

 

Step 3: Locate the prioritised pieces and check their current condition.

Are they safe to move? Do they need careful handling? Do you have time, the correct equipment (such as packaging) and the expertise to move them appropriately? You don’t want to cause damage, you want to stabilise and prevent damage. Where will you be moving them to? Have a place in mind before you start, get any help you need, and make sure the route to their safe storage or transit is clear. 

 

Step 4: Once you have a plan, BEFORE you move anything, document as much as possible.

Take photographs and video of the current location, packaging, and damage. Add comments and text identifying what the object is, who owns it, where it is going, what the plan is, and so on. You should also document the movement and destination situation where possible. This is critical for insurance purposes as well as good practice. In all the commotion you may forget what the location or conditions were like, which might be important to know later when stabilising treatment and loss adjustment are happening.

Let’s be clear, we’re not selling anything here – but you can choose to leverage the Articheck free trial during this step. It gives you three free condition reports to make the documentation process easier.

 

Step 5: Stabilise.

Once you have moved the objects out of immediate danger, you should make plans for stabilisation and recovery. They will need triage just like people in a disaster. If there are many objects, then you may need to designate a holding area for them that is safe. You may need to prepare this area. Again, this is where experts and service providers can be very helpful, but if you do not have access to those, you can do it yourself. If necessary, you can do some research on how to package and temporarily store the types of objects in your care. 

 

Step 6: Recovery.

A little TLC may be in order, and it’s a good idea to get a conservator in when they become available to assess what should happen for the conservation and recovery of your artworks. You should also be in touch with your insurance provider and let them know what has happened. Your insurance provider may also have suggestions on who to contact for restoration of any damages. Failing that, you can contact local museums although they may have their hands full themselves for some time! So you may need to go a little bit further afield.

 


We hope this brief article is useful for anyone who may need it in the aftermath of the LA wildfires. For additional support, feel free to contact us with any condition questions, and we encourage you to explore the Center for Cultural Innovation for emergency resources and information regarding the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund.  

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