Cultivating Sustainable Collections 2026 Symposium and Workshops at Western University

McIntosh Gallery, 2026, design by Brittany Forrest.

Join us for this year’s Cultivating Sustainable Collections symposium and workshops

Hosted by the Centre for Sustainable Curating at Western University in London, Ontario

Vault and Museum Tours: September 11, 2026 | In-person

Symposium: September 12 – 13, 2026 | Panels in-person and streamed online; workshops in-person only

Sustainability and Built Heritage with Canadian Conservation Institute: October 3, 2026 | In-person

All events require registration | Register here
Tours: Free
Symposium and workshops in-person: $45 with lunch, $20 without lunch
Symposium online: Free
October 3 workshop with CCI: Free

Visit the Conference description for more information, bios, and the agenda.
Send any questions to: sustainable.curating@uwo.ca

Register early to secure a spot in your first-choice workshop!

McIntosh Gallery, 2026, design by Brittany Forrest.

Cultivating Sustainable Collections is a gathering focused on advancing sustainable practices in collection management and preventive conservation. As community gathering places, museums, galleries, and other heritage institutions can play a crucial role in supporting the deep changes required to confront climate change and environmental degradation. Yet, many accepted conservation standards designed to protect and preserve material culture are energy- and resource-intensive. Cultivating Sustainable Collections responds to the urgent need for systemic change in how cultural institutions preserve, use, care for, and understand collections in the face of the climate crisis.

Building on the successful first gathering, hosted by Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Fall 2025, the symposium will strengthen and expand an active network for collaboration and advocacy, offering opportunities to share research, solutions, and questions. Topics range from rethinking climate control requirements to environmentally friendly packing materials, the energy footprint of digital preservation and solar-powered alternative archives, preparing for climate-caused disasters and collecting in the aftermath of wildfires, dealing with hazardous materials lurking in collections, and reimagining collections entirely through Indigenous, queer, and disabled perspectives. How can collections be managed and developed in ways that weigh past omissions and oversights against the impossibility of infinite growth? What examples exist of unique approaches to acquiring, caring for, ethically deaccessioning, and reimagining collections? The work undertaken through these events challenges traditional practices while highlighting the importance of integrating Indigenous, local, and community knowledge with scientific approaches to encourage regenerative, inclusive, and low-impact collection care.

Event Locations

Tours:
Museum London, Museum of Ontario Archaeology, and Oil Museum of Canada.

Symposium and Workshops:
Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada

Images (left to right): McIntosh Gallery, Atmospheric Shifts, 2026; Centre for Sustainable Curating storage closet. Designs by Brittany Forrest.

Speakers and Partners

Speakers:
Centre for Craft (Marilyn Zapf), Jessica A. Cooley, Sebastian De Line, Jean Dendy, Jenny Durrant, Camile Georgeson-Usher, Germaine Koh, Kim Kraczon, Kristine McCorkell, Marie-Claude Mongeon.

Workshops by:
Imogen Clendinning, Shannon Garden-Smith, Fiona Graham, Kim Kraczon, Ingenium (Erin Secord), Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (Zainub Verjee and Peter Pavement), Canadian Conservation Institute (Chiraz Guellela and Allison Ward).

Thanks to our partners:
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ∙ Centre for Sustainable Curating ∙ Canada Research Chairs Program ∙ Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Western University ∙ Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University ∙ Department of Visual Arts, Western University ∙ Agnes Etherington Art Centre ∙ Art Windsor Essex ∙ Canadian Conservation Institute ∙ Galeries Ontario/Ontario Galleries ∙ ICOM Canada ∙ Lambton County Museums ∙ McIntosh Gallery ∙ Museum London ∙ Museum of Ontario Archeology ∙ Ontario Museums Association ∙ Western Public History ∙ Woodstock Art Gallery

Thanks to our organizers:
Kirsty Robertson, Sarah E.K. Smith, Rachel Deiterding, Blessy Augustine, Christina Battle, Brittany Forrest

Image Descriptions:
1. Stylized, bright yellow and pink image depicting two people examining artworks in a storeroom.
2. Stylized, bright yellow and pink image depicting two people handling artworks in a storeroom.
3. Two images side-by side. On the left, a stylized, bright yellow and pink image depicting a person standing in front of a wall filled with framed artworks and pointing upwards. On the right, a stylized, bright yellow and pink image depicting shelves stacked with boxes in a storeroom.