Acronym

ConsArt

NUMBER

PBU1/0599/16

Project type

Regular project

STATUS

Completed

THEMATIC OBJECTIVE

HERITAGE

PRIORITY

1.1 Promotion of local culture and history

PARTNERSHIP

PL-BY

LEAD BENEFICIARY

Museum Podlaskie in Białystok (Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland)

BENEFICIARY

Hrodna State Museum of History and Archeology (Hrodna Oblast, Belarus)

Project description

North-eastern Poland and western Belarus have common cultural and historical roots. Museums and archives located there possess collections of great historical and cultural value presenting religious and ethnic diversity of the area. Unfortunately, their resources are in danger due to their poor condition.

The partners in the ConsArt project: the Podlaskie Museum and the Hrodna State Museum of History and Archaeology took joint advantage of providing the regular maintenance of their collections. Both museums decided to create conservatory laboratories in their premises and open two Centres for Research and Conservation of Artifacts. For this reason, the Polish museum will adapt the old warehouse in Choroszcz and the Belarusian one – two other buildings in Hrodna. The new laboratories will be accessorised with modern, high-level equipment, so they could conduct research and service of the heritage restoration (including metal, wood, gilding, ceramics, fabric paper and leather). In addition, both institutions will purchase specialized vehicles for safe transportation of their artefacts. Effective operation of newly established Centres requires one more crucial element – specialized staff. During the trainings and conferences expounded by the extensively experienced conservators from Warsaw, Toruń and Gdańsk the attend- ants from both countries will gain new knowledge and share their experiences. The project will be completed by creating a new database of preserved objects, published for a wide audience on the projects’ webpages.

Thanks to the project implementation the neighbouring regions of Poland and Belarus will receive significant support in the field of research and conservation of their heritage. The exchange of information will positively influence their cooperation. Planned open exhibitions showing the effects of the maintenance carried out in the new Centres will consequently improve the promotion of the cross-border area.