“Cultural preservation is practiced by all peoples, and the responsibility to protect our shared story belongs to all of us. In the face of erasure, the courage to safekeep collective memory and community legacy becomes all the more critical,” says Leticia Gomez Franco, executive director of Balboa Art Conservation Center. “At BACC we are proud to partner with memory keepers to carry out this important work.”
Half a Century of Art Conservation in Balboa Park
Tucked among the museums and gardens of San Diego’s Balboa Park is a science laboratory for art. Here, a team of art conservators and cultural heritage professionals preserve objects past and present. They examine, preserve, repair and prevent damage to art objects, such as paintings, textiles and sculptures, so that their cultural and historical significance endures.
Preserving Memory Across All Communities
Historically, the conservation field has focused its resources on fine art collections in traditional museums and institutions, often leaving out the legacies of communities and artists outside that narrow scope.
In 2020, BACC expanded its mission to ensure that all communities, collections, and memory-keeping work have access to its expertise and resources. This includes cultivating networks of cultural heritage first responders who were deployed during the historic San Diego floods of 2024 and partnered in Art Recovery Los Angeles (ARLA) clinics after the wildfires in LA. BACC also has Work Force Development Initiatives that share the conservation profession with students and delivers free statewide capacity-building training for collections caretakers. Its free monthly community clinics in Balboa Park are open to the public as well.
This expansion was supported with nearly $2 million in funding from the Mellon Foundation and Prebys Foundation, enabling the inclusive growth of BACC’s mission.
Understanding Our Past Through Science and Art
One of art conservation’s greatest strengths is bridging disciplines. While art and science are often taught separately, BACC takes a STEAM approach—combining science, technology, and the arts.
BACC conservators use state-of-the-art technology, including infrared reflectography and X-radiography, to uncover what can be hidden in plain sight. “We look at the structural elements to decipher what was original to how an artist conceived of a work, what changes happened over time,” says Morgan Wylder, BACC’s associate conservator of paintings. “We use these techniques to understand how artworks were made and functioned. They might reveal something that is not visible on the surface of a painting, and that can be really exciting.”
Scientific tools also enhance understanding of how to interpret and care for cultural collections. For example, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can identify heavy metals and toxins in museum objects. “This is particularly important as part of repatriation processes, as pesticides that were used historically may be harmful to communities once cultural belongings return home” says Dr. Elizabeth Salmon, BACC’s inaugural preventive conservator. “Scientific tools are especially impactful when they help us go beyond learning about an object’s history and facilitate safer use, learning, and interaction with cultural heritage in the future.”
Preserving Our Futures Now
As museums and cultural institutions face pressure and budget cuts that impact whose history is preserved, BACC is advancing the study and preservation of cultural heritage for all communities. It recently opened the 53rd annual meeting of the American Institute for Conservation with a talk titled, “In Commitment to Community” and launched a 50th Birthday Campaign to sustain its award-winning educational programs for students and collections caretakers.
As the only nonprofit regional conservation center on the West Coast, BACC is safeguarding works of art for future generations. Learn more about BACC here.
