Peters, R. 2008. The Brave New World of Conservation. In Diversity in Heritage Conservation: Tradition, Innovation and Participation - Preprints of the ICOM-CC 15th Triennial Conference. Allied Publishers Pvt Ltd: New Delhi, Vol 1, 185-190. (original) (raw)

The dynamics of control over cultural material held by museums and related institutions in the western world have undergone significant changes in the last 20 years. This relates mainly to the inclusion of non-professional groups in decision-making processes traditionally restricted to museum professionals. The discipline of conservation is now considered a social as well as a technical and scientific process; every conservation action may involve complex negotiations where condition of the material fabric of objects is only one of many factors in play. This socially, politically and economically aware approach is already recognized as placing conservators in complex positions. This paper will address reasons for and implications of these circumstances by looking at some aspects of how the conservation discipline is perceived, understood and practiced in the contemporary western world.