Conservation at the Alaska State Museum
About the Conservation Labs
The Andrew P. Kashevaroff building opened in Juneau in 2016 with the first purpose-built conservation labs in Alaska. The objects lab has had a full-time conservator since 1976. The paper lab hosts conservation contractors for specialty projects, and state librarians/archivists undertake preservation activities such as document flattening and box making.
What Does the Conservator Do?
The conservator is responsible for the preservation environment, analysis, and treatment of the collection. The conservator also serves the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka. Conservation is an interdisciplinary field that combines graduate training in chemistry, studio art, and art history/anthropology.
Recent research initiatives have included: 
- treatment of waterlogged organic materials
- shipwreck artifact triage
- Alaskan fur identification with polarized light microscopy
- collaborative work with Chilkat textiles
- basketry treatments
- moving the collection to a new facility
- investigation of gut technology
As part of the museum’s outreach mandate, the conservator answers information requests from other museums, cultural centers, agencies, and the general public.
Internship Program
Since 2000, the lab has hosted more than 20 conservation students, most as summer interns funded through their graduate training programs in conservation. Collaborative work with subject experts and cultural specialists is central to the success of the program.
Conservators in Alaska
The handful of conservators active in Alaska specialize mainly in 3D objects. Other conservation specialties include paintings, paper, books, photographs, textiles, contemporary art, architecture, and time-based media.