Workshops

Practical Introduction to Mechanical Analysis of Cultural Heritage Materials

October 14-16, 2025

This workshop will provide a theoretical and practical understanding of static mechanical analysis and dynamic mechanical analysis, with a view to characterizing the physical properties of organic heritage materials, and developing appropriate methodologies for conservation and preservation applications. Over the course of three days, participants will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of mechanical analysis and data analysis, and participate in practical laboratory sessions using tensile testers, dynamic mechanical (thermal) analysis, and dynamic mechanical (humidity) analysis. These sessions will be supplemented with case study examples from the field of conservation and preservation, including the analysis of paint, films, textiles, and adhesives, providing tangible examples of how mechanical properties can inform the treatment, storage and display of objects, mechanical test method development, and test limitations.

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Photographic Print Identification

Location: Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

The history of photography includes almost 200 years of generating objects that have many similar visual characteristics, but that were made using a wide range of different technologies and materials. When examining a photograph, viewers must evaluate the clues that the physical object itself presents to properly identify the photographic process(es) used to create the photograph. This skill—which is described in shorthand as ‘process identification’—is something that each new generation of scholars and collections stewards must develop for itself. This workshop will teach participants the tools and skills necessary for successful photographic process identification using a structured methodology and controlled vocabulary for organizing visual information, hands-on practice examining nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century processes from IPI’s study collection, and instruction on how to use www.graphicsatlas.org as a reference resource for identification.

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Training Sustainable Environmental Management Teams for Cultural Institutions

This online workshop is designed to guide participants through the process of facilitating a sustainable environmental management project and will empower participants to implement the methodology and techniques learned at their own institutions. This includes assessing and analyzing data from current collection spaces and mechanical systems, setting appropriate environmental parameters, testing energy-saving operations, and making informed decisions that will improve the preservation quality of collections environments. As part of the workshop, each participating institution will be able to borrow instruments from the IPI Tool Library.

Learn more about our Sustainable Preservation research

Photographic Print Identification and Preservation

IPI provides a holistic approach to image-based print process identification by examining the intertwined relationships between print technologies, aesthetics, and use. Photographic, photomechanical, and digital prints are made of a wide variety of materials including plastics, papers, glass, metals, pigments, dyes, and organic substances like gelatin, albumen and polymers. IPI offers workshops that teach participants to identify every mainstream image-based print process, from the daguerreotype to the inkjet print, via the study of their component materials, structures, aesthetics, and historical and cultural uses.

Learn more about our Photographic Print Preservation research