Harlingen museum seeks preservation advice

The Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum is seeking to preserve its collections, historical buildings and artifacts from the ravages of time and climate.

The museum has received a $7,000 grant which it will use to pay two consultants who will assess the museum and its assets, museum volunteer Sue DeBrooke said.

The museum is participating in Heritage Preservation’s Conservation Assessment Program, designed to help small and mid-sized museums.

Debrooke said preliminary findings from the assessors raised warning flags about humidity and lighting that could deteriorate some of the artifacts on exhibit at the Lon C. Hill house, one of several historical buildings at the museum complex on Loop 499.

“I’m just a volunteer,” DeBrooke said. “I don’t know anything about lighting and humidity, but I want to learn how to better preserve what we have on exhibit.”

Sandra Blackard, an independent art conservation consultant from Round Rock, visited the museum last week with an architectural assessor.

Blackard said she focused on the collections preservation part of the assessment.

She said ideally, the best way to preserve art, period pieces and artifacts is to store them in a dark place and never let them see the light of day, but that defeats the purpose of museums. A compromise is necessary.

Blackard said a full report will be available in November. In the meantime, the Arts & Heritage Museum was taking the right steps to ensure that their exhibits will be on display for decades to come, she said.

Blackard said the Arts & Heritage Museum has already done a great job of preserving the city’s history, and she wants to help the museum become a more efficient preserver of art.

DeBrooke said some of the adjustments the museum will need to make may cost nothing, while others may cost a pretty penny.

Museum coordinator Stefani Camarillo said that once the assessments are completed, other grant money may be available to pay for the changes the museum needs.