Paper is a dichotomy - it is incredibly fragile, but also deeply resilient. On the one hand, it is delicate and easily affected by external variables like the climate, humidity, pollution and pests. It’s also very vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters like floods, fires, etc. On the other hand, paper tells a story of survival - from fragments that are millennia old to the records of our ancestors. From manuscript to book to map, paper bears witness to our stories and our humanity. Paper as a material is everywhere - the histories written and printed on paper are not limited to the hallowed halls of museums and libraries, but also to our homes, our workplaces, and our daily lives. At our Online Talk #PreservingPaper, paper conservator Amalina Kohli Dave tells us what it means to protect paper,  and talks about the processes, materials, and methods used in conservation labs, historic institutions, and archives. Most importantly, she shows us how can we adapt some of these to protect our own paper - the legacies of our families, the books we treasure, and the art we create and inherit.

About the speaker

Amalina Kohli Dave is a paper conservator, who works as an independent consultant. Her experience is in building capacity and protecting collections in low-resource areas, and conflict and post-conflict zones. Of particular interest to her is the politics of paper, and the intersection of cultural heritage, human rights, and hybrid methods using local resources.