New Guide Details How to Deal with Museum Artwork Touching Problems

Art Sentry's resource offers five approaches that museums and other cultural properties should consider to deter artwork touching, including technology and reviewing how they portray visitors in facility informational videos and marketing.

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Art Sentry

Dec 02, 2021, 06:00 ET


CLEVELAND, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Art Sentry today announced the release of its new guide, "5 Ways Museums Can Sensitively Limit Artwork Touching."

The resource covers everything from reviewing operational policies to evaluating how visitors are represented in informational images and videos (including the position of their arms).

The complimentary guide is available here: https://www.artsentry.com/museum-security-guide-lp

Whether it's for a selfie or because they're curious, people sometime get too close and damage expensive (or priceless) paintings, sculptures, and ancient artifacts. Over time, the oil from fingertips can also harm the artwork that may never be the same, says Rob Palmer, managing director of Art Sentry.

"Museums have opportunities to mitigate the risk," Palmer says. "For example, we work closely with museums that use our proximity alarm system's audible alerts to reduce the need for security personnel to confront visitors. Our system rules out any perception of bias, a claim some visitors make when asked not to touch artwork."

The guide offers several other tips, including:

  • Getting the Basics Right – Review signs (color, location, wording, etc.) and lighting.
  • Identifying the Scope of the Problem – Note that incidents often aren't reported or seen without surveillance measures
  • Evaluating Known Issues – Look at situations with cross-functional teams and make adjustments, including policies and staffing schedules
  • Auditing How Visitors Are Portrayed – Modify how visitors are represented in brochures, videos, social media, and TV advertising

About Art Sentry
https://www.artsentry.com

Since 2005, the company has guarded the world's treasures in museums and cultural properties. Their security system enhancements and modifications help protect artwork and period pieces. Currently, Art Sentry protects the collections for over 25% of the top museums in the United States with a combined asset value in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Media Contact

Dan Lazuta, Art Sentry, 1 888-426-9151, [email protected]

SOURCE Art Sentry