EXCIS 2024 Mural Painting Conservation is an international congress that will be held in Valencia from 21-23 November,2024. This international conference focuses on the conservation and restoration of mural paintings found in extreme conditions and, therefore, requires innovative and sustainable approaches and methodologies. Given the precarious situation of the world, exacerbated by armed conflicts and natural disasters and the impact of climate change and its consequences (including rising sea levels, floods, and fires), it’s necessary to develop preventive conservation strategies and emergency and disaster risk protocols and principles that minimise risks and safeguard this kind of heritage sustainably and efficiently.
This congress is particularly relevant, extremely actual, and highly topical. It aims to provide a forum between specialised international professionals in the conservation of mural paintings and architectural surfaces to promote the study of these issues and to share strategies, from emergency and remedial interventions to longer-term preventive measures to counteract such extreme events. In this context, it is necessary to develop new approaches and implement technological advances, from digital imaging to the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The international conference is divided into four main modules:
- Wall painting action protocols for emergencies and disasters, including risk management in armed conflicts, earthquakes, floods, and fires, using modern methodologies like AI in response to such events, with the basis for creating principles of action in extreme situations.
- Wall painting treatments and solutions for works affected by extreme events, such as fragmented or fire affected paintings, fragment classification, as well as detachment and transfer of wall paintings, and alternative approaches for reintegrating, including digital options and virtual presentations.
- Addressing Past extreme wall painting interventions with inadequate treatments: showing case studies of past interventions in which it is necessary to correct previous principles that proved inappropriate, insufficient, ineffective, or even wrong.
- Preventive Conservation of wall paintings in the Face of Climate Change and other Emergencies, including risk assessment of wall paintings.
As a result of the congress, summary conclusions of contributions and discussions will be assembled and published with recommendations at an international level for the conservation and restoration of mural paintings at risk of extreme events.
Mural painting and architectural coverings are one of the key areas of the historic-artistic heritage, for its monumentality and for the type of interaction that establishes with society, in a consistent dialogue in our cities. The Valencian Community is characterized for having an important representation of this type of cultural heritage of different epochs, styles and transcendence.
The conservation and restoration of mural paintings and buildings of historic interest is a complex and multidisciplinary task that requires the collaboration of various professionals and entities. At the same time, its conservation and diffusion can convert a key axis for the cultural and socio-economic revitalization of the region. Proof of it are the conservation and restoration projects made during the last years with the city of Valencia, made on important structures like the Real Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados, the iglesia de San Nicolás y San Pedro Mártir and the iglesia de los Santos Juanes. The interventions that were made not only allowed to lifeguard an essential and very significant heritage for the Valencian Community, but the investment made has resulted in an important projection of this culture, generating constant visits to these places, both by the citizens of the region and by visitors from the city, nationals and foreigners.
The immovable heritage, especially murals, faces numerous risk factors that can lead to its deterioration, damage or loss. Some of these factors can become extreme, like natural, accidental or war disasters that can cause total or partial destruction of the site. Others don’t have such an immediate effect, but they are no less serious, since they initiate processes that can become irreversible, such as those caused by sudden changes in the environmental conditions of the place of which they are part.
Given the situation that the world faces, conditioned by armed conflicts that have erupted in a rough way and the increasingly evident impact of climate change, it’s necessary to develop strategies of preventive conservation and urgency protocols that minimize risks and safeguard this kind of heritage in a sustainable and efficient way. That’s why this congress is particularly relevant and of extreme actuality, as it is time to provide a forum for an international meeting between specialized professionals in the intervention on mural paintings and architectonic coatings that lets study, analyse and share strategies of action in supervening situations while also preventing consequences in the medium-to-long term that could derive from the mentioned factors. For this purpose, we’re proposing an international congress entitled “Extreme Conditions – Innovative & Sustainable Solutions in Mural Painting Conservation is proposed: EXCISS Valencia 2024”. This congress aims to be a space for reflection and debate on the challenges and opportunities posed by the conservation and restoration of real estate in a context marked by uncertainty and vulnerability. A context that is particularly relevant in a world immersed in wars and facing the challenge of climate change.
For decades, Europe has considered and promoted the knowledge, dissemination and conservation of cultural heritage as an important generator of European identity. In this sense, previous experiences such as the European EwaGlos project “European Illustrated Glossary of Conservation Terms for Wall Paintings and Architectural Surfaces“, have been of big help to confirm the need to encourage moments of encounter and reflection on the best way to know, disseminate, manage and preserve this type of heritage. These efforts must be continued in order to strengthen these ties and not weaken the identity progress achieved.
The proposed theme focuses on the consideration of the conservation of cultural heritage as a sustainable economic engine and poses challenges linked to strategic aspects, oriented both to the recognition of this potential and to the design of effective emergency prevention and management methodologies that guarantee their safeguarding and save resources, in case of intervention, using innovative technologies.
All of this is directly related with several of the objectives defined in the European Research and Innovation Strategy 2020-2024. In concrete, all the actions to be promoted, aimed at prevention, aim to reduce the need for interventions in these cultural goods and, therefore, reduce the use of natural resources, thus contributing to the specific objective 1.1. of the European Green Deal. As this deal indicates, climate change is a menace that’s plaguing Europe and our cultural heritage, and for this we must strengthen our investigations and efforts to reduce the climate impact that this change may have on our cultural and natural heritage.
Along the same lines, and directly aligned with objective 2 to create A Europe Adapted to the Digital Age, this congress seeks to recognize how digital technology can be transformed so that it serves people and our cultural heritage. Specifically, the first module, aligns with specific objective 2.1 as it promotes the use of Artificial Intelligence as a tool in risk prevention and management of specific emergencies, proposing rapporteurs that share experiences around their possibilities in situation modelling and potential risk analysis. Thus, the use of the digital image, in different forms and ways, aims to be another of the transversal axis of the congress, aligned with specific objectives 2.2. and 2.3. , starting from the exploration of the use of such tools in innovative and sustainable systems, both in the preventive documentation, and in the use of such images for the dissemination, conservation and even restoration of cultural heritage, in the event of irreversible loss. A good example of this is the project which is being developed in the mural paintings of the vault and presbytery of the church of the Santos Juanes de Valencia, which is proposed as one of the significant visits to be made among those attending the congress. On the dates proposed this project will be near completion, with the scaffolding still accessible, and it will be possible to appreciate and disseminate the innovative technologies developed for the recomposition of the painting, through the digital image, rectified and printed, as well as the procedures used to eliminate previous treatments with innovative, sustainable and ecological processes such as biologization through bacteria. This last item will be debated and analysed starting from the study, analysis and presentation of other cases and procedures during the module 3 and 4, helping again with the objective 1 defined by the Green European Deal.
This international congress aims to bring together the most important global experts on the subject, inviting 5 foreign presenters (France, Croatia, Portugal and Italy) and 4 Spanish presenters covering the wide range of disciplines involving the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage (Curators, Restorers, Architects, Historians, Scientists, Engineers…). Likewise, a call will be opened to the international community for the presentation of works related to the subject, of which 16 short communications and at least 40 posters will be selected, thanks to a scientific international committee that will evaluate the presented propositions and will select the most relevant ones. The congress will therefore be a forum for scientific debating of high level in relation to the extremely topical issue.
As a final result of the event it is intended to prepare common conclusions which will be reflected in a document we have called “Carta de Valencia”. This document will be an international bill about the conservation and restoration of mural paintings endangered by extreme events (including situations such as wars, earthquakes, floods and fires, as well as the impact of climate change). Because of this we’re counting on the support of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) y del ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), international organizations promoting conventions, charters and rules governing world heritage conservation, having previously supported multiple bills such as Athens 1931, Venice 1964, Florence 1981, Cracow 2000, etc…
The Congress will be held in person with a certificate of attendance obtained from those researchers who have registered. There will also be an online (non-interactive) mode to follow the conference sessions by streaming exclusively for those who register in this condition, also obtaining a certificate of attendance.
As communication languages, there’ll be used Spanish and English.