The Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC), California’s only publicly accessible nonprofit art conservation organization, submits this proposal in support of its mission to advance the study and preservation of cultural heritage for all communities. Funding will support BACC’s youth arts education programming. BACC is the only regional conservation center introducing art conservation as a field of study and career path to California youth. At the intersection of science, art, and technology, BACC engages youth through hands-on activities, lab tours, art imaging demos, and interactive learning experiences at schools, community fairs, and onsite visits. This proposal connects California-based indigenous artist collaborative, Meztli Project, with BACC conservators to enhance an existing science-based approach to youth arts education, highlighting indigenous knowledge and artistic practice with BACC’s work to democratize cultural heritage preservation practices.
The Balboa Art Conservation Center works closely with museums, libraries, cultural centers, and historical societies to provide collections surveys, conservation treatment, and educational programs. While there are more than 36,000 museums and historic houses in the nation, only 1% have a conservator on site. The rest of these institutions must rely on outside sources, like BACC, for their conservation. We offer programs for museums and culture centers focused on collections care including Emergency Preparedness Workshops, Art and Cultural Heritage Object Clinics, and lectures on conservation and preservation at community colleges, universities, and museums. We also provide education and outreach programs about conservation to the community.
For more than 45 years, BACC has been fulfilling its mission as a nonprofit art conservation and cultural preservation organization to provide conservation and preservation services for works of art, cultural objects, and historic artifacts. Its highly trained conservators offer a rigorous and scientific approach to the preservation, examination, and treatment of cultural heritage objects. As a nonprofit organization, BACC is committed to benefiting the public good by supporting training and education opportunities and partnering with stewards of community cultural collections. Programs include Collections Care Support; Capacity Building; Education & Creative Workforce Development; Artists Technical Assistance & Professional Development; and community led conservation projects. BACC is expanding access to the field of conservation to historically underrepresented communities by growing the existing knowledge base to include culturally conscious and responsive methods of conservation and preservation.

