E10 Margarita Villanueva | Conservator & Museum Administrator (Lopez Museum and Library) | Preserving heritage and exploring the future of art through materials science

Margarita Villanueva is the Assistant to the Director and the Manager of Conservation at the Lopez Museum and Library in the Philippines, helping oversee the management and operations of the museum and its Conservation Center, respectively. She also served as elected Chair of the Arts & Culture Committee at the League of Corporate Foundations in the Philippines.

Prior to this, she worked in Venice at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of the most visited art galleries in Italy. She also worked for several years in conservation in Canada at various private laboratories and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Marga holds Bachelors Degrees in Materials Chemistry and Art History from the University of British Columbia. She later went to Cardiff University as a Chevening scholar to obtain her Master of Science in Professional Conservation, graduating with distinction. At Cardiff, she furthered her study in the scientific approach to conservation practice and collections care.

On this episode, she shares with us her optimism for the Philippine art scene (she sees many more opportunities than limitations), the most memorable objects people have brought in for restoration, and how contemporary art gave her a whole new perspective on materials. She also shares anecdotes about why conservators should be consulted early in the architectural design process (i.e., why your airconditioning or windows may be ruining your artwork).

This episode is dedicated to those keeping our arts, heritage, and culture alive.

---

Follow Marga on LinkedIn

- Ask her about her grad school dissertation, for which she developed a standardized methodology for evaluating non-aqueous deacidification spray treatments, and evaluated the neutralization and penetration characteristics of MgO (magnesium oxide) on watercolor paper

- Marga was recently awarded a technical grant to participate in a professional program in Managing Collection Environments with the Getty Conservation Institute. Her final project involved developing an environmental management policy for the Lopez Museum and Library, and integrating the policy into the architectural design of its new building

- Marga was also a panelist at the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Triennial Conference in Conservation, entitled, "Transcending Boundaries"

More on the Lopez Museum and Library:

https://www.lopezmuseum.org.ph/

--

Other references:

Pacita Abad's show at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD Manila)

Pinto Art Museum

Neri Oxman (MIT profile)

Hedy Lamarr to be played by Gal Gadot

Kintsugi

---

Music: “Neon Laser Horizon” by Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Sound Editing by franticsong

Like what you heard? Do rate, review, share, and subscribe so others can find the episodes too.

Follow instagram.com/occupationalhazards.podcast for more updates!

xoxo Jo