b'museum preparators THE HEADS, HANDS AND HEARTS BEHIND THE SCENESFEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE MUSEUM FIELD TRULYa matter of days. Preparators are also responsible for a understand what a preparator doeseven preparatorsshows maintenance while on viewupkeep that almost themselves sometimes struggle to define it! Put simpl ,always includes something unconventional. In the case preparators work behind the scenes to ready exhibitionsof Plastic Entanglements, for example, that meant and configu e the galleries, installing and de-installingregularly adding bleach to the water in a particular work works on a daily basis. The job calls for a nimble mindof art to keep it mold-free. and bodythe ability to patiently, creatively solveTo help demystify the role, SCHEMA invited problems and physically maneuver works of art in waysthe museums three full-time preparators to share more that reflect, and enhance, a curators vision. An apt jobabout what they do and how they came to do it. As description might be whatever it takes. much as the job varies from one day to the next, theres Sometimes the work is delicate and calls forone thing the preparations team can always count on: careful conservation, like embroidery or restringing anTheres never a dull moment.ancient Egyptian necklace. Other times its down and dirty demolition. Much of the time, however, its somewhereNikolas Asikis, chief preparatorin between: packing and crating, building mounts andCollaboration is key to the work that we do, and it all pedestals, brainstorming installation solutions andstarts with planning. We work closely with the curators strategies, cleaning and caring for the collection, framingand exhibition manager to understand the scope of 26 and unframing, and more. Preparators come to the worka show. People will ask us for input: How doable is with backgrounds as varied as the projects themselves,this? or Is this safe for the object? For Plastic from fine arts to constructioneven computer science Entanglements, for example, we had to get creative A typical exhibition process requires severalwith hanging Willie Coles Chandelier, made from over months of planning, followed by a couple of weeks700 water bottles. It took a lot of time and thought. spent hanging a show that, when over, comes down inOriginally, we thought wed connect it to the concrete above:A video still from a time-lapse video showing the museums preparators installing Institute for Invertebrate Marine Biology, 2017, by Mark Dionmuseum preparators'