Supporting Decision-Making when Conserving Contemporary Art: A Model for Identification and Categorization of Stakeholders

ABSTRACT Authenticity in flux and value-led approaches are crucial elements in the conservation of contemporary art. Both depend on stakeholders: those involved in the artwork's historiography, who can promote value attribution and knowledge production towards the works, and those who could be affected by the conservation process. Identifying relevant stakeholders for contemporary art conservation becomes an imperative. This article introduces a model for identifying and categorizing relevant stakeholders for contemporary art conservation and preservation and attempts to support questions such as: Who are the stakeholders involved in the conservation process? What should be their involvement? How do they impact the conservation process? Who should identify them? How could it be done? In the suggested model, identification of relevant stakeholders is led by (1) the conservator as an analyst or an agent of change and (2) by a set of twelve “boundary questions” used to provoke and define situational framings. The categorization of relevant stakeholders is presented according to (1) their nature (human and non-human) and (2) their relevance and impact on/from the conservation and presentation process. Thereby, four groups of stakeholders are identified: human actors actively involved, human actors passively involved, non-human actors actively involved, and non-human actors passively involved.