EU-Funded GoGreen Programme Concludes Four-Year Push for Sustainable Art Conservation
The GoGreen initiative, funded by the EU, wrapped up after four years with a €3.27 million grant from Horizon Europe. This project brought together 13 organizations from various countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, France, the UK, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland, all working towards aligning cultural heritage conservation with the European Green Deal’s climate neutrality goal by 2050. One of the major outcomes was a “green definition” that features 14 guidance tools. Conservators Joosje van Bennekom and Ellen van Bork used a cleaning method with L-cysteine, developed by Qing Wu at HES-SO, on a Tiffany silver dish from 1906. The University of Amsterdam also focused on energy-efficient climate control, sharing their results through workshops, articles, and lectures.
Key facts
- GoGreen was funded with a €3.27m grant through the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme.
- The four-year programme ended in September and involved 13 European institutions from seven countries.
- The programme aimed to align conservation with the European Green Deal’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
- A 1906 Tiffany silver dish at the Rijksmuseum was conserved using an L-cysteine method instead of traditional chalk or acidified thiourea.
- The L-cysteine method was developed by postdoctoral researcher Qing Wu at HES-SO in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
- GoGreen produced a “green definition” with 14 guidance tools covering toxicity, resource accessibility, and longevity.
- The University of Amsterdam coordinated the programme, with partners including the Courtauld Institute of Art, Rijksmuseum, English Heritage, and the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research.
- GoGreen’s work was divided into eight work packages, including greener preventative conservation, cleaning methods, and education.
Entities
Artists
- Joosje van Bennekom
- Ellen van Bork
- Qing Wu
- Edith Joseph
Institutions
- GoGreen
- European Union
- Horizon Europe
- Rijksmuseum
- Haute École Arc Conservation-restauration
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland
- HES-SO
- University of Amsterdam
- Courtauld Institute of Art
- English Heritage
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research
- Unesco
Locations
- Netherlands
- Italy
- France
- United Kingdom
- Norway
- Poland
- Switzerland
- Neuchâtel