Conserving and Collecting Performance Artifacts

Do makeup smudges count as damage, or do they lend a patina of authenticity? How do you rebuild a 50-year-old stage set? Using objects from the Walker’s newly acquired Merce Cunningham Dance Company Collection, experts demonstrate the process of conserving and cataloging artworks and artifacts made for dance, theater, and other types of live performance. Join Walker registrar Joe King, Cunningham research fellow Abigail Sebaly, and conservators Beth McLaughlin and David Marquis for a behind-the-scenes look at creating the new exhibition Dance Works I: Merce Cunningham/Robert Rauschenberg.