Prebys Foundation SUPPORTS RELEVANT, ACCESSIBLE, AND INCLUSIVE PRESERVATION SERVICES

SAN DIEGO, Calif. —December 5, 2023--Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC), the only nonprofit regional conservation center in the western region, has been selected as a grant recipient by Prebys Foundation, San Diego County’s largest independent private foundation. 

The $225,000 in grant funding will support BACC’s efforts to develop partnerships with under-resourced collecting entities and artists, ensuring that relevant and inclusive preservation services are accessible to a wider, diverse audience. 

In an ongoing effort to break existing barriers of access to conservation services, BACC conservators will collaborate with collections caretakers in San Diego and assist them in assessing and understanding their collections’ preservation needs. BACC conservators will provide resources and training on emergency preparedness and response, integrated pest management, best storage and handling practices, and conservation prioritization. 

 “Our communities are better thanks to the work of Balboa Art Conservation Center,” said Grant Oliphant, CEO of Prebys Foundation. “This is why we are proud to invest $225,000 to their work advancing our shared vision for a vibrant and thriving region. We encourage others to support, learn more, and celebrate their work.”

This work is crucial as BACC seeks to be a model for inclusive conservation practice and a champion for increased accessibility and equity within the field of art conservation. All of BACC’s conservators are exceptionally trained  in their areas of specialty, providing expertise that is unparalleled within the San Diego region and services that are unavailable throughout the majority of the American west. BACC is also the only publicly accessible conservation facility in the American west as well as the only resource for advanced examination and analytical techniques essential to understanding an object’s structure, material, and history, such as X-radiography, infrared reflectography, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. 

BACC Executive Director Leticia Gomez Franco explains, “Access to collections care capacity building, emergency preparedness, conservation service, and knowledge sharing through partnerships is essential in cultural preservation. This support from Prebys Foundation is crucial in democratizing historically institutionalized services and knowledge so that they are available and responsive to the many communities that make up San Diego’s collective cultural heritage.”

About Balboa Art Conservation Center
 
The Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC) provides art conservation and cultural preservation services for cultural institutions and the general public. The San Diego-based nonprofit is one of only nine regional nonprofit art conservation organizations in the country and the only one in the western region. Founded in 1975, BACC provides art conservation and cultural preservation services to cultural institutions and the general public, focusing on the care of works of art, cultural objects, and historic artifacts, technical imaging, and analysis while also providing educational opportunities for emerging conservators. Learn more at bacc.org.

About Prebys Foundation
Prebys Foundation is the largest independent private foundation in San Diego County and works to create an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for all San Diegans. 

The foundation advances excellence and shared opportunity through investments in groundbreaking institutions, ideas, and people to ensure more San Diegans are financially secure, healthy, empowered, and connected. 

The foundation invests in four program areas: visual and performing arts, medical research, healthcare, and youth access, and pays attention to the impact of its work on climate, the region’s character as a border region, and a robust democracy. 

For more information, visit prebysfdn.org.