On September 4, 2024, in Vilnius, Lithuania, the European Green Capital 2025, MOXY will host a major event at the National Gallery of Art of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. Researchers, expert conservators, innovators, and policy-makers from Horizon Europe projects GoGreen, GreenArt, and MOXY, united in the Green Cultural Heritage (CH) Cluster, will gather to discuss green, sustainable, and contactless approaches to cleaning sensitive works of art and other cultural heritage in the times of climate change. This is a unique one-day opportunity to delve into the latest advancements in our field, as the Green CH Cluster includes researchers from 53 organizations of excellence – universities, research organizations, museums, conservation centers, and non-governmental organizations representing extraordinary expertise in CH science, conservation, physics, chemistry, sustainability science, and related fields.

The Vilnius symposium will provide an exciting, focused forum to share and demonstrate future approaches and new materials for cleaning sensitive works of art, discussed in the keynote lectures by distinguished experts conservation scientists Dr. Bronwyn Ormsby (Tate, London) and Prof. Piero Baglioni (University of Florence, CSGI), experts, and emerging researchers, providing insights into in the following areas:

  • Definition of green materials and approaches in conservation

  • Challenges cleaning sensitive surfaces and assessment of cleaning effects

  • Non-contact cleaning using plasma-generated atomic oxygen

  • Innovation in physical and chemical gels

  • Novel electrospun tissue for the cleaning of paintings

  • New bio-originated cleaning formulations for metals (copper, ion, and silver)

  • Life Cycle Assessment LCA of cleaning methods and materials

  • Other topics related to green and sustainable materials and methods

The meeting will include practical demonstrations of several new cleaning materials and treated samples to kick-start discussions. Posters by Green Cluster CH PhD researchers from Ghent University, University of Amsterdam, Antwerp University, University of Pisa, and other research groups will provide insights into ongoing research.  A Green Cluster CH expert panel discussion will close the forum, followed by a social event where participants may promote and foster concrete future collaborations.  This is a unique opportunity to see and learn about the latest innovations in our field. For more information, please visit the website of the project MOXY.