Home>Network
Research institutes
CATS. Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation

The purpose of CATS is to explore the material nature of works of art and comparable objects. The aim is to generate and document a deeper understanding of methods and materials of the past and present – and to reach into the future with the development of innovative interdisciplinary methods.

Field of research

The scientific staff of CATS provides analytical services to Danish and international institutions and conduct collaborative projects with conservation scientists, conservators and curators from around the world. CATS investigates artists’ techniques and questions of authenticity and attribution.

CATS participates in the generation and evaluation of conservation programmes, as well as in the development of new treatment methods. The centre contributes to research into existing strategies for long-term preservation and stability of materially complex objects.

Visit website
Albayalde

Albayalde is a pioneer enterprise in Gipuzkoa in the study, management, conservation and restoration of cultural property, namely works of both classical and contemporary art from public and private collections. Since 1988, Albayalde collaborates with leading institutions of historical and artistic heritage of the Basque Country and Spain, as well as participating in numerous European projects.

Albayalde attaches importance to the study and understanding of cultural property. It has numerous publications in the field of art history and conservation, the result of its research and dedication in this field. Albayalde has also participated on a regular basis in international congresses and conferences. In the past decade, Albayalde has expanded into preventive conservation projects and collection management, ranging from idea development and constructive monitoring to design and management strategies for private collections.

Visit website
C2RMF. Le Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France

The centre for research and restauration of the musées de France (C2RMF)

Visit website
Centrum voor Religieuze kunst en Cultuur vzw

Heverlee, Belgium

The Centre for Religious Art and Culture (Centrum voor Religieuze Kunst en Cultuur - CRKC) is the centre of expertise for religious heritage in Flanders and Brussels.
The CRKC collects knowledge and shares expertise about religious material and immaterial culture, supports and advises heritage managers, enthusiastically promotes an interest in this rich heritage, and advocates for the active distribution of this valuable information. The CRKC works closely together with religious archives such as KADOC-KULeuven, the State Archives and the Flemish Heritage Library. The primary focus of the CRKC lies with the heritage of the catholic church, but the scope of the Centre’s work encompasses all the recognized religions in Belgium (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Anglicanism, Judaism, Islam, and Orthodox Churches). The Centre’s base of operations is located at the historical Abbey of Park in Leuven, alongside the Museum for Religious Art and Culture which was established by the CRKC in 2003 and opened to the public in 2009.

Visit website
Cultural Heritage Agency

Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed

The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlandshelps other parties to get the best out of ourheritage. We are closely involved in listing, preserving, sustainably developing and providing access to the most valuable heritage in our country.

We are the link between policymakers, academics and practitioners. We provide advice, knowledge and information, and perform certain statutory duties that have been assigned to us. The Cultural Heritage Agency is at the heart of heritage management in the Netherlands.

Visit website
Illuminare - Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Art (KU Leuven)

Illuminare — Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Art (KU Leuven) is located in the Central Library of the University of Leuven. It is a university research and documentation centre, accessible for academics and students. The research of Illuminare is founded upon reception history and the contextual meaning of Early Netherlandish Art; technical research, conservation and cataloging of illuminated manuscripts and the iconology of the Middle Ages from an interdisciplinary perspective (Iconology Research Group). Research is made possible under the auspices of research and doctoral projects.

Visit website
Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art (INHA)

Created in 2001, the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) is an Academic, Cultural and Professional Public Establishment (EPSCP – Établissement public scientifique, culturel et professionnel) under the supervision of the ministers of Higher Education, Research and Culture.

Visit website
International Center of Medieval Art

The purposes for which the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) was formed are to promote and encourage the study, understanding, and appreciation of the visual arts of the Middle Ages produced in Europe, the Mediterranean region, and the Slavic world, during the period between ca. 300 and ca. 1500 C.E.; and to this end to sponsor and otherwise support study, teaching, conferences, exhibitions, displays, and publications devoted to medieval art and culture.

Visit website
KIK-IRPA. Royal institute for Cultural Heritage

The KIK-IRPA is a federal scientific institute responsible for the documentation, study and conservation-restoration of the cultural and artistic heritage of our country.

Art historians, photographers, chemists, archaeologists, engineers and conservator-restorers carry out interdisciplinary research on the materials and techniques used in works of art and cultural artefacts and on the materials and methods used in conservation-restoration.

The KIK-IRPA is a unique resource for scientific, photographic and technical documentation of the cultural heritage of the country. More information

Visit website
NICAS. Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art and Science

NICAS is a new multidisciplinary research institute, centered in the Ateliergebouw in Amsterdam, uniting the disciplines conservation, art history and science.
It is the aim of NICAS to consolidate and develop the connections between these disciplines in the form of a cohesive research program in close cooperation with and active involvement of the cultural heritage field, with as its main research themes the origin of the artwork and the life of the artwork through time.
Problems encountered in museum collections in the whole of the Netherlands will be used as input for research at NICAS, and the activities of NICAS should have relevance and impact for those collections, the ultimate goal being a better understanding, presentation and conservation of cultural heritage.

Visit website