Wing Luke Museum: Collections Maintenance Plan and Housekeeping Schedule for Historic Immersion Spaces

Authors:

• Jamie Fontana and Wai Wilson Lam, Museology Graduate Program
• Chair: Lane Eagles
• Steffi Morrison
• Hollye Keister

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Abstract:

This project was undertaken in collaboration with the Wing Luke Museum, to create a collections maintenance plan for the preservation of their historic immersion spaces. This document aims to provide accessible directions on caring for the diverse object types housed in historic spaces of the East Kong Yick Building, including the Yick Fung Storefront, Freeman Hotel and family association rooms, and Apartment 6. To develop this document, we first referenced a Conservation Assessment Report commissioned by the museum in late 2024. In February 2025 we visited the museum and conducted a survey of collections items and materials displayed in each immersion space. This document is structured to start with general collections care guidelines for historic buildings, then moving into each immersion space and addressing their individual needs, with specific instructions for certain unique items. It also provides worksheets detailing maintenance tasks to be conducted on regular bases, such as weekly, quarterly, and semi-annually, and ends on a list of suppliers to obtain cleaning and collections protection products. We created this document with approachable language for staff and volunteers beyond the Collections department, and suggest relatively inexpensive + noninvasive interventions. We hope this document can shift some of the burden from the Wing’s one-person collections department and provide a standardized collections maintenance protocol for spaces that are especially vulnerable to degradation, thereby protecting and preserving these pieces of Asian American history for future generations.

Poster:

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Project Deliverable:

Wing Luke Museum: Collections Maintenance Plan and Housekeeping Schedule for Historic Immersion Spaces

Video Presentation