Since shortly after Hurricane Sandy hit New York, the American Institute for Conservation Collections Emergency Response Team (AIC-CERT) has been offering support and guidance to local artists, collectors, and gallerists with water-damaged art. Last week, the organization opened a temporary Cultural Recovery Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where artists whose work was affected by the superstorm can bring their pieces in for restoration and conservation. In addition to aiding with recovery, the AIC-CERT hopes the center will serve as a blueprint for an organized response to future conservation emergencies.

ARTINFO visited the Cultural Recovery Center last week and spoke with the studio manager Anna Studebaker, conservator Howard Wellman, and artist Ronnie Landfield, whose work was in the process of being assessed and restored. For information about the center, email culturalrecoverycenter[at]gmail.com, and for information about Ronnie Landfield and ways to support his recovery, check out this link.