Professional Conservators of Ireland (PCOI) is pleased to host the Modular Cleaning Programme (MCP), led by Chris Stavroudis from September 18 - 22nd 2023, in The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).

Chris Stavroudis is a private paintings conservator based in West Hollywood, California. He developed the Modular Cleaning Program in 2002 as an off shoot of the work of Richard Wolbers and the Gels Cleaning Project at the Getty Conservation Institute. Chris has presented over 66 in-person MCP workshops worldwide and continues to work with GCI on the cleaning of oriental lacquer and gilded wood surfaces.

The Modular Cleaning Program (MCP) is both a computer database system and an approach to cleaning using premixed concentrates that allows the rapid prototyping of cleaning solutions. The MCP is designed to assist professional conservators in refining the cleaning of artworks by allowing more options to be tested in a fast and convenient way. Participants will gain insight into the cleaning of painted surfaces and develop the range of variations offered by the MCP. By examining the sensitivity and susceptibility of the various additives, participants will discover which conditions may lead to swelling or damage to the paint film and which cleaning strategies will lead to more successful outcomes. By controlling the pH and ionic strength (as indicated by conductivity), the conservator can minimize the aqueous cleaning systems’ effect on the paint film. 

The theory of these processes will be covered during the morning lectures, the afternoon sessions will allow participants to be directly involved in the preparation and testing of the MCP programme. All participants will mix and prepare the various solutions, and have the opportunity to work through aqueous, emulsion, microemulsion and solvent gel test cleanings on various surfaces. By the end of the course participants will have gained an understanding of the MCP computer database, to anticipate various changes in materials and their affect on the cleaning solution and how this chemistry relates to the system. Each in person attendee will leave with a set of MCP concentrates (valued at £270.00) to start using the MCP program immediately in their own practice.