PUERTO RICO: Museum of Art Puerto Rico and HEART
Galvanizing the Cultural Community
In March 2018, and in collaboration with Museum of Art Puerto Rico (MAPR), the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI), the Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF), and FEMA held a five-day training for collections management professionals and other custodians of cultural institutions across Puerto Rico on disaster response for cultural heritage collections. Based on the curriculum from SCRI’s flagship emergency response program, the training provided lectures and case studies as well as realistic, hands-on training in damage assessment, rapid documentation, and emergency evacuation and salvage. Twenty-five participants, representing 23 different organizations from across the island, participated in the training. Many have continued to work on recovery efforts since.
Learn more about the training here and follow the participants through their evacuation exercise: Protecting Puerto Rico's Heritage from Another Disaster
Image: Smithsonian and FEMA staff working with colleagues at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. FEMA/Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative