About the institution
Chile’s museums and libraries are supported by a number of technical units and programs that, albeit less visibly, play a crucial role in the management and preservation of the country’s heritage. They include principally:
National Conservation and Restoration Center
National Conservation and Restoration Center.
Located in the Recoleta Dominica Heritage Center in Santiago, the National Conservation and Restoration Center was created in 1982. One of its first projects, in alliance with the Art School of the Catholic University of Chile, was to establish a program to train local restoration experts.
Today, the Center’s specialized laboratories are staffed with experts in the restoration of paintings, sculptures, monuments, paper and books and archaeological remains. In addition to its restoration and conservation work, it carries out multidisciplinary research and advises other institutions and organizations on management of the cultural heritage in their care as well as offering training courses and internships.
The Center’s Guillermo Joiko Library on topics related to the management of cultural heritage is the most important of its type in Chile and is open to the public.
National Heritage Documentation Center
Also located in the Recoleta Dominica Heritage Center, the National Heritage Documentation Center is responsible for promoting the registration and documentation of heritage collections held by both public and private institutions in Chile. In one of its key projects, the Center has developed an online Unified Registration System (SURDOC), which can be consulted by the general public (www.surdoc.cl).
World Heritage Sites National Center
This Center is the Chilean technical counterparty for the UN Convention on Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage and is responsible for overseeing compliance with the undertakings entered into by Chile with respect to its World Heritage Sites.
Intangible Heritage Center
This Center is responsible for preserving and promoting intangible expressions of the country’s cultural heritage such as oral traditions and popular music at both the national and more local level.
