Xerophilic fungi have a taste for Danish art and cultural heritage

This pilot study examines the fungal colonisation of Anchers House, the Art Museums of Skagen, the former home of one of the most recognised couples in Scandinavian art history, Anna and Michael Ancher. The examination showed hyaline and white fungal colonies on museum artefacts but not on building structures and interiors. Analyses of air and surface samples showed growth of the xerophilic Aspergillus halophilicus, A. penicilloides, and A. magnivesiculatus able to grow at low water activity corresponding to low relative humidity (RH). Fungal colonisation adversely affects heritage preservation, occupational health, and audience access. Colonisation is hard to prevent because the xerophilic fungi can grow at RH as low as 58%, and the building is listed with heritage restrictions obstructing climate control.

Content

Author and article information

Conference

Publisher: ScienceOpen

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 27 June 2023

Affiliations

[1 ] The National Research Centre for the Work Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark;

[2 ] Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark;

[3 ] Art Museums of Skagen, Skagen, Denmark;

Article

DOI: 10.14293/ICMB230048

SO-VID: 31542d1c-4425-48d5-8ccc-c1dfcbac1674

License:

Published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International ( CC BY 4.0). Users are allowed to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially), as long as the authors and the publisher are explicitly identified and properly acknowledged as the original source.

Conference name: 2nd International Conference on Moisture in Buildings 2023

Conference acronym: ICMB23

Conference date: 3-4 July 2023

History

Product

ScienceOpen

Keywords: Mould,fungal growth,xerophilic fungi,indoor air,A. halophilicus,cultural heritage,art museum,Anna and Michael Ancher