The Polaroid Preservation Project

The Polaroid Preservation Project was born from a fascination with 20th-century photographic materials, primarily instant photography. This thesis addresses preservation considerations for Polaroid photographs created in the last half of the twentieth century. My research references the Fade Resistance Collection, a collection of over 3500 instant photos collected by artist Zun Lee of African American families held by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto, Canada. This collection, recently acquired by the museum, is scheduled to be exhibited, providing a touchstone for strategies around identifying, storing, preserving, and exhibiting these unique photographic objects. The thesis is broken down into four parts; 1) Background History; 2) Composition of Polaroid Instant Photographs; 3) Deterioration of Polaroid Photographs; 4) Housing, Storage and Display of Polaroid Photographs. Additionally, I will be publishing a website that will serve as a platform for my research and help provide better access for researchers and others.