Art Conservation 101: Preserving Art in East African Climates

East Africa's climate isn't uniform, and neither is the damage it does to art — coastal humidity, highland UV intensity, and dry-season dust each demand a different response.

Coastal humidity: Mombasa, Zanzibar, and the wider coast

Damp air swells paper, encourages mould growth on canvas and frames, and can loosen adhesives and stretcher joins over time. The real defence: keep work away from bathrooms, kitchens, and exterior walls prone to condensation, use silica gel packets in framed pieces where practical, and check framed work periodically for any sign of moisture behind the glass.

Equatorial UV: year-round, not seasonal

Because East Africa sits near the equator, UV intensity stays relatively high and consistent through the year rather than varying by season the way it might further from the equator — which means "it's not summer" isn't the protection it would be elsewhere. Direct sun fades pigment steadily and irreversibly; UV-filtering glazing and simply not hanging work in a room's direct light path are the two real defences.

Dry-season dust

In the drier months, airborne dust settles on unglazed or unprotected surfaces and can be abrasive if wiped incorrectly. Framed and glazed work is naturally protected; unframed canvas or paper benefits from a light, soft-brush dusting rather than any wiping, and from simply not being stored or displayed in an unsealed space during dusty months.

The general principle underneath all three

Stable conditions — away from direct sun, away from damp walls, away from dust exposure — protect value more reliably than any single product or treatment. Conservation framing (acid-free materials, UV glazing) is the concrete upfront cost that pays for this protection over the work's lifetime, covered in more detail in our piece on conservation framing specifically.

— The ArtCollect Desk