ECPN Mentor Project with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

If you attended the AIC Member Business Meeting at last year’s 45th Annual Meeting in Chicago, you learned about some of the initiatives our colleagues have been involved in to increase diversity in the field. Last year, ECPN became directly involved with one of these initiatives, a collaboration with WUDPAC, Yale, and the Alliance of HBCU Museums and Galleries (HBCU = historically black colleges and universities).

Just to provide some quick background to ECPN’s involvement – in the winter of 2016, members of the HBCU Alliance of Museums & Galleries, AIC, ANAGPIC, the Smithsonian, WUDPAC and Yale University, met to propose ways of engaging underrepresented students in the field of cultural heritage. This meeting was initiated, organized, and led by Dr. Caryl McFarlane, an independent diversity consultant, and strongly supported by Dr. Jontyle Robinson, Curator of the Tuskegee Legacy Museum and CEO of the HBCU Alliance of Museums and Galleries. 

One result of this meeting was the development of two programs which occurred back-to-back last summer (summer 2017): Yale University’s HBCU Students, Teachers and Mentors Program and the University of Delaware’s TIP-C or Two-week Introduction to Practical Conservation. For more information on these programs, make sure to follow the links included here. 

Mentoring was identified as an important component for these initiatives, so the HBCU program leaders reached out to ECPN, and ECPN identified and solicited mentors for a pilot mentoring program. Based on recommendations from ECPN and a survey of the mentors, matches were made to pair the 11 TIP-C students with conservation professionals. ECPN also created resources for both the mentors and the 11 TIP-C students, which included useful links and resources and a suggested reading list. The mentoring period began at the end of last summer, and is wrapping up this spring.

ECPN is currently working with Dr. McFarlane, Yale, and WUDPAC to facilitate the TIP-C students’ attendance at the 2018 AIC annual meeting pre-session: “Whose Cultural Heritage? Whose Conservation Strategy?”. This pre-session, taking place on May 30th, is AIC’s first symposium on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in cultural heritage preservation. Students will also be encouraged to attend the Untold StoriesStorytelling as Preservation” program, which immediately follows the pre-session.

Attending these programs at the AIC annual meeting this year will not only be an opportunity for the students to learn more about conservation and to experience attending a large professional meeting, but it will also allow some of the students to connect in-person with their mentors for the first time! It has been a privilege for me to be involved in this program, both in my role as a mentor as well as in my role as the AIC Board Director of Professional Education and the Board Liaison to ECPN.

We hope to feature at least one student from this program on the blog later this year, so stay tuned for more information.

International Archaeology Day at the Penn Museum

October 15 is International Archaeology Day (IAD), which is sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America and held each year on the third Saturday of October. AIC is registered as a Collaborating Organization for IAD this year and we are encouraging all AIC members to promote this event, archaeology, and how we as conservation professionals support archaeological projects and collections. You can do this in many ways, including by posting on the AIC and ADG Facebook pages and on the AIC blog, with a tag for International Archaeology Day. The hashtag for social media is #IAD2016.
As ADG co-chair and conservator at the Penn Museum, I will take this opportunity to promote the Penn Museum Symposium, Engaging Conservation: Collaboration Across Disciplines, taking place this week in Philadelphia from 6-8 October 2016. This 3-day symposium is being held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Penn Museum’s Conservation DepartmentFounded in 1966, it is thought to be the first archaeology and anthropology museum conservation lab in the United States to be staffed by professional conservators. 
Penn Museum Conservation Lab in 1968 (above) and in 2016 (below)
Penn Museum Conservation Lab in 1968 (above) and in 2016 (below)
The Symposium will feature 31 paper presentations by conservators, archaeologists, anthropologists, and specialists in related fields, which will address topics related to the conservation of archaeological and anthropological materials and the development of cross-disciplinary engagement over the past half century. The full schedule and abstracts can be found on the symposium website by following this linkLook for upcoming posts summarizing the events.
The Penn Museum will be hosting a variety of other events on October 15th in celebration of IAD, including offering behind-the-scenes tours of the Museum’s Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials (CAAM). CAAM opened in 2014, and encompasses teaching and research labs, staffed by specialists in ceramics, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, human skeletal analysis, archaeometallurgy, digital archaeology, and conservation.
CAAM teaching specialist Dr. Kate Moore working with students (left); view of one of the teaching labs (right)
CAAM teaching specialist Dr. Kate Moore working with students (left); view of one of the teaching labs (right)
We look forward to hearing about other ways in which our colleagues are involved in supporting archaeological projects and collections. Happy International Archaeology Day!

9th Biennial NATCC registration now open

Conserving Modernity: The Articulation of Innovation
The 9th Biennial North American Textile Conservation Conference (NATCC)
November 12-15, 2013

San Francisco, California
Registration for the conference, workshops, and tours is now open! Go to http://natcconference.com for a glimpse of the papers and posters to be presented and to register. Keep in mind that space is limited for workshops and tours, so be sure to sign up now!
Full conference registration includes:

  • Entrance to all paper and poster presentations at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park on November 14th and 15th, as well as refreshments and lunches.
  • The opening reception, which will take place in Jackson Square and is being co-hosted by the Lotus Gallery and Peter Pap Oriental Rugs.
  • The closing reception at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum.

For questions, please contact Yadin Larochette: yadinl [at] gmail [dot] com
 

41st Annual Meeting, Discussion Session, June 1st, 2013: Engaging with Allied Fields: Teaching Conservation in Allied Academic Departments and Degree Programs

If you missed this engaging session, you probably have no idea that it included 11 different talks, presented “lightning-round” style, and 2 lively discussion sessions (in fact, the session was so engaging that I neglected to take photos, which I had very good intentions of doing!).
Organized by Suzanne Davis and Emily Williams, the idea for this session came through their discussions with colleagues and their realization that those engaged in teaching conservation to non-conservation students in academic settings are not currently sharing resources, goals and feelings about this work. Their goal was to begin a dialogue about these topics between those involved with and interested in this topic. To provide a foundation for their session, they recently conducted an online survey entitled “Teaching Conservation in Allied Degree Programs”. To read more about this and to access the initial survey report, follow this link to Suzanne’s blogpost.
The first round of speakers included Gregory Dale Smith, Renee Stein, Cathleen Baker, Heather Galloway, and Emily Williams. I’m including a brief summary of each of their talks, with links as possible, below. Each of the talks was 5 minutes, and both the speakers and the organizers did a terrific job keeping their talks within this brief time frame!
Gregory Dale Smith is the Otto N. Frenzel III Senior Conservation Scientist at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. He unfortunately could not attend the session, so Suzanne presented his slides on his behalf. His presentation focused on a project for a course for graduate students in Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI)’s Chemistry and Biological Chemistry Department and the Forensic and Investigative Sciences program entitled “CSI: Conservation Science Indianapolis.” In this course, he had students carry out a technical examination of a purported 1874 Alfred Sisley painting. The museum had suspicions about its authenticity, so the project benefitted not only the students but also the museum. The project included provenance research, analysis, imaging, and a final report, and there are blogposts on the topic on the IMA website. Through this course, Greg hoped to transmit to students the interplay of connoisseurship, conservation and science. While they did not come to a definite conclusion in the end, the students were particularly engaged due to the fact that it was a real object and a real issue for the museum.
Renee Stein is the Chief Conservator at the Michael C. Carlos Museum and is also Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Art History at Emory University. Conservators at the Carlos have always been involved in teaching, and the course that Renee is teaching is now an issue-based and topical seminar. The course attracts mostly art history majors, and the goal of the course is to introduce them to issues in conservation-to the why, not the how. Renee also mentioned that the Carlos Museum is also exploring how the museum can help to teach science, and they are now doing this through a course focusing on the analysis of ancient art course, which is very forensic and analytical, and geared toward undergrad chemistry majors. Two other courses that are being taught on conservation include an imaging course and a freshman seminar on art and nature. A list of these courses and other conservation opportunities for students at Emory are listed here. Also of note are the podcasts that have been developed by the Carlos and are available on their website by following this link.
Cathleen Baker is a Conservation Librarian and Exhibits Conservator at the University of Michigan Library and Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Information. Cathleen discussed one course that she taught with the goal of to introducing students to the concepts of conservation. She achieves this through lectures and supplements them with hands-on activities with books, and instructs students on the uses of adhesives, cleaning and repairs. She expressed that she has been surprised and encouraged that her students are fascinated by materials and objects in today’s very digital/virtual world.
Heather Galloway is a Conservator at the Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA). She is currently preparing to teach a course in the joint PhD program between Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She has taught several other courses, and she described one which was geared toward upper level students and taught completely based in the museum galleries. This was not a practical course, and all of the written work required of the students was based on observations and research. She wanted them to focus on what they might learn if they had the opportunity to examine an object firsthand. In this course Heather also removed paintings from the gallery walls and had students examine them out of their frames and under different light sources. The ultimate goal of this course was to introduce students to the complexity of judgments and collaboration necessary for conservators to make decisions, and to build a more sympathetic audience among our future allied professionals.
Emily Williams is the Conservator of Archaeological Materials at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and she discussed a course she has been teaching at the University of Mary Washington, entitled “Introduction to Conservation.” Because of Emily’s specialty, she imparts a heavy emphasis on archaeological materials but also tries to incorporate information about other materials as possible. Her goal in this course is to lay the foundation for future collaborations rather than train conservators. Due to Emily’s experience that many archaeologists in the Mid-Atlantic region think of conservation as all hands-on and something that they can do with just a little bit of training, she discussed the challenge that she sees in teaching this course, between balancing hands-on, practical work with other activities. She explained that her students always want to do more practical work, and this may be because she teaches this course as a 3-hour class. In addition to including hands-on activities, Emily incorporates debates and discussions into her classes. At the end of her presentation, she posed the question that she is pondering herself-through this course, is she achieving her goal of creating well-informed future collaborators or is she reinforcing the notion that the best and most important parts of conservation are hands-on?
Following this round of talks, Suzanne and Emily posed 2 sets of 2 questions or ideas each to the audience. Some of these were created from comments pulled directly from the survey recently conducted. We were seated in groups at round tables, each assigned with a letter A or B-the letters designated which questions we were to discuss.  I’ll write more about this, and the second discussion session, after summarizing the second round of speakers.
The second round of speakers included Richard McCoy, Erich Uffelman, Ian McClure, Sanchita Balachandran, Karen Pavelka, and Suzanne Davis.
Richard McCoy is former Conservator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and he has taught at IUPUI and recently was asked to create a course for Johns Hopkins online. Richard’s first course at IUPUI was project-based, focused on collections care and on documenting all of the public artworks on the university campus. To do this, he co-founded the WikiProject Public Art for his students to document the sculptures, and used Flickr for the photo management. He found that using Wikipedia and Flickr also worked as an advocacy tool for the artwork. In a second course, Richard had his students document all of the public art in the  Indiana State House. In his last course, he focused on survey and research, and had his students research the historic Madame Walker Theater, create an excel database of their survey, and reorganized the theater’s museum. Richard is now creating a course for Johns Hopkins online in museum studies. This course will be entitled “Core aspects of conservation- a 21st century approach” and will have a goal of teaching students how to look at art, and also have students gather more resources for sharing with others on this topic.
Erich Uffelman is faculty at Washington and Lee University in the Department of Chemistry. Erich presented a record number of slides in 5 minutes, illustrating his course “Science In Art:  Technical Analysis of 17th Century Dutch Paintings.” This is a 2-part course that is conducted over a year, ending with a trip to the Netherlands. This course covers both the art historical aspects as well as the scientific and analytical work that is involved in conservation. Erich has been publishing about this course since 2007, and his publications include resources as well as the strengths and limitations of the approaches used in teaching this course. Erich ended his presentation by mentioning the Chemistry in Art workshops offered through the National Science Foundation, taught by Dr. Pat Hill. These workshops are geared toward university faculty and other educators and focus on how to integrate chemistry and art into a curriculum.
Ian McClure is the Director of the Center for Conservation and Preservation, Yale West Campus and Susan Morse Hilles Chief Conservator at the Yale University Art Gallery. He discussed several ways in which his department is involved in teaching, including an undergraduate course focused on the technical examination of art. The goal of this course is to teach students about various methods of investigation and to help them understand how to interpret their observations. In addition to this course, they also work with postdoctoral students in computer science. One of their recent initiatives is teaching teachers in the Summer Teachers Institute in Technical Art History (STITAH). This project is supported by the Kress Foundation.
Sanchita Balachandran is a Conservator and Curator at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum and is a Lecturer in Near Eastern Studies at the university. Sanchita explained that the museum is used frequently for teaching, and a majority of her time is devoted this work, as she teaches one course per semester. She is teaching a seminar “Examining Archaeological Objects”more regularly, and she also teaches in other departments. Sanchita shared some of her main goals in her courses, which include: sharing excitement about objects with students, teaching students how to look at objects and make original observations, and instilling a sense of wonder in her students. Sanchita mentioned that one of the challenges that she has faced in teaching in this capacity is that not having a PhD is difficult in an academic environment, and makes it more difficult to apply for research funding. She ended her presentation with the idea of the “conservator identity crisis”. She explained that now that only 10% of her time is dedicated to treatment, she thinks a lot about what defines a conservator–someone who does treatment regularly and thus practices what he/she teaches, or someone who is able to teach about these issues but in some ways is far removed from the hands on aspect?
Karen Pavelka is a Conservator and Lecturer in the School of Information at UT Austin. As a full-time faculty member, she teaches 2 courses per semester. Courses that she teaches integrate conservation into the I-school curriculum, and include a paper lab course and classes that focus on disaster salvage, risk management, and preservation management. Karen pointed out that her classes are popular (they fill up within the first minute of being offered!) and often have waiting lists. Her courses are mainly geared to grad students focusing on library and museum studies. Karen stated that her goal in these courses is to integrate conservation into these students’ worlds, and impart the idea that everyone is responsible for preservation, but also to help them understand when to call a conservator-essentially, to help educate these students so that they become valuable and well-informed colleagues. Karen described one project that she has created for her students called the “annoying object exercise”. She created fragile, oddly shaped objects and then asks students to design and build a support for these objects which can be produced quickly, cheaply, and easily.
Suzanne Davis is Head Conservator at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. Suzanne gave an abbreviated version of her presentation so that the rest of the session could be used for discussion. Just briefly, Suzanne discussed that she teaches a conservation unit in a theory-based, graduate-level museum studies course at the university. She posed the question, WTH (what the heck) should she be doing with these students? Should she be teaching them to think about conservation in a critical way, which is what she has been doing, or should she be giving them practical advice/tips so that they can make more informed decisions about using conservation services and resources in their future careers?
On that note, Suzanne and Emily moved everyone into the second period of discussion, again with 2 sets of questions for the audience to ponder.
Discussions topics included (but were not limited to):
–       What are the costs and benefits of adjunct teaching?
–       How do you see the role of conservation and conservation science in education for allied professionals? Do you see it as providing enrichment and/or as an aid in developing critical thinking skills? Do you want to produce more educated consumers of conservation resources and services? What are your personal end-result goals for the classes you teach?
–       Salvador Munos-Vinas and other scholars have argued the need for more theory in conservation and conservation education. What is your opinion? Does a lack of theory in conservation affect conservators’ ability to engage with education in theory-rich fields such as archaeology, art history, and museum studies?
After discussions amongst our groups, Emily and Suzanne opened the session up for some quick discussion at the end.
Some of the points that came out of this discussion included:
–       there is a need for conservation specific teaching resources
–       those who are teaching would find it helpful to look at other syllabi
–       in general the audience was interested in more teaching instruction and strategies in the form of a webinar or workshop – the workshop idea was more popular
–       there are a lot of guest lecturers not full time teaching – people would like more information about how to convey a single talk or 2 in a larger course
–       resources that do exist include:

  • an email listserv for conservation educators, which has been fairly dormant but you can contact Rachael Arenstein or Emily Williams if you’d like to join – the pre-requisite for joining is that you must be teaching in an academic setting
  • AIC’s YouTube channel-this is also a place for those making videos to share them
  • AIC’s Facebook page and AIC wiki
  • Coursera, Khan academy, Stanford Teaching Commons 

 
Suzanne and Emily promised that they will eventually publish the discussion from this session, so stay tuned for that!

Collective energy: harnessing the power of community

If you ask me if I’m connected, I might at first think, well, I have a smartphone where I can access my Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, my family and I share a Google calendar, so sure, I guess I’m connected. But what does it really mean to be connected? With all of these devices, apps, and programs, I find that it is becoming increasingly easier to never leave the comfort of my home or desk in order to feel like I’m an active part of a community – whether it be my neighborhood, my family, or the conservation field.
But nothing replaces the experience of connecting with other people face-to-face. Our field is experiencing some big changes, and making the effort to go to conferences each year, and even venturing a bit outside of our close-knit community, may be more valuable than ever before. By attending allied professionals meetings, I believe that we will find that this not only benefits us as individuals, but our field as a whole.
Last week I spent 2 very full days at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) annual meeting in Baltimore and I returned feeling inspired and energized with new ideas.

AAM attendees filing into the general session in the ballroom at the Baltimore Convention Center
AAM attendees filing into the general session in the ballroom at the Baltimore Convention Center

This was my first time attending this meeting, and as Chair of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), I went on behalf of our group in an attempt to promote ECPN to the wider museum community, to connect with the AAM Emerging Museum Professionals (EMP) network, and to seek ideas and ways for ECPN to collaborate with other emerging museum professionals. In the interest of supporting the significant work of ECPN, The University of Delaware generously supported my participation.
A shot from the AAM opening reception at the American Visionary Art Museum
A shot from the AAM opening reception at the American Visionary Art Museum

I was fortunate to have a meeting buddy – ECPN Vice Chair Eliza Spaulding also attended the conference, and between the two of us, we sought out as many opportunities to take in all AAM had to offer. Some of the highlights included:

  • A first-time attendees orientation meeting
  • A one hour speed-networking event
  • The Emerging Museum Professionals (EMP) reception
  • One-on-one career coaching
  • One-on-one resume review
  • The Alliance opening party at the American Visionary Art Museum
  • Keynote talk by Freeman Hrabowski, III, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) about the role of museums in inspiring future generations

And of course we attended several interesting sessions, met many new people, and had a chance to visit the booths at the MuseumExpo.
Eliza and I are excited to share some of our experiences at AAM, and how these have given us ideas for future projects, at the ECPN informational meeting during the AIC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis this week. The ECPN meeting will take place on Friday, May 31 from 5:30-6:30 pm in the JW Marriott Meeting Rooms 201-203.
We hope to see you there!
 

Why blog from the AIC annual meeting?

I first volunteered to blog from the AIC annual meeting 2 years ago. At that point, I didn’t really have much experience blogging, and honestly, I was a bit intimidated by the idea. I was concerned that I wouldn’t get the author(s) points across very effectively (or worse get details completely wrong) and I was also worried that my posts would be boring. A lot of the blogs that I followed were funny, clever, and insightful, and I just didn’t feel that I would be able to measure up to such standards. Finally, I just felt out of practice doing that kind of writing – being just out of graduate school, I was used to doing lots of technical writing and writing for scholarly purposes, but writing for a blog is different – you want to impart your voice and opinions, and it can be difficult to adjust to such a different format and style.
Well, I did blog from the annual meeting that year, and then blogged again last year, and I’m here to say that it isn’t all that bad. In fact, it was really worthwhile (and dare I say, fun??). Knowing that I was blogging for specific presentations made me pay attention to details I otherwise wouldn’t have, and it also made me think of capturing components of the talks that would work well in a visual presentation on the blog – photos of a poster or handout, a screenshot from the powerpoint, or an image from the conference room, etc. Blogging is also a great way to reflect on a talk and form your own opinions about the content. You don’t need to express these all in your blogpost, but ultimately, digesting a talk in a follow-up blogpost helps make that particular presentation more memorable and valuable.
Thinking about blogging from the annual meeting but unsure if you can hack it? Keep the following points in mind:

  • Only sign up to blog for a presentation that you’re already planning on attending.
  • Don’t worry about capturing all of the details – it’s okay to say in your blogpost that you missed something, or to even say – “did anyone else understand this particular point, or capture that particular detail?” This is a way to engage readers-some of the best blogposts are those that ask for reader feedback or ask questions.
  • Start by signing up to blog for 1 presentation or event. This shouldn’t be a stressful task, and signing up for 1 blogpost will be a huge help.  If you are feeling adventurous (or thirsty) AIC is offering a free drink ticket at the opening reception for the first 35 volunteers who sign up for two talks!
  • Try to write up your thoughts about the talk soon after you hear it, but don’t worry about posting something right away. The goal is to have posts up in the week after the meeting – but at least organizing your thoughts sooner rather than later will make things easier on yourself.
  • Think about images. If you have a camera or smartphone with you, snap a photo to include in your post. Readers always appreciate blogposts with images.
  • Have fun with it! Consider taking the opportunity to follow up with the speaker or talking to other attendees about the talk, and incorporate this feedback into your post. No pressure to do this, but it could make for a more enriching experience.
  • Keep it simple. Most people who read blogs don’t have a lot of time or patience to read thousands of words of content. They’re looking for quick access to information, so try to write succinctly and use headings to break up long blocks of text. Blogposts 600 words or less are typically best.
  • If you do end up blogging, include this on your CV. Future potential employers will take notice, and this type of writing is also good practice for future jobs or projects where you may be asked to contribute to a blog.

If, after reading this, you think you might be interested, please check out the Google Doc Spreadsheet to see which sessions or events are in need of bloggers and to sign up:

There is a separate tab down at the bottom for each session, workshop or event.  Input your name and email next to the talk you are interested in covering.  Easy! Also, please leave a comment here if you have further questions, and thanks for considering this!

An update from the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN)

On the heels of a busy and successful 2012, 2013 is turning out to be another eventful year for the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), with many exciting activities planned and several projects already underway. We’re also working hard to prepare for our activities at the AIC Annual Meeting in May. Here is a summary of what we have been up to and what lies ahead. You can also find out more about our network’s mission on our webpage.
ECPN at AIC’s 41st Annual Meeting in Indianapolis

Shots from our portfolio review session at the 2012 annual meeting
Shots from our portfolio review session at the 2012 annual meeting

Portfolio Seminar
On Wednesday, May 29th, ECPN will be holding a Portfolio Seminar from 4:00 to 6:00pm. Following the successes of ECPN’s Portfolio Review Sessions at the 2011 and 2012 AIC Annual Meetings, we are expanding the session this year to address a larger, more diverse audience and provide increased opportunities for discussion. This two-hour session will include presentations, a panel discussion, and interactive portfolio sharing. The presentations will focus on topics including building conservation portfolios, creating an architectural conservation portfolio, creating an online or digital portfolio, and professional development beyond the portfolio. The panel discussion will address audience questions, and portfolio sharing will be composed of volunteers representing different graduate programs and conservation specialties.
ECPN Happy Hour
After the Portfolio Session on May 29th, join us for an extended happy hour from 6:30 to 10:00pm at High Velocity in the JW Marriott, sponsored by Tru Vue. Our happy hour is a great opportunity to mingle with other emerging conservators, as well as mentors and colleagues. Please join us – all are welcome!
One of the break-out discussions during ECPN's 2012 informational meeting
One of the break-out discussions during ECPN’s 2012 informational meeting

ECPN Informational Session
On Friday, May 31st, from 5:30 to 6:30pm, we will be holding our annual informational session, where you can learn about ECPN, propose and discuss ideas, and meet others in the network.
ECPN Poster
This year, ECPN is presenting a poster entitled “The Art_Con<server>: 
How conservation professionals make use of online resources,” in which we will explore different viewpoints surrounding public access to conservation information and its effects on the conservation profession. The content of the poster was generated with support from the AIC Publications Committee and is based on a survey distributed to AIC members that addressed the creation and promotion of conservation content online and the accessibility of conservation literature.
In addition to ECPN’s activities, please support emerging conservators who will be presenting in the Specialty Group sessions and poster session. In addition to presentations interspersed throughout these sessions, the Architecture Specialty Group is holding a special student session on Friday, May 31st from 8:00 to 10:00am .
ECPN Webinars
In 2012, ECPN held two webinars, both of which received an outstanding response. Our first webinar – “Self-advocacy and Fundraising for Independent Research” – was held in July and featured Debra Hess Norris. This webinar attracted over 90 registered participants from 6 different countries. Our second webinar – “Considering your future career path: working in private practice” – was held in November, and 80 registered participants called in to learn valuable insight into the world of private practice from Paul Messier, Rosa Lowinger, and Julia Brennan.
ECPN is planning for our next webinar on the topic of Pre-program internships to be held in summer 2013. Webinar speakers include both emerging conservators and conservators with experience supervising interns. Stay tuned for more details. For more information on ECPN’s webinar series, please follow this link. You can also find reviews of last year’s two webinars on AIC’s blog and video content by following these links:
Self-advocacy and Fundraising webinar
Private Practice Webinar
Mentoring Program
ECPN’s Mentoring Program, which successfully matched 24 mentees with mentors since last year’s annual meeting, is undergoing a restructuring to better and more swiftly meet the needs of emerging conservators, including pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate. This will involve the creation of pre-program resources that will address common concerns, such as tips for applying to graduate school programs. To learn more about the program, or to apply to be a mentor or to find a mentor, follow this link.
AIC Wiki
This past January, ECPN officers and members actively participated in the AIC Wiki January edit-a-thon, working on the Exhibiting Conservation page and the Lexicon Project.
ECPN would also like to encourage emerging conservators to participate in the AIC Annual Meeting wiki edit-a-thon luncheon event on Friday May 31 from 12-2pm. For more details about this event please contact ECPN Chair Molly Gleeson at: mollygleeson [at] gmail [dot] com.
ECPN Liaisons
This year ECPN welcomed the following new graduate program liaisons:
Christina Simms and Christina Taylor – Buffalo State College
Mayank Patel and Brooke Young – Columbia University
Saira Haqqi – Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Samantha Fisher and Marie-Lou Beauchamp – Queen’s University
Casey Mallinckrodt – UCLA/Getty
Michelle Sullivan – Winterthur/University of Delaware
Sarah B. Hunter – University of Texas, School of Architecture
A complete list of our current liaisons can be found on our webpage.
 
These are just a few of the activities that ECPN is engaged in. We encourage you to join us at our annual meeting events, or on one of our conference calls! If you have any questions, ideas, or would like to get involved, please leave a comment here or contact Eliza Spaulding, ECPN Vice Chair, at elizaspaulding [at] gmail [dot] com.

Two summer Internships at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in objects conservation

A summer internship program has been launched at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar Hazy center in the brand new Emil Buehler laboratory located in Chantilly VA. Two, 10-week internship positions are available for students currently enrolled in a recognized training program, and/ or advance pre-program individuals with over 1,000 hrs of documented work experience. The two internships offered have specific research components (see descriptions below), in addition to providing hands-on treatments of modern materials.
Description of research for the first internship:
Research on the Aluminum Alloy Disconnects of Spacesuit gloves in the NASM Collection:
A conservation intern is required to assist NASM Conservation staff with primary research on the corrosion and conservation of aluminum alloy glove disconnects related to the space program. The intern will work in a team with NASM conservator Lisa Young, Malcolm Collum (Chief of Conservation), and the curator of the collection. The research will involve hands-on analysis and testing as well as literature searches, contact with industry experts and collaboration with Smithsonian conservators and scientists when deemed necessary.
Contact Lisa Young: YoungLA [at] si [dot] edu with questions regarding this research.
Description of research for the second internship:
Research consolidants and application methods for deteriorating polyurethane foam in the NASM collection:
A conservation intern is requested to collaborate with NASM Conservation staff in the evaluation of treatment methodologies for deteriorating polyurethane foam. This material is found as a component in many composite artifacts in the NASM collection and recent advances have identified new materials to help preserve polyurethane foam. The selected intern would be responsible for conducting hands-on testing and analysis complimented by literature searches and evaluation methods. The intern will work in a team with NASM conservator Lauren Horelick, Malcolm Collum (Chief of Conservation), curators and materials scientists. The intern will have access to other Smithsonian conservators and scientists when deemed necessary.
Contact Lauren Horelick:  Horelickl [at] si [dot] edu with any questions regarding this research.
Start / end dates: Monday, June 3-Friday, August 9, 2013.
Funded amount: $ 5,500.00 available for each intern.
Deadline for application: February, 15 2013

Procedure for application: All applications must be submitted on-line through the Smithsonian’s SOLAA web-site. After creating a username find the link to “Internships” and use the drop down menu for the Air and Space Museum (NASM) for further information about applying. Please specify in your statement of purpose which internship you are applying for. Also, please notify either Lauren Horelick or Lisa Young when you have completed your application so we can be sure it arrives at the correct place.
*Individuals not currently enrolled in school are welcome to apply. Disregard this eligibility requirement on the SOLAA website.

Questions: Application questions should be directed to Myra Banks-Scott: BanksScottM [at] si [dot] edu

First Annual Graduate Symposium for Students of Conservation and Preservation (GSSCP)

Call for papers!
The students of the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials invite you to the first annual Graduate Symposium for Students of Conservation and Preservation (GSSCP). This is a FREE, half-day, student-run symposium for graduate students of conservation, preservation, heritage studies, and related fields to be held on the UCLA Campus in Los Angeles, CA on April 27, 2013.*  This symposium aims to encourage a conference of ideas, experiences, and observations between different fields engaged in the promotion and management of cultural properties, sites, materials, and values. The deadline for paper submissions has been extended to February 1st. Please follow this link for more details.
*The timing of the symposium coincides with the final day of the Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation (ANAGPIC) Annual Meeting, held at the Getty Villa and UCLA from April 25- 27, 2013.

Job Posting: Rosa Lowinger and Associates in Miami

Rosa Lowinger & Associates is seeking to hire a conservator of sculpture and objects to be based in our Miami office. RLA provides professional conservation services for a wide range of materials and types of objects, with a longstanding reputation for excellence in conservation of contemporary art and large scale outdoor sculpture.

Preferred candidates will have a graduate level degree in objects or architectural conservation. We are particularly looking for strong candidates who are emerging professionals, however individuals without a conservation degree may also apply if they have at least 6 years of experience in the field of conservation, an MA in a related field and excellent references. We are a close knit group of committed professionals who are looking to expand our team with someone who has good hand skills, excellent writing and verbal communication skills, and the ability to think critically about conservation problems involving new materials and large scale works. The position involves travel, field work, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

This is a full time permanent position with a competitive salary, vacation and benefits.

Please send a cover letter and resume to: actisue [at] rosalowinger [dot] com