Conferences, Courses, Workshops & Seminars – Page 12 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

POLES, POSTS AND CANOES: THE PRESERVATION, CONSERVATION AND CONTINUATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN MONUMENTAL WOOD CARVING.

CALL FOR PAPERS
JULY 21ST – 22ND, 2014, HIBULB CULTURAL CENTER AND NATURAL HISTORY PRESERVE, TULALIP, WASHINGTON
The call for papers for Poles, Posts and Canoes: the Preservation, Conservation and Continuation of Native American Monumental Wood Carving (July 21st – 22nd, 2014, Tulalip, Washington) has been extended to February 28th, 2014. We still have a few spaces for presentations, especially those angled towards general collections management, display and use of these objects in native and non-native managed museums, and the use in a museum setting of traditional means of maintenance.
This two day symposium (preceded by an opening ceremony and meal on the evening of July 20th) will gather Native and non-Native museum professionals, tribal members, and contemporary Native carvers to discuss the challenges of preserving and exhibiting historic monumental wood carvings from both a Native and Non-Native view point. It will also serve to connect Native carvers and the museum community in the hope that the resulting dialogue will help support the continued development of this traditional art form. The format of this gathering is aimed at encouraging discussion, so presentations will be relaxed and brief, and an equal amount of time will be scheduled for general discussion of the topics addressed.
Registration will open January 21st, 2014, and a provisional program will be available at that time.
Further information and details about the conference will be posted at www.hibulbculturalcenter.org/Events/Symposium/
Call for papers:
The meeting is heavily focused on inclusive discussions amongst participants, therefore we are seeking short presentations (10 – 15 minutes maximum) that encourage constructive dialog. While technical papers are welcome, we ask that presenters keep in mind the broad background of the expected attendees. The event will be recorded and the proceedings published.
Proposals for presentations on the following topics are invited:

The history behind the past care of poles, posts, canoes and similar large Native carvings held in conventional museum settings.
The care of these objects in Native museums and communities from the Native perspective.
What types of large artifact conservation treatments and care work best in Native and non-Native museums?
The importance and relevance of these objects for the personal visions of the Native carver.
The potential use of traditional methods and materials in the preservation of existing objects in collections.
How can conservators, custodians and Native carvers bridge the communication gap and support each other’s work?
How can a balance be struck between technical and non-technical methodologies?
How can we define a range of “best practices” in Native museum collections regarding treatments, storage, moving and mounting techniques for this material?

Information to be included in your proposal:

Presentation proposal should be not more than 250 words.
Please include a 100 word summary that will be included on the conference website, should your paper be accepted.
Provide your name, occupation/institution and contact information, including e-mail address.
Indicate the format of your presentation – PowerPoint, presentation from written notes, etc.

Deadline for submission: February 28th, 2014.
Please submit proposals to: J. Claire Dean at info@hibulbculturalcenter.org (include “PPC paper proposal” in the subject line). You will be notified by e-mail whether or not your paper has been accepted by March 24th, 2014.
For full details of proposal requirements, as well as registration information for both the symposium and the totem pole maintenance workshop that follows on July 23rd – 25th July, please visit http://www.hibulbculturalcenter.org/Events/Symposium/

Call for Papers: ASOR 2014

CALL FOR PAPERS
“Conservation and Site Preservation in the Near East”
American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) Annual Meeting
San Diego, CA, Westin Hotel, November 19-22, 2014
This session will be co-chaired by Suzanne Davis davissl@umich.edu and LeeAnn Barnes Gordon leeannbarnes@gmail.com. Please feel free to contact them to discuss possible paper proposals or to request further details regarding the session.
The goal of the session is to create a forum where archaeologists and conservators can share research, exchange ideas, and discuss issues impacting the conservation of Near Eastern artifacts and sites. Contributors’ presentations will examine regional and national trends in conservation as well as site-specific programs. Presenters will also consider how political instability and the need for economic development are impacting the preservation of archaeological heritage in the Near East. Generous discussion time will engage the contributors and the audience, creating a dialogue that will ultimately improve conservation of artifacts and sites in the Near East.
This session will be the third of four in a series on conservation at the ASOR annual meeting. To read AIC blog posts about previous sessions, follow these links: 2012 in Chicago, IL: http://bit.ly/1f0H2iL and 2013 in Baltimore, MD: http://bit.ly/1mmiAgU. The ASOR annual meeting also features sessions on cultural heritage management, ethics and policy, and museum collections, in addition to sessions focused on archaeology and site preservation in specific geographical regions. The full list of sessions for 2014 can be found here: http://www.asor.org/am/index.html
Interested speakers should submit a talk title and abstract (max. 250 words) by February 15^th via ASOR’s online abstract submission system, a link to which can be found here http://www.asor.org/am/2014/call-2.html. Membership in ASOR is required for submission.

Reminder: Registration is now open for Aluminum: History, Technology and Conservation!

Conference and workshop: April 7-11, 2014 in Washington DC.

Conference: April 7-9, 2014, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. To register: www.conservation-us.org/aluminum
Workshop: April 10-11, 2014, Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia. To register: www.conservation-us.org/aluminum-workshop
The conference will bring together international specialists to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of knowledge, experiences, and expertise in the deterioration and conservation of aluminum alloys. The workshop will focus on the identification of aluminum alloys and finishes as a professional development opportunity for conservation professionals.
The conference and workshop have a compelling line-up of featured speakers, and we are pleased to announce the keynote speakers.
Lyndsie Selwyn will deliver the opening address on the history, fabrication and use of aluminum. Lyndsie is Senior Conservation Scientist at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa, Canada.
Ian MacLeod will present on the corrosion and deterioration of aluminum and clarify different alloys and their corrosion problems in diverse environments. Ian is the Executive Director of Fremantle Museum and Maritime Heritage at the Western Australian Museum in Australia.
François Mirambet will present on materials characterization and identification of aluminum alloys and their corrosion products. François is a Research Engineer for the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France in Paris, France.
Christian Degrigny will present on the conservation of archaeological aluminum, including the stabilization of marine aluminum, as well as terrestrial and industrial artifacts. Christian is Senior Conservation Scientist and Lecturer at the Haute Ecole Arc de Conservation-restauration in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Rosa Lowinger will present on the conservation and use of aluminum alloys in contemporary art, with a particular emphasis on sculpture. Rosa is Principal and Senior Conservator of Rosa Lowinger and Associates in Florida, U.S.A.
Richard Pieper will present on aluminum in architecture, with an emphasis on the challenges of this material for the architectural conservator. Richard is the Director of Preservation at Jan Hird Pokorny Associates in New York City, U.S.A.
Bruce Hinton will present on corrosion inhibition, surface treatments and coating systems, particularly the latest developments in corrosion mitigation through development of innovative and environmentally friendly inhibitors and modern coating systems. Bruce is Adjunct Professor of Corrosion Science at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.
David Hallam will present on preventive conservation and the maintenance of aluminum artifacts and collections. David is Coordinator for the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group and a metallic heritage consultant in Tasmania, Australia.
For further information, email aluminum2014@gmail.com
You can download this announcement here
Organizing Committee: Claudia Chemello, Malcolm Collum, Paul Mardikian, Joe Sembrat, Lisa Young.

International Symposium -The Non-Invasive Analysis of Painted Surfaces: Scientific Impact and Conservation Practice

Smithsonian American Art Museum & National Portrait Gallery
McEvoy Auditorium | 8th and G Streets NW | Washington DC, 20001
February 20 – 21, 2014
This two-day international symposium will focus on recent advances in technology and instrumentation for the analysis of painted surfaces. You can download an announcement flyer here: Non-Invasive Analysis of Painted Surfaces Announcement
While non-destructive and micro-destructive analytical methods are often essential for the study and understanding of paintings, recent developments in portable and non-invasive instrumentation have led to growing interest in the applicability of techniques to the study of paintings. Further, as new instrumentation becomes commercially available and more affordable, conservators and scientists are able to use non-invasive techniques for monitoring and analysis in new ways.
A particular focus of the conference will be the interpretation of analytical results from portable instrumentation including colorimetry, imaging and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The format of the conference will include papers and panel discussions.
Registration for this conference is required.
A schedule of speakers and registration instructions are listed under the current courses section on AIC’s site.
http://www.conservation-us.org/education/education/current-courses/non-invasive-analysis-of-painted-surfaces

Presented in partnership with the Lunder Conservation Center, ICOM-CC Paintings Working Group, ICOM-CC Scientific Research Working Group, and FAIC.
Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Chief Conservator, Tiarna Doherty, studies x-radiographs of Constantino Brumidi’s study for the Rotunda of the Capitol Building. (Photography by Conor Doherty)

Register Now for MuseumPests2014 Conference at Colonial Williamsburg

Most of AIC Specialty Groups have been staunch supporters of the Integrated Pest Management Working Group by funding the development of the MuseumPests.net website, enabling the site to present free information used by collecting holding institutions to prevent and combat pest infestations. Now, MuseumPests.net goes live at Colonial Williamsburg! After 10 years of creating online IPM resources for the museum, library/archive and historic site community we are partnering with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to hold MuseumPests 2014: Integrated Pest Management for museums, libraries, archives and historic sites a two-day conference and workshop program. Visit the conference website for full program and registration information.

Over the past decade cultural institutions have made great strides in implementing policies and procedures that protect our collections, our staff, and our environment by focusing on preventive methods and non-toxic remediation. There is still much to learn and this conference presents the opportunity to learn from and with colleagues from across the United States and around the world, including many of the leading researchers and practitioners in the field. The resources presented at the conference will be shared on the www.museumpests.net website.
In the morning sessions, keynote talks by David Pinniger and Tom Strang will be followed by papers and panel presentations centered around four themes relevant to the implementation of IPM in cultural heritage institutions of all types including:
1. Institutional Implementation of IPM
2. Monitoring & Control
3. Treatment & Remediation
4. IPM Policy, Health, & Safety
A poster session will highlight additional institutional programs with a focus on international implementation of IPM in developing countries. The afternoon sessions will allow participants to choose hands-on workshops and on-site tours for IPM practitioners of all levels of expertise.

Come meet and connect faces to the colleagues whose digital signatures you’ve seen on the PestList. REGISTER NOW to have your first choice of workshops.

Preserving the Iraqi Jewish Archive: Behind the Scenes with the Preservation & Access Team

Heads up to everyone in the DC Metro region! The National Archives, located at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, is showing “Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage” through January 5, 2014. This exhibition presents the incredible work of the Iraqi Jewish Archive Preservation Project team to preserve, and make available, water damaged documents and books discovered in Baghdad in 2003.
Be sure not to miss a special presentation being offered on Tuesday, December 17, 2013, from 11:00-1:00 in the William G. McGowan Theater. “Preserving the Iraqi Jewish Archive: Behind the Scenes with the Preservation & Access Team” is a remarkable opportunity to hear from conservators and digital imaging specialists about the treatments and efforts done to stabilize and digitize the materials. Learn about the recovery of the materials, the history of the project, and find out about other documents and books not seen in the exhibition. For more information, please visit www.archives.gov/dc-metro/events.

Platinum and Palladium Photography Workshop

One-day session, repeated October 21 and October 24, 2014 National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
A one-day, hands-on workshop will explore the chemistry of platinum and palladium photographs and consider how variations in processing affect the appearance and permanence of the prints. The workshop will be held twice and will be led by Christopher Maines, Conservation Scientist, Scientific Research Department, NGA, and Mike Ware, Photographic Materials Chemistry Consultant to the NGA. Includes box lunch.

PlatinumPalladiumLoC — Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), In Mut Too Yah Lat Lat or Chief Joseph (Nez Perce, 1840-1904), c1903. Platinum print. Gift of Citigroup Foundation. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (P28574).

Workshop Registration Fee: $220 AIC members; $320 non-members
This workshop program is designed for practicing photograph conservators and photograph conservation students. Participants will be selected to achieve a balance of senior and emerging professionals and institutional and private practice. Experience, demonstrated need, geographic reach, and opportunity to disseminate information gained will be considered. With the exception of places for student and emerging professionals, preference will be given to AIC Professional Associate and Fellow members.
Applications are due February 15, 2014, with notifications expected by March 20. Later applications will be considered, if space is available.
To apply for a space in the workshop, please fill out the platinum-palladium-workshop-application, and send the form along with a copy of your resume or CV and statement of interest to courses@conservation-us.org.
This workshop is part of an event surrounding the symposium “Platinum and Palladium Photographs” which also includes this workshop and tours. The event is presented by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
This program is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional funding comes from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artist Works Endowment for Professional Development, which was created by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and donations from members of the American Institute for Conservation and its friends.

Archaeological Conservation at ASOR 2013

Three weeks ago LeeAnn Barnes Gordon and I co-chaired a conservation session at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) in Baltimore, MD. Friends, I loved every minute of it.
This year the session, titled “Conservation and Site Preservation in the Near East,” kicked off at 8:20 in the morning on the very first day of the conference. We were concerned about the early start time, but attendance was good and the audience was engaged and responsive. This was the second in series of 4 planned sessions, and I’ll tell you about our lofty goals for the series a bit later. First, here are the 6 papers from this year, with a few notes from me about each:
“Preserving Egypt’s Cultural Heritage: Experiences Gained and Lessons Learnt”
Michael Jones (Antiquities Conservation Project, American Research Center in Egypt)

I was surprised to learn in this talk that ARCE’s fantastically comprehensive conservation and education programs in Egypt, underwritten by USAID, all began as a simple salvage response to the deadly 1992 earthquake. Michael spoke about building stakeholder support for conservation in Egypt, about the challenges of recent political turmoil, and showed us the wonderful results of conservation efforts at the Red Monastery in Sohag, among other sites. If you don’t know much about ARCE and its conservation programs, read more here.

“Training for the Conservation and Management of In Situ Mosaics: The MOSAIKON Initiative”
Leslie Friedman (Getty Conservation Institute), Jeanne Marie Teutonico (GCI), Kathleen Dardes (GCI), Thomas Roby (GCI), and Zaki Aslan (ICCROM)

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about mosaics preservation, MOSAIKON is improving and teaching it. How to do a great job with locally available materials? They’re on it. Training for the next generation in-country? That, too. Conservation education in Arabic? Yes! Mentoring for conservators in the Middle East? Of course. What about my favorite site preservation solution, reburial? They’re studying the most effective ways to do it for mosaics. And of course, they are producing publications about it all. Check it out here.

“Digging on the Edge: Archaeology and Conservation at Kourion, Cyprus”
William Weir (University of Cincinnati), paper delivered by Stephen Humphreys

This site-specific case-study delivered great information and dramatic visuals of mosaics perched precariously on cliff-edge. It detailed, from the archaeologists’ perspective, the experience of working with conservators to document and save mosaics at a site. It also illustrated the complexities of conservation at archaeological sites; within a single site, the response to each mosaic differed depending on the mosaic’s location, construction, and the project’s ongoing research. A great talk illustrating successful collaboration in archaeological conservation and research.

“Painted Roman and Byzantine Cypriot Tombs: Properties, Processes and Preservation”
Ioanna Kakoulli (University of California, Los Angeles), Christian Fischer (UCLA), and Demetrios Michaelides (University of Cyprus)

This was an excellent talk for anyone interested in conservation of wall-paintings; these Cypriot rock-cut tombs have undergone structural damage from shifting bedrock and water damage from floods and rainfall. Ioanna also discussed the technical analysis of plaster, pigments, and binders for the paintings. This talk was also great for anyone interested in preservation and management of active tourism and pilgrimage sites: littering, vandalism, education and interpretation! How about making your conservation plan work for nearby hotels as well as an active monastery? Done. This talk detailed a comprehensive approach to a complex series of problems.

“Dilemmas in Preservation of Iron Age Sites in the Valley of Beer-sheba”
Zeev Herzog (Tel Aviv University)

Zeev’s talk beautifully, and humorously, detailed the decades-long effort to preserve mud-brick architecture at the site of Beer-sheba in Israel. An unusually inventive series of campaigns beginning in the 1960’s tried almost everything the determined teams could think of: chemical consolidation, firing the bricks in-situ with a portable kiln, capping the walls with new mudbricks, and, finally, capping and restoration with modern, fired bricks. In addition to illustrating a half-century of conservation and site preservation at a single site, this talk explored preservation and interpretation goals for important Iron Age sites in Israel.

“The Conservation and Technical Analysis of Ancient Near Eastern Objects at the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum”
Sanchita Balachandran (Johns Hopkins University)

As a conservator in a university archaeological museum, I’m always impressed by the JHU Archaeological Museum’s (and Sanchita’s) commitment to linking conservation to undergraduate teaching and using object-based projects to improve learning for students. This talk was especially useful because it had detailed case-studies of specific objects and projects. I especially liked the way Sanchita used these projects to develop transferable skills like observation and critical thinking for her students.

Back to our lofty goals – LeeAnn and I began this series of sessions with the goal of fostering collaboration and better integrating continuing education in the allied disciplines of conservation and archaeology. We want to bring more conservation information to our archaeology colleagues, and we hope to promote archaeology meetings as a forum for conservators. So far each session has been an excellent educational opportunity for us, and we hope our audiences have felt the same way. We’re grateful to our speakers in both years thus far and to ASOR for embracing the series.
Archaeological conservators, we hope you’ll join us for future meetings in San Diego (2014) and Atlanta (2015). If you’re willing to contribute to conservation sessions at either meeting, please write us! We’d love to hear from you. The deadline to submit abstracts for 2014 is February 15.
Suzanne Davis: davissl@umich.edu
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: leeannbarnes@gmail.com

New Certificate in Digital Curation at Johns Hopkins University

Conservators today, like all museum professionals with responsibilities for collections care and management of cultural heritage, are worried about the ongoing maintenance and documentation of digital artifacts along with the conservation of physical objects in their collections. Johns Hopkins University’s MA in Museum Studies has announced a new certificate program in digital curation starting in January 2014 to address the need for formal education in this emerging field of stewardship.
The Certificate in Digital Curation is a specialized graduate program designed to prepare museum professionals to manage the growing volume and variety of digital assets of long-term value that museums are now routinely producing, acquiring, storing and sharing. Assets that need ongoing management include born-digital media art, research data, and documentation information stored in collections management systems about physical collection objects. And because most museums are now investing significant resources in digitizing collections—new acquisitions as well as for the purpose of loan, pre- and post-conservation treatment, and presentation online—they have a growing need to preserve their digitized assets.
Digital curation is defined as the management of digital assets over their lifetime. While the term is not synonymous with the modern understanding of the role of a museum curator, it does reflect the historical definition of curator as “keeper” of collections. It is also in alignment with the growing international digital curation community dedicated to maintaining access to digital data of long-term value.
The JHU digital curation certificate program consists of six courses, including five online and one on-site internship. Class size is limited to 15-17 students to allow for stimulating discussions with classmates and faculty. The curriculum includes the following 13-week courses:

Digital Preservation, which covers the principles of digital preservation and the basics of developing and assessing digital preservation plans;
Foundations of Digital Curation, which particularly addresses the beginning of the digital life cycle, including topics such as appraisal and selection, metadata standards, and intellectual property issues;
Managing Digital Information, which emphasizes the management of digital objects in museum environments, including format transformation, management of surrogates, and workflows;
Internship in a museum or related organization, including at least 120 hours on-site and completion of a project or paper;
An approved elective chosen from the MA in Museum Studies curriculum, OR a second internship; and
A supervised research project leading to a publishable or presentable paper that contributes to the new literature of the digital curation field.

Admission requirements for the digital curation certificate are:

A master’s degree in museum studies or other relevant field,
A bachelor’s degree and at least five years full-time experience working in a museum, library, archive, or related cultural heritage organization, or
Students enrolled in the JHU MA in Museum Studies program upon completion of 5 courses.

A grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required for admission (work experience will also be considered). International students are welcome, but please note that TOEFL for students whose native language is not English or who have not graduated from an accredited college or university in the US is required.
The deadline for applications for the spring semester (classes beginning January 22) is December 16.
We are excited about this new program, and we encourage interested conservators and other museum professionals to contact one of us! Our contact information is provided below.
Phyllis Hecht, Program Director, MA in Museum Studies, phecht@jhu.edu
Joyce Ray, Program Coordinator and Lecturer, Digital Curation Certificate, jray16@jhu.edu
http://museum-studies.jhu.edu
http://advanced.jhu.edu/digitalcuration

BROMEC 35 – Call for metal conservation research abstracts

BROMEC, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation, requests research abstracts (max. 400 words) and professional meeting announcements (max. 75 words) for BROMEC 35, to be published online.
BROMEC continues to keep you up to date with metals conservation research activities between the triennial ICOM-CC Metal Working Group meetings.
Submissions can be made in English, French or Spanish – the BROMEC Editorial Team will translate and publish submissions in the three language versions of BROMEC. Refer to BROMEC 28 at www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec, where you can freely access all the previous issues of BROMEC. And for subscription to BROMEC: www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec-subscription.
We trust these simultaneous multilingual issues will increase communication across a greater cross-section of the world’s metal heritage conservation research community.
The final submission date is Wednesday, December 11, 2013, and contributions should be emailed to bromeceditor [at] gmail [dot] com.
–Submitted by James Crawford, PhD student, University of Warwick