Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) Webinar:
Presenting Talks and Posters
Wednesday, March 11th at Noon EST
Registration Page: Click here to visit the registration page
Conference season is quickly approaching! If you are busy working on a poster or presentation, or even preparing for graduate school interviews, join the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) for our upcoming webinar Presenting Talks and Posters on March 11th at Noon EST. ECPN is excited to feature two conservators with professional experience in presentations, Katie Sanderson and Ariel O’Connor. The speakers will discuss writing an abstract, putting together an effective PowerPoint, presenting a talk, and creating a poster. ECPN is seeking question submissions for the Q&A portion. Please contact ECPN Chair Megan Salazar-Walsh at salazar.walsh@gmail.com or Webinar Coordinator Fran Ritchie at FranRitchie@gmail.com for questions.
Registration: Click here to register for the webinar. Closer to the date, you will receive an e-mail with information on how to connect to the webinar.
If you miss Presenting Talks and Posters or need a refresher, it will be recorded and uploaded onto the AIC Youtube channel. For a listing of past ECPN Webinars, click here (or visit the AIC Youtube channel).
Webinar Presenter Bios:
Katie Sanderson Katie Sanderson is an Assistant Conservator of Photographs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She earned her M.A. in Art History and C.A.S. in Conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she is currently a member of the adjunct faculty. Prior to her current position, she held the Andrew W. Mellon Research Scholarship in Photograph Conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and worked in labs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Better Image, and New York Public Library. Her current research involves measuring color change in photographs over time using a spectrophotometer and micro-fade tester. The main goal of this work is to develop a better understanding of the effects of exhibition and climate conditions on photographic materials.
Ariel O’Connor Ariel O’Connor is currently an Objects Conservator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Prior to Air and Space, Ms. O’Connor was an Assistant Objects Conservator at the Walters Art Museum, Assistant Objects Conservator and Samuel H. Kress Fellow at the Harvard Art Museums, and Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her research focuses on materials and technology in archaeological Asian art. Her archaeological fieldwork includes seasons at the Aphrodisias Excavations, Mugello Valley/Poggio Colla Archaeological Project, and Gordion Excavations Project. She holds an M.A. and C.A.S. in Art Conservation from Buffalo State College.
Don’t let this bad presentation happen to you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIABo0d9MVE
The ECPN webinar program seeks to provide resources for issues faced by the conservation field, especially emerging conservators. “Emerging conservators” are defined as those with 7 or fewer years of experience (which includes schooling and pre-program). Contact a member of the ECPN Board for ideas on future webinar topics.
Category: Emerging Conservation Professionals
ECPN Webinar- Beyond the Portfolio: Your Conservation Career
Beyond the Portfolio: Your Conservation Career
Join the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) for their next webinar discussing career development for the emerging conservator on Thursday, October 16th from 12:00-1:00pm EST. Suzanne Davis, Associate Curator and Head of Conservation at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, will present information on:
- applying for fellowships and jobs
- negotiating compensation
- developing your career after graduate school
About the presenter: Suzanne Davis has been developing her post-graduate career since graduating from the NYU program in 1998. She is a Professional Associate member of AIC and has been promoting advancement in the field as the Chair of the Objects Specialty Group, a member of AIC’s Education and Training committee, and a mentor for ECPN’s Mentoring Program. Suzanne presented an energizing talk during the ECPN Portfolio Symposium at the 2013 AIC Annual Meeting that was so well received we have invited her to speak once again on career development.
ECPN is seeking question submissions for the Q&A session following the presentation. Please e-mail ECPN Chair Megan Salazar-Walsh at salazar.walsh@gmail.com or ECPN Professional Education and Training Co-Chair Fran Ritchie at FranRitchie@gmail.com if you have specific questions you would like the speaker to address.
To register for the webinar, please click on this link. ***Post-webinar UPDATE: The webinar recording is now on the AIC Youtube channel. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0aFwuXV_X4&feature=share
This webinar will focus on developing a career beyond graduate school and will not touch on managing your portfolio. For portfolio advice, see Suzanne Davis’s blog post on the AIC blog:
“Portfolios and Career Transitions: Pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate portfolio tips.” The webinar will be recorded and available for future viewing on the AIC YouTube channel (link below).
The ECPN webinar program seeks to address issues faced by emerging conservators. “Emerging conservators” are defined as those with seven or fewer years of experience (including schooling and pre-program). ECPN strives to rotate webinar topics between those that are specifically pertinent to pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate emerging professionals. Links to past ECPN webinars can be found on AIC’s YouTube channel and are listed here: http://www.conservators-converse.org/2014/08/ecpn-webinar-archive/
ECPN Webinar Archive
Miss a webinar hosted by the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN)? Search the AIC YouTube channel, or check out the topics and links below (as of September 2015):
“Presenting Talks and Posters” with Katie Sanderson and Ariel O’Connor; March 11th, 2015; Blog post follow-up.
“Beyond the Portfolio: Your Conservation Career” with Suzanne Davis; October 16, 2014
“Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation” with Margaret Holben Ellis, James Hamm, Rosaleen Hill, Debra Hess Norris, and Ellen Pearlstein; July 16, 2014
“Get Involved! Conservation Education, Outreach, and Advocacy” with Teresa Myers, Richard McCoy, and Sarah Barack; April 23, 2014
“How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Program Internship” with Emily Williams, Thomas Edmondson, Ayesha Fuentes, Lianne Gordon; September 24, 2013
“Considering Your Future Career Path: Working in Private Practice” with Paul Messier, Rosa Lowinger, and Julia Brennan; November 30, 2012; Blog post synopsis.
“Self-Advocacy and Fundraising for Independent Research” with Debra Hess Norris; July 26, 2012
The ECPN webinar program seeks to address issues faced by emerging conservators. “Emerging conservators” are defined as those with 7 or fewer years of experience (which includes schooling and pre-program). ECPN strives to rotate webinar topics between those that are specifically pertinent to pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate emerging professionals.
ECPN Webinar: 'Beyond the Pre-requisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation': Follow-up Q&A
In order to address some remaining questions from the recent webinar ‘Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation’, ECPN asked our five presenters (Peggy Ellis from NYU, Ellen Pearlstein from UCLA/Getty, Debbie Hess Norris of Winterthur/Univ. of DE, James Hamm of Buffalo State, and Rosaleen HIll from Queen’s) to reply to our audience. Their individual responses have been summarized below. If you have any additional questions or concerns on our webinar topic, remember that you can always contact individual programs or reach out via ECPN officers and our Facebook page.
The recorded webinar is available at http://youtu.be/Rfc-l4iZHAs.
1. If an applicant who has exceeded the required amount of experience takes a break from conservation internships to pursue other academic/artistic endeavors, how will it affect her/his application?
All five respondents reply that because conservation is a multi-faceted field with an interdisciplinary focus, work in other fields is highly encouraged. The development of academic, artistic, research, or other skills is an asset and often helps an applicant if her/his interests can be connected to a topic within conservation. Additional fields of study or experience could be chemistry, biochemistry, art history, anthropology, studio arts, museum studies, environmental science, collections management, or any other number of related fields. Furthermore, one respondent notes that: “Each person’s life path is unique. What appears to be ‘taking a break’ may, in retrospect, be the absolute best possible path to a successful career in art conservation (or something else!).”
2. If an internship with a conservator is not available in my area, are there other kinds of experience that are desirable?
While conservation experience is an important, if not always mandatory, part of one’s pre-program work, our webinar presenters suggested several ways to become involved with conservation and broaden an applicant’s knowledge of collections management and preventive care. These include working with a registrar or archivist; working at smaller and/or local institutions like archives, libraries, or historical societies and museums; gaining laboratory and handling skills by volunteering to process archaeological finds or mount samples for scientific analysis, possibly at a local university; working in an art supply or framing shop. In order to keep yourself informed about the conservation field, be sure to take part in local conferences or workshops. Join AIC as a Student member and take advantage of on-line conservation courses and other resources. Finally, be sure to look into AIC’s (or CAC’s) Mentorship Program to check for local professionals who might be willing to mentor via email or Skype.
3. If someone hasn’t been successfully admitted after a few years of applying, what alternatives do you suggest s/he take to remain in the profession?
Becoming a registrar or collections care manager for an institution, gallery, or contemporary artist is a recommended career path. Other suggestions include working in arts advocacy or pursuing an advanced degree in museum studies, museum education, library sciences, archival studies, or a related field in the sciences.
4. Is it better to have a long internship experience at one institution or short periods of time at several?
Our presenters agree that there is no single answer to this question. They note that it is important to be exposed to a variety of materials and practices, and that the quality of the supervision is a key factor in gaining skills and knowledge. Short-term (e.g. once or twice/week for a few months) projects may be less successful in this respect though they may be valuable in other ways.
5. Is an applicant’s age taken into consideration?
All five programs agree that age is not a factor in admission. However one respondent adds that, at any age, ’applicants must demonstrate an openness to learning, curiosity, initiative, and a passion for the preservation of cultural heritage’.
ECPN Webinar “Get Involved! Conservation Education, Outreach, and Advocacy”: Follow-Up Q&A
ECPN Webinar “Get Involved! Conservation Education, Outreach, and Advocacy”: Follow-Up Q&A
On April 23, 2014, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) hosted an hour-long webinar titled “Get Involved! Conservation Education, Outreach, and Advocacy.”
The program featured three speakers with experience working in various aspects of conservation education, outreach, and advocacy: Teresa Myers, private practice conservator who participated in the American Alliance of Museum’s Museum Advocacy Day in 2011; Richard McCoy, an arts and cultural consultant with an established history of writing for digital and print publications, teaching in graduate programs, and creating innovative web projects; and Sarah Barack, private practice conservator and co-chair of AIC’s K-12 Educational Outreach subcommittee.
During the program, the speakers shared their experiences as supervisors and pre-program interns, respectively; contributed to guided questions; and answered audience questions. The recorded webinar can be found on AIC’s YouTube channel (or click here).
Included below are the questions that could not be addressed during the program with responses from the speakers.
What are some tips you have for emerging conservators who would like to get involved with outreach and advocacy? What can they be doing short and long term to make an impact?
Teresa Myer: As I mentioned during the webinar, I found the Museum Advocacy Day event to be incredibly educational regarding the mechanics of advocacy. It’s a great place to start. It’s well organized, very clear and focused and well worth attending. Looking at longer-term activities, finding ways to foster relationships with Congresspeople and state-level legislators as well will boost your impact. Another way to be involved is simply to talk about your advocacy activities with other conservators and museum professionals. Hopefully, the more people realize how straightforward and achievable this activity can be, the more they will join in. As Ruth mentioned, there is a real strength in numbers; the more voices there are speaking to a common point, the more weight the point carries.
Richard McCoy: I think getting involved in a community is the best way to get involved, however you want define “community.” Your community might be local, national, or international. Working with folks on a common goal in a larger project is a very good way to make an impact in educating others about the need to care for cultural heritage, and therefore advocate for your profession.
Sarah Barack: Getting involved with your local community at first— see where there is a need and/or opportunity. For instance, going to open houses to meet people at local schools; volunteering with local groups that already have ties to the community, etc. I think the first step is really just making connections with people and once that has been established, it is easier and more natural to find ways in which you can promote conservation.
Regarding long term versus short term, hopefully short term smaller projects might lead to a more permanent or deeper activity. If particular conservators enjoy outreach activities, I would encourage them to think big picture, so that they can align their efforts with a larger strategy— whatever that may be. For instance, to be part of a school curriculum, or part of an annual arts fair or weekend, etc.
Besides conducting a wiki search, how else will people know about the articles that are being written through Richard’s class?
RM: A drive goal I’ve been working towards is to change how people find information when caring for cultural heritage. What I mean is that when you search for something on the Internet (Google it), I think you should be able to find excellent information, either about a particular item of cultural heritage or how to care for it. Sure this is a big goal but really we have the tools to solve this, it’s just a matter of getting more people working to the same end.
SB: Links from other websites are certainly a great way to drive traffic to any particular site.
The more students hear about conservation the more, presumably, applicants we will have for conservation graduate programs. How can we make more jobs and paid opportunities for the people we are recruiting to prevent an overabundance of conservators in a small job market?
TM: At this point there are a fairly consistent number of graduates each year because of the limits the programs put on the number of students they will accept each year. But it could certainly expand in the future. There will never be a shortage of work; entropy is on our side. The limiting factor seems to be funding and the value put on conservation by the people setting the budgets. So how do we increase the available funding? Advocacy! As a conservator in private practice, I believe that it is up to me to improve the job market I’m functioning in. Though I did have an excellent experience with advocacy, I have found that I use outreach more consistently to build my local job market. I’ve done lectures, workshops, visited museums, and been on the board of our state museum association. I’m a CAP assessor as well. People won’t make room in their budget for something that’s not on their radar; it’s up to all of us to stay visible.
RM: I think conservators need to start thinking about how they can be helpful in caring for cultural heritage inside and outside of cultural institutions. Too often we narrowly define our profession to be almost principally about conservation treatment. Well, I don’t think there are that many jobs that will be growing in that kind of work. But if conservators are able to demonstrate that they can do all sorts of other things then they may find themselves able to gain more employment.
SB: I don’t know if greater awareness does really lead to greater practical interest (e.g. applications) — I don’t know if we can make that link in such a clear way. Rather, I think greater awareness among students means that down the road, our future investment bankers, doctors, lawyers, etc., will hopefully appreciate and support our field—hopefully leading to more funding. It is such a niche field at the end of the day, and demands such a wide array of skills and abilities that it naturally filters itself. Still, the question of supply and demand is a good one— and whether the professional market demands the amount of supply we have created is a valid discussion. I don’t know the answer; anecdotal information and personal stories are not the full picture. We really need a better grasp on what all the graduates and mid-career folks are doing to understand.
When advocating by way of Wikipedia articles, for example, is there a concern that it actually devalues what we do since people may use these articles to attempt their own treatments?
RM: To answer your question in a word: no. There is a clear need to have better information out online because people are looking for it. My concern is around getting good information in highly visible places; I’m not worried about what people will do with good information.
And remember, Wikipedia is a freely available online encyclopedia that anyone can edit; it’s not a place to publish how to guides. If the articles published in Wikipedia are of high quality, they can only serve to reduce misunderstandings and point people to good and reliable sources.
On the other hand, I think that the amount of questionable or bad information on the Internet is problematic and dangerous. Take for example the stuff that’s on places like “WikiHow,” which does publish how to guides that will teach you things like How To Clean a Painting in 12 Easy Steps. I think we might see that kind of thing as a call to action.
Welcome 2014-2015 ECPN officers!
The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network recently initiated a new year of activities with our first series of meetings for new and returning officers. The officers of 2014-2015 are very grateful to all the outgoing officers who have worked so hard in their 2013-2014 term: Anisha Gupta, Saira Haqqi, Carrie McNeal, Kendall Trotter, and especially our out-going chair, Eliza Spaulding. We wish you the best and hope to see you involved with future AIC and ECPN activities!
Meet the 2014-2015 ECPN officers:
Megan Salazar-Walsh (ECPN Chair) is specializing in paintings conservation at Buffalo State (Class of 2014). She is completing her 3rd-year internship at two sites, beginning at the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands, and currently at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. After completing her masters in September she will be joining The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, FL as an assistant conservator. Megan is passionate about helping emerging professionals navigate the field of conservation and she has previously served as an Outreach officer and as Vice-chair for ECPN.
Michelle Sullivan (ECPN Professional Education and Training Co-officer) is a third-year graduate fellow specializing in the conservation of works on paper with a minor concentration in photographic materials at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC). She is currently a graduate intern at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and will spend her third year at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Michelle has previously served as ECPN Regional Liaison to Southern California and Graduate Liaison to WUDPAC.
Heather Brown (ECPN Vice Chair) is a graduate fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, majoring in photographic materials and minoring in paper. She is currently completing her third-year internship at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and in the fall will begin as Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Heather has previously served as ECPN Outreach Coordinator (2010-2011), ECPN PMG Liaison (2012-2014), and Health and Safety Committee Student Member (2012-2014).
Amy Hughes (ECPN Outreach Co-Officer) graduated from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts Conservation Center with an MA in Art History and an Advanced Certificate in Art Conservation (Class of 2014). This summer, Amy is a Smithsonian Graduate Fellow at the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington, D.C. In September, she will begin an Andrew W. Mellon Conservation Fellowship in paper conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is Amy’s first year serving ECPN.
Fran Ritchie (ECPN Professional Education and Training Co-Officer, focusing on Webinars) is an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Fran graduated from Buffalo State College with an MA in Art Conservation in 2013. Specializing in objects with a strong interest in organic materials, she spent her third year graduate internship at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Fran previously served as ECPN Communications Co-Officer (2013-2014).
Anne Schaffer (ECPN Outreach Co-Officer) is a graduate fellow at Buffalo State College, majoring in paintings conservation. She is currently completing a summer internship at the ICA –Art Conservation in Cleveland, Ohio, and will return to Buffalo to begin her second year in the fall. This is Anne’s first year serving ECPN, and she looks forward to the opportunity to learn from and assist other emerging conservators.
Laura Neufeld (ECPN Communications Co-Officer) is an assistant paper conservator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Before joining the MoMA staff she was an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in paper conservation. She has worked as a contract conservator at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY and the Field Museum in Chicago, IL. Laura completed internships at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Guggenheim Museum. She graduated with an M.A. in Art Conservation from Buffalo State College in 2013. This is Laura’s first year serving ECPN.
Ayesha Fuentes (ECPN Communications Co-Officer) is a recent graduate of the UCLA/Getty MA Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials, specializing in objects from South and Southeast Asia. She has completed internships in China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Bhutan as well as the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She has previously served as ECPN Professional Education and Training Co-Officer and is also a student member of AIC’s Emergency Committee.
The 2014-2015 ECPN officers look forward to providing ongoing professional development and educational activities. We also hope to increase our initiatives to connect with and meet the needs of our broad constituency. Please contact ECPN Chair, Megan Salazar-Walsh (salazar.walsh@gmail.com) with any thoughts, questions or comments for ECPN.
Meet the Speakers! ECPN’s Upcoming Webinar on Preparing for Graduation Education in Art Conservation
ECPN’s next webinar, Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation is quickly approaching! This Wednesday, July 16 at 12pm EDT, representatives from five of the North American graduate programs in art conservation will discuss what makes a strong applicant and ways you can grow as an emerging conservation professional.
You may have seen their names on the program websites, but we thought you might like to get to know the speakers a little better before the webinar. Each program representative has provided a short bio to help you become better acquainted!
And there is still time to register — just follow the link below. You will have a chance to submit questions for the Q&A session when you complete the registration form, but you can also send us your questions by leaving a comment on the ECPN Facebook page, or by commenting below on this blog post. You can also submit your questions via email to Megan Salazar-Walsh, ECPN Chair, at salazar.walsh@gmail.com.
Registration link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/177805026
Let’s meet the speakers!
Margaret Holben Ellis is the Eugene Thaw Professor of Paper Conservation, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She also serves as Director, Thaw Conservation Center, The Morgan Library & Museum. She is currently Vice-President and Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works of Art (AIC), Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC), Accredited Conservator/Restorer of the International Institute of Conservation (ICON). Professional and academic awards have included the Caroline and Sheldon Keck Award (2003) for a sustained record of excellence in education, the Rutherford John Gettens Merit Award (1997) in recognition of outstanding service to the profession both conferred by the AIC, and a Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome (1994). She has published and lectured on artists ranging from Raphael and Titian to Pollock and Lichtenstein with her research on artists materials similarly far-ranging. She is a graduate of Barnard College (1975 B.A. art history, magna cum laude) and the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (1979 M.A. art history; Advanced Certificate in Conservation).
James Hamm has taught paintings conservation in the Art Conservation Department at SUNY Buffalo State since 1986. He earned his M.A. degree and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Art Conservation in 1978, in the earlier iteration of the Buffalo program operated by Sheldon and Caroline Keck, as part of the Cooperstown Graduate Programs. Between graduate school and the beginning of his tenure at Buffalo State, James and his wife Patricia Hamm (’75) operated a successful private practice near Albany, New York. Professor Hamm has an ongoing interest in authentication issues and the detection of fakes and forgeries in paintings. Working closely with colleagues in the department, he regularly examines paintings using modern imaging techniques and sophisticated methods of materials analysis, in conjunction with an educated eye, to address questions of age and authenticity. He also applies the knowledge gained from the study of art materials and the processes of their degradation, to the improvement of materials and techniques available to modern artists. As a part of this work, he was awarded a U.S. patent for a rigid painting support for artists and has recently developed a pigmented wax-resin system for filling losses in paintings and objects. He has lectured and published on a wide variety of conservation topics. In 2007, Professor Hamm was honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has supervised students who have become conservation professionals at museums all around this country and a few overseas, as well as those who have established successful private practices.
Rosaleen Hill is the Director of the Queen’s University Art Conservation Program. Prior to joining Queen’s University in 2013 she taught at the School of Library and Archival Studies at the University of British Columbia and in the Conservation of Cultural Materials program at the University of Canberra in Australia. Rosaleen has taught more than 40 workshops and seminars for conservator and allied professionals and has consulted widely for archives, museums, libraries and other heritage institutions.
Debra Hess Norris is chair of the Art Conservation Department at the University of Delaware, director of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, and professor of photograph conservation. Debbie has taught more than 125 workshops and seminars for conservators and allied professionals globally including in Peru, Columbia, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Ireland, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Morocco, Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and India. She has published over 35 articles and book chapters on the preservation of photographic materials, conservation education, ethics, and emergency planning. Debbie served as president of the American Institute for Conservation from 1993 – 1997 and chairperson of Heritage Preservation from 2003-2008. She currently serves on the boards of Heritage Preservation and the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, and the Advisory Committees for the FAIC Hermitage Photograph Conservation Initiative, the Mellon Collaborative Photograph Workshops, and the American Friends of the National Gallery of Denmark, among others. In 2002, she was inducted into the University of Delaware’s Alumni Wall of Fame and in 2004 she was appointed as the Henry Francis duPont Chair of Fine Arts. She is a Fellow in the AIC and the International Institute for Conservation, and received the 2008 AIC University Products Award for distinguished achievement in the conservation of cultural property and the Caroline and Sheldon Keck Award for Teaching Excellence.
Ellen Pearlstein is one of the founding faculty and is associate professor at the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation, which accepted its first students in 2005. Beforehand, Ellen spent 22 years as a conservator at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City, and she taught classes at the Conservation Center of the IFA. Ellen teaches classes in organic materials conservation, conservation and ethnography, and preventive strategies at UCLA/Getty. Her research focuses on tribal museums and values for cultural preservation; effects of environmental agents on ethnographic and natural history materials (including understanding and preventing light damage in feather work); reinstating context for museum materials found ex situ; and curriculum development within conservation education.
We are looking forward to learning from this amazing group of conservation educators on Wednesday! If you miss the webinar, it will be posted afterwards on the AIC YouTube channel. Keep an eye out for an announcement when the link becomes available.
ECPN Webinar: Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation
Attention Pre-Program Conservators! Join us for the latest upcoming webinar hosted by the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) on “Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation.” This will be a dynamic webinar with representatives from five North American graduate programs in art conservation. Join Debra Hess Norris from Winterthur/University of Delaware, Ellen Pearlstein from UCLA, Rosaleen Hill from Queens University, Peggy Ellis from NYU, and James Hamm and Meredeth Lavelle from Buffalo State as they discuss a few of the qualities that make a good candidate for graduate training. Learn how to make your application stronger while enriching your career. Submit questions for the Q&A session of the program beforehand by commenting on the ECPN Facebook page or in the recent webinar announcement on the AIC blog (conservators-converse.org), or by e-mailing Megan Salazar-Walsh, ECPN Chair, at salazar.walsh@gmail.com.
The webinar will be held July 16th at 12pm EST. You can register using this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/177805026
This webinar is the latest in the ECPN series that seeks to address issues faced by emerging conservators. “Emerging conservators” are defined as those with 7 or fewer years of experience (which includes schooling and pre-program). ECPN strives to rotate webinar topics between those that are specifically pertinent to pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate emerging professionals.
42nd Annual Meeting – Engaging Communities in Collection Care Session: “Current Conservation Education and Practice: Are They Sustainable?”
The topic of sustainability was on everyone’s minds at the AIC 42nd Annual Meeting, and an evaluation of the sustainability of our own profession and its educational path was part of the program. Having recently crossed the threshold into an art conservation graduate program, I was particularly interested in hearing Paul Himmelstein, a private practice conservator and partner at Appelbaum & Himmelstein since 1972, assess the sustainability of such programs.
Recap:
In order to better understand how the graduate programs have changed over time, Himmelstein opened his talk with summaries of answers to a questionnaire he had distributed to the nine members of the Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property (ANAGPIC). From the responses collected, he reported the following:
– Most applicants today are female, compared to earlier ratios of applicants, who were closer to 50% female and 50% male.
– The requirements for admission have increased, both in the number of required pre-program hours of conservation experience and in the number of pre-requisite courses.
– All programs require two years of General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.
– All programs are cost-free regardless of need.
– Most applicants apply twice before acceptance.
– Approximately 80 students apply per year.
– The number of accepted students in each program has remained the same.
Himmelstein attributed these changes to a list of reasons. He surmised that the decreased number of male applicants is a result of the increased number of academic requirements and pre-program hours of experience. Men, he said, are more deterred by the extra years needed to complete these requirements as they are still driven by the “provider” mentality. He also noted that AIC is currently 66% female, but the majority of conservation leadership positions at major fine-arts institutions are held by men. He also pointed out that the majority of our demographic is white and middle-class. In response to the full-ride fellowships, Himmelstein predicted that the expense of supporting all students every year is not sustainable, given the number of students accepted.
Himmelstein continued by offering a list of proposed solutions. He suggested considering changing the grants to a need-based system. He also suggested adopting an admissions approach that simply rejects or accepts with no option for reapplying, as in medical schools and law schools. He also added that more men are entering the field of nursing, another female-dominated profession, as a counterpoint to the fact that our profession is losing men.
After stating that 50% of AIC members are in private practice, he advocated for a business-management component at the graduate level, in which conservators in private practice could share their experiences and provide mentorship at the post-graduate level. He said that new graduates “just aren’t ready” to begin careers in private practice. He also advocated for Kress scholarships for textbooks.
His solutions list continued to broaden outside the graduate school realm and included general suggestions for advocacy and outreach. According to Himmelstein, “Met[ropolitan Museum of Art] conservation projects are boring” and “conservation is hidden.” He feels that conservators are not working as important colleagues with other museum professionals; they also need to play a larger role in the fields of art history and archeology. He suggested presenting conservation treatment projects online, as in plastic surgery “before” and “after” shots. Viewers could scroll over the artifacts to watch them change. Himmelstein suggested that the public “expects us to be wizards,”and concluded with the statement, “We are not on a sustainable track, but I think we can be.”
Response:
Assessing the sustainability of our profession, especially in our current economic climate, is imperative. I agree that we must reexamine the number of students graduating each year to reduce expenses and to help control the job market, but not by selectively limiting funding or reducing a person’s chances for acceptance. Limiting funding at the graduate level would create an impossible financial position for most students. The demands of graduate school are such that no one is able, or even allowed, to work while in school. Unless a student is independently wealthy, then everyone falls into the “needs funding” category. According to Himmelstein’s report, average conservation students are not independently wealthy. Many internships at the graduate level are also still unpaid or partially paid, and students rely on their stipends to compensate. The current post-graduate income can also not sustain significant student loans. The “one strike you’re out” formula is also flawed. Many talented individuals who have made great contributions to our profession would not have become conservators if they did not get another chance to apply. Those who reapply show tenacity and dedication and our profession is shaped by those who participate.
I believe the decrease in male applicants is related to other factors and not because of the program requirements. Nursing is likely attracting more men because it has lost some of the “stigma” of a woman’s profession along with providing a relatively secure and well-paying job market. Conservation wages have fallen over time and the number of men in the field are likely reflecting this trend. In another life I pursued a degree in nursing and can attest that the increase in the number of men is not because less time is needed to get in to school. On the contrary, regardless of whether a student works to earn a bachelor of science in nursing or an associates degree in nursing, many hours of volunteer experience are required and many programs now require that a student become a certified nursing assistant before admission. This certification takes two months of full-time work or six months of part-time work in order to qualify for the state board exams. This work, in addition to the pre-requisites needed to apply, takes most individuals at least one year before they can apply to a nursing program. Some of the struggles we fight in conservation are not unique, but we are feeling the growing pains of a smaller and much newer profession, one that needs continuous advocacy in order to earn a living wage.
I agree that continuous outreach, both to the public and to colleagues in the humanities and sciences, is essential. Himmelstein touched on disseminating information to appropriate departments within schools. This is a particularly important task for me as a current graduate student, and a great way to continue advocacy for our profession. I was made fully aware of how important it can be to connect with other graduate students in the two weeks that followed AIC. From June 2-13, three classmates and I participated in the Delaware Public Humanities Institute (DelPHI). Applications to the course were open to all University of Delaware graduate students who work with material culture. Those two weeks were packed full of learning important skills such as navigating social media and presenting your project with concise and interesting language, and investigating what inter-departmental collaboration could mean for each of our disciplines. Plans to attend one another’s lectures and to share our research in one another’s classrooms are already underway for the 2014-2015 school year. I would like to hear other examples of these types of collaborations, because I am sure other wonderful ideas are being implemented.
The sustainability of art conservation is indeed an important discussion and I hope it is one in which conservators at all stages of their careers will participate.
42nd Annual Meeting: Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) Luncheon, May 29th- Speed Networking and Career Coaching
The Scene: Anyone entering the hotel atrium at the AIC Annual Meeting on Thursday from 12-2 might have confused the pairs of people at numbered tables as a new conservation speed-dating event. To give members a similar ability to make multiple connections in a limited time, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) organized a speed-networking event that enabled approximately 100 conservators to meet face-to-face.
The Set-up: Before the networking began and while enjoying a boxed lunch, participants heard from various speakers.
- Anna Zagorski and Angela Escobar, members of the Communications Group of the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), spoke on behalf of GCI, the event sponsor. GCI strives to advance the field of conservation through the creation and dissemination of knowledge to the field and for the field, using a variety of resources. Information on GCI can be found on the GCI website.
- Elena Torok and Greta Glaser gave a moving and heartfelt memorial to their WUDPAC classmate of 2013 and fellow emerging professional, Emily Schuetz Stryker, who passed away unexpectedly in February.
- Stephanie Lussier, the AIC Board liaison to ECPN, gave a brief history of ECPN and lauded its accomplishments thus far, including the webinar series and portfolio symposium from the 2012 Annual AIC meeting.
- Megan Salazar Walsh, current ECPN Vice Chair and upcoming Chair, also recognized current ECPN officers and liaisons, AIC staff Ruth Seyler and Ryan Winfield, and the specialty groups who contributed to the event.
The Conservators Conversing: In the weeks leading up to the event, participants filled out a questionnaire ranking their preferences of matches and the topics to be discussed. Each person received a different match for the three 15-minute sessions based on their responses. At the event the participants were given their matches’ information, as well as a handout on basic career and resume-building advice. Pairs found one another for each session at designated tables, and soon the room was abuzz with enthusiastic energy from emerging and established conservator alike. Two established professionals wandering by the event even joined in the fun and provided last-minute guidance.
Reviews:
“This was so much fun! I loved the variety of people I was matched up with. Thanks to all that organized this event for all of your hard work! I found it extremely rewarding.” – Alexandra Nichols
“This was my favorite part of the conference! The mentors I was paired with gave thoughtful and useful advice, and I hope to continue contact with them. Thank you for this opportunity, and I hope that we can continue more events like this in the future.” – Jacinta Johnson
“I met some really wonderful people during this event. Thanks for all your hard work ECPN!” – Amy Hughes
“You guys really outdid yourselves! Thank you for setting up such a fun and helpful event!” – Jackie Keck
Thanks to everyone who participated to make this first networking event a success!
The author would like to dedicate this blogpost to Eliza Spaulding in recognition of her hard work as ECPN Chair through 2012-2013. Thank you, Eliza.