Category: Emerging Conservation Professionals

ECPN Interviews: East Asian Art Conservation

To promote awareness and a clearer understanding of different pathways into specializations that require particular training, the Emerging Conservation Professional Network (ECPN) is conducting a series of interviews with conservators in these specialties.  We are kicking off the series with Chinese and Japanese painting conservation, where we began with Sara Ribbans.  We’ve asked our interviewees to share some thoughts about their career paths, which we hope will inspire new conservators and provide valuable insight into these areas of our professional field.

In our second interview, we spoke with Yi-Hsia Hsiao, Assistant Conservator of Chinese Paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  She earned her BA in Fine Art from Tun-Hai University in Taichung, Taiwan and her MA in Asian Painting Conservation from the Institute of Conservation of Cultural Relics, Tainan National University of the Arts in Tainan, Taiwan.

Continue reading “ECPN Interviews: East Asian Art Conservation”

2017-18 Open Officer Positions for Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN)

Are you an emerging conservation professional who wants to advocate for the issues that matter most to you and your peers? Do you want to help AIC develop resources and programs specifically for early-career conservators, conservation scientists, and collections care specialists? If so, please consider applying for one of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network’s (ECPN) open officer positions! ECPN is currently accepting applications from pre-program individuals, graduate students, and recent graduates for the following positions:

  • Vice Chair
  • Professional Education and Training Officer
  • Communications Officer
  • Outreach Officer

All positions will serve a two-year term beginning June 2017, just after AIC’s 45th Annual Meeting. The Vice Chair is expected serve a one-year term, transitioning to Chair for an additional one-year term.

To learn more about ECPN, please visit: conservation-us.org/emerging

Questions and position description requests can be directed to Rebecca Gridley, ECPN Vice Chair, at ecpn.aic.vicechair@gmail.com. To apply for an open officer position, please submit a brief statement of interest and your resume to Rebecca by April 14, 2016.

ECPN Spring 2017 Webinar Announcement — Picking Up the Pieces: Accepting, Preventing, and Learning from Mistakes as an Emerging Conservation Professional

On behalf of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), I’m pleased to introduce our upcoming webinar, “Picking up the Pieces: Accepting, Preventing, and Learning from Mistakes as an Emerging Conservation Professional,” taking place on Friday, April 7th from 12-1 pm EST.

Pressure to avoid mistakes, particularly during treatment, can hamper discussion within the field of conservation regarding how to actively prevent and recover from setbacks. Although it is unfortunate when they occur, acknowledging that mistakes are fundamental to learning can be especially crucial to the development of early-career professionals. This webinar aims to provide a greater understanding of the most common causes of errors, tips for minimizing the probability of mistakes, and strategies for dealing with setbacks.

ECPN has invited a panel of four speakers to explore this topic: Michele Marincola, Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Conservation of the Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; Tony Sigel, Senior Conservator of Objects and Sculpture at the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museums;  Ayesha Fuentes, PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; and Geneva Griswold, Associate Objects Conservator at the Seattle Art Museum.

Attendance is free and open to all AIC members. Please register here to watch the webinar. If you are unable to view the program on April 7th, or are not a member of AIC, the full video will be recorded and uploaded onto the AIC YouTube Channel.

ECPN would like to increase transparency regarding mistakes and inspire a broader dialogue on this subject in the field.  We want to hear from YOU with your stories of mistakes and setbacks! Please take this short survey describing your experiences. You can be a conservation professional from any career stage, and you may opt to remain anonymous.  With your permission, we will be sharing select experiences during the webinar and in a follow up discussion on AIC’s Blog  Conservators Converse.

We hope you will join us for the webinar on April 7th and that our viewers will gain a new appreciation of mistakes as fundamental to learning, an increased awareness of the sources of error, and practical strategies for avoiding mistakes.

 

Please see the below biographies to learn more about our speakers:

MICHELE D’ARCY MARINCOLA  is Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Conservation of the Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and managing conservator for NYU’s Acton Collection at Villa La Pietra in Florence, Italy. Before joining the university’s faculty as department chairman and professor of conservation in 2002, she was Conservator for The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Professor Marincola’s research interests include the conservation and technical art history of sculpture, as well as the history and ethics of art conservation. She designed and led a series of summer programs in technical art history for art historians, including the Summer Teachers Institute in Technical Art History for college and university faculty (funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation), now co-organized with the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Summer Institute in Technical Art History for graduate students in art history (funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), which ran from 2011 – 2016. Professor Marincola is the editor of a recent edition and translation of Johannes Taubert’s Polychrome Sculpture, Meaning, Form, Conservation (Getty Publications, 2015) and is the author of numerous articles on the conservation and technical study of medieval wood sculpture and the history of its conservation in the United States. She is currently completing a book with co-author Lucretia Kargère on the conservation history and treatment of medieval polychrome wood sculpture, to be published by Getty Publications. This book project was awarded the 2015 FAIC-Samuel H. Kress Publication Award.

TONY SIGEL senior conservator of objects and sculpture at the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museums. Apprentice-trained as a conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago, he has worked at Sardis, Turkey, most recently as supervising conservator. He has published and taught widely on conservation practice and technical art history. He received the Rome Prize in 2004, and co-curated the 20012-13 exhibition Bernini- Sculpting in Clay, at the Metropolitan and Kimbell Museum of Art. In September, 2016, he was appointed Robert Lehman visiting professor at Villa I Tatti, Florence, studying the techniques of Renaissance sculptural models.

AYESHA FUENTES is a research scholar and first-year MPhil/PhD in the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where she is documenting the history and use of human remains in Himalayan ritual objects. She is a graduate of the UCLA/Getty MA Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials and has worked in objects conservation in the US, China, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Cambodia and Sudan.

GENEVA GRISWOLD is an Associate Objects Conservator at the Seattle Art Museum, focusing on the preservation of SAM’s pre-modern collections. Prior to SAM, Geneva was the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and held positions at the Walters Art Museum and the Getty Conservation Institute. Her archaeological fieldwork includes seasons at Herculaneum and Abydos, Egypt. Geneva is a graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art and the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials.

Please see the following links for publications on the topic of mistakes by our speakers:

Marincola, Michele and Sarah Maisey. “To Err is Human: Understanding and Sharing Mistakes in Conservation Practice.” 2011. 

Fuentes, Ayesha and Geneva Griswold. “The ‘Dead-Bucket’: An Inexperienced Conservators Guide for Evaluating Setbacks.” 2012. 

Tips for Writing FAIC Grant Proposals: ECPN Interviews ETC

 

Recent recipients of the George Stout Memorial Fund Scholarship, a grant administered by FAIC that provides funding for emerging conservators to attend AIC’s Annual Meeting.

 

Introduction

Between 2011 and 2015, the Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) awarded $2,064,962 through 462 grants and scholarships. $428,601 of this was given out in 2015 to 91 grant and scholarship recipients. While these numbers include larger grants such as Samuel H. Kress Conservation Fellowships and publication grants, an important part of FAIC’s grant program is to provide professional development support for individuals to attend conferences and workshops and to pursue research projects. A full list of grants and scholarships is available here.

Emerging conservators are eligible for a number of these grants, including the FAIC / Tru Vue® International Professional Development Scholarships and George Stout Memorial Fund Scholarships  – the latter of which is reserved for pre-program individuals, graduate students, and recent graduates to attend professional conferences. Each grant has specific deadlines, eligibility, and application requirements – all of which are listed online. FAIC recently moved the grant application process online to make the process easier for the applicants and the reviewers.

This brings us to the subject of this post: how to improve your applications for FAIC grants! Reviewing and awarding these grants is an important but time-consuming task, so FAIC relies on AIC’s Education & Training Committee (ETC) for assistance. Conservators from different career stages and specialties volunteer to serve on ETC, which is responsible for advancing AIC members’ knowledge of conservation practices by supporting continuing education and professional development endeavors. ETC also promotes educational issues within the field.

As many emerging conservators may be new to writing grant applications, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) interviewed some members of ETC to ask a few questions about the application and review process. Here’s what we learned:

 

ECPN’s Interview with ETC

  1. Review Process: What happens with an application once it is submitted? Who reviews it, and who makes the final decision?

For each application cycle, the Institutional Advancement Director for FAIC calls for volunteers from ETC to review applications, specifying the deadline and how many volunteers are needed. The reviewers are usually different people based on who can commit time to the process during the application review period. Three reviewers are assigned to read each application, and reviews are conducted anonymously. The reviewers receive instructions and reminders for the unique criteria for each grant.

Taking into consideration the specific grant criteria and the benefit of the project to the applicant (among other things), the reviewer assigns points for each of the selection criteria categories and provides comments to help clarify the ratings provided. ETC members’ ratings and review of the applications ensures a thorough and fair review process.

Next, the AIC Board Director for Professional Education works closely with the Institutional Advancement Director to tally the scores and review comments by ETC and submits the recommended awards for final approval by the Executive Director of FAIC and AIC and the FAIC Treasurer. The goal is always to administer as many awards as the budget allows to support the professional growth of AIC members.

  1. Audience: Who should the application be directed to? That is, who are you writing for (e.g. general audience, fellow conservators)?

Direct the application to your fellow conservators. ETC is made up of your peers — but it is important to keep in mind that ETC members come from a range of specialties. The reviewer may not know the significance of a particular project unless it is clearly defined and expressed. It is important to give details that explain the “why” —that is, why your project is relevant, timely, or important — so the reviewer can understand your thought process.

Because our field is small, there is a good chance that reviewers know some of the applicants. ETC members must also recuse themselves from a particular review if there is any conflict of interest (e.g., that member applied for a grant, or wrote a letter of support for an applicant).

ETC considers the applications based on the merit of a particular application, not with regard to whether you are a junior or well-seasoned conservator, or whether the reviewer is familiar with your work.

  1. Content: What are the major points in the application text to pay attention to? What level of detail is desirable when discussing your project?

Address the grant review criteria directly and pay attention to the parts that are unique to you and your application. Set up the relevance of the project first by describing it; the project description should be brief and straightforward. Then discuss how the project benefits you professionally. This is section with the most freedom: explain how the project is appropriate to furthering your professional development. It is more important to state effectively how you will benefit from your involvement–this is the part that really distinguishes the applications from each other.

So instead of listing your accomplishments, explain what you will accomplish — either by attending the conference, presenting your work, or pursuing your research. And be clear about your level of participation and whether you are attending a workshop or conference, or presenting. While your financial need is implied—you are applying for a grant, after all—you should still mention it. It is helpful for your case if the reviewer knows that your institution does not provide professional development funding, or has not provided it for a number of years.

Describing how you plan to disseminate what you’ve gained from the project is also an important factor. This doesn’t have to mean that you’ll write a book on the subject, but FAIC is interested in the most bang for the buck: how far will the benefits go if this person is selected for funding?

  1. Budget: What are the important considerations when reviewing a proposed budget? What costs should and should not be included? What is the best way to explain how you arrived at your cost estimates? What should you do if your estimated costs exceed the amount that can be awarded?

The budget needs to be complete and reasonable. Being stingy with yourself will not necessarily score you points, but you should not price out a luxury hotel and first-class flights. The Federal Government Service Administration (GSA) provides numbers that can be a great guide for drafting a budget. The online application form prompts you to consider expenses related mostly to travel and lodging, and additional explanation of expenses beyond this form is usually not necessary. While the grants don’t cover food, there is a place to fill out your estimated meal costs to show what you will be covering yourself.

Do not request for more than the maximum award; it may appear as though you didn’t read the grant description. If your projected costs exceed the maximum award, fully outline those costs and request up to the award limit. Outlining all of your costs—regardless of whether they are covered by the grant or exceed the award limit—provides valuable data for FAIC. This information can be used if grants are ever re-evaluated, and FAIC can use the budget information to advocate for higher award limits.

Having an expensive project doesn’t put you at a disadvantage. In fact, it engenders sympathy and understanding that you will have to seek additional funding or otherwise provide funds out of pocket. The better the reviewers understand the total costs, the better the committee can try to support you. The number of grants given out each cycle varies, and the goal is to provide enough support to allow the awardees to fulfill their projects.

  1. Recommendation Letters: How should you select recommenders? How can you help prepare them to know what points to speak to? Do your recommenders have to be AIC members? Should they have status within AIC (PA, Fellow)?

The letters should come from someone with whom you have a professional relationship, and who will write a positive recommendation that specifically discusses how the project will benefit you. If you are unsure whether a recommender’s letter will be positive, you can ask them or ask someone else to write for you. The perceived status of your recommender is not so significant; someone who seems important in AIC does not necessarily write a better letter. The requirements for recommenders’ status within AIC vary from grant to grant, so be sure to read the application procedures section very carefully.

Providing a recommender with your current CV and a draft of your application can help them to tailor the recommendation letter to your application. Also, let your recommenders know they can fill out the Letter of Support Form [insert link] provided by FAIC, rather than writing a traditional letter. All of these materials can be submitted electronically by the recommender, so the recommendation remains confidential. The deadlines are firm, so make sure to ask for recommendations well in advance and indicate the application deadlines in your request.

For more on this topic, look at the guides ETC has developed for requesting and writing letters of recommendation.

  1. General: Are there any easily fixable but common mistakes you see in applications? If your application is not accepted, what steps can you take to improve your chances next time? What are some general tips you would provide to first time grant applicants?

Do not overthink it. Your essay need not be lengthy; completeness and accuracy are what counts, so answer the questions and speak to the grant criteria directly. Be concise in making your case, and keep in mind that reviewers may read dozens of applications at a time.

Almost all of the projects and applicants seem worthy in each cycle, so it may come down to minor errors or omissions that result in an incomplete application. It does not reflect poorly on you for future applications if you not receive funding for your first application, so please don’t get discouraged.

For some common reasons why applications do not receive funding, see the great list below, provided to ECPN by Eric Pourchot, Institutional Advancement Director for FAIC.

 

Some Final Thoughts

In 2015, about half of FAIC grant and scholarship applications were funded, and the total funding awarded was 34% of the total amount requested. And—as we mentioned in our last post on the structure of FAIC and AIC—FAIC must raise the funds to support these grants and scholarships. A good portion of this comes from the Specialty Groups, AIC members, and individual donors! In 2015, $49,000 was raised through individual donations to support FAIC grants and other programs. So, if you are ever the recipient of one of these scholarships and grants, in the future consider “paying it forward” if you can by making a donation to FAIC!

We’d like to thank Nina Owczarek and Susan Russick from ETC and Eric Pourchot (Institutional Advancement Director for FAIC) for answering our questions, and Stephanie Lussier (AIC Board Director, Professional Education) and Heather Galloway (Chair, ETC) for their help reviewing this post.

If you have further questions about applying for grants, you can email: faicgrants@conservation-us.org.

 

— Jessica Walthew (Education & Training Officer) and Rebecca Gridley (Vice Chair) on behalf of ECPN

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Bonus Tips!

ECPN asked Eric Pourchot, Institutional Advancement Director for FAIC, for some common reasons applications are not funded. Keep these in mind when drafting your application!

  1. The proposal did not meet the eligibility requirements or did not address the purpose of the grant or scholarship. For example, a professional development proposal might address the institution’s need for the proposed training, but not the benefit for the individual, which is the purpose of the grant. Read the guidelines carefully and think like a reviewer as you write the proposal.
  2. The proposal is incomplete. Be sure to double-check attachments, any required letters of support, etc.
  3. The project’s cost is out of proportion to the scale of the grant or scholarship. For example, a proposal might show $20,000-$30,000 in expenses, with no firm source of funding.  If the grant limit is $1,000, reviewers may ask how likely it is that the project will be completed.
  4. The proposal has errors or inconsistencies. These sometimes can be overlooked, but when competition is stiff, a proposal that doesn’t appear to be well thought-out will often be rated lower than more polished proposals.
  5. The budget is inflated, has errors, or isn’t justified. This is not always a fatal flaw, but often puts a proposal at a disadvantage.  If airfare or hotel prices are listed as much higher than what can be found online, for example, reviewers may question the overall proposal.  Conversely (but more rarely), a budget that doesn’t appear to reflect the real costs of a project may be seen as not feasible.  If there is a factor that distorts the budget, that should be indicated and justified in the narrative.  For example, scheduling might not allow the applicant to travel over a weekend, raising the cost of a round trip flight, or the applicant may be staying with friends and not require a hotel.

Recent recipients of the George Stout grant presenting at AIC’s Annual Meeting.

ECPN Blogpost Series: Getting to Know AIC and FAIC

Have you ever wondered where AIC (the association) and FAIC (the foundation) overlap, and where they diverge? Or who works for AIC and FAIC, and how they got involved?

This blogpost series takes a closer look at the structure and mission of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) and the Foundation for AIC (FAIC) to introduce newcomers to the field —or even those who are not so new— to what AIC is and what it does. To get a more personalized and in-depth view, ECPN interviewed staff and board members for AIC and FAIC. In our follow-up blogposts, you will hear directly from those involved about these organizations and the work they do. But first…  let’s get back to basics!

First and foremost, AIC is a membership organization for conservation professionals. To this end, the AIC staff works to support AIC members, and the AIC board serves to support the members and address their concerns. AIC members themselves make up much of the organization’s structure: members are elected to serve on the AIC board and in specialty group leadership, or are appointed to committees and networks (such as ECPN). These different groups work together to support the field of conservation through their combined action. Which brings us to AIC’s mission statement:

“The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) is the national membership organization supporting conservation professionals in preserving cultural heritage by establishing and upholding professional standards, promoting research and publications, providing educational opportunities, and fostering the exchange of knowledge among conservators, allied professionals, and the public.”

This is a tall order. How does AIC accomplish this? The AIC staff recently revamped portions of the website to detail the initiatives that fulfill each component of this mission. Some of these initiatives –such as organizing the Annual Meeting and managing communication between members (your specialty group listservs)–  are probably already familiar to you. We’ll learn more about these important programs and projects in forthcoming posts in this series.

The Foundation for AIC also supports conservation education, research, and outreach activities, but is separate from AIC. As Eryl Wentworth, Executive Director for both organizations, explains: “AIC and FAIC have a symbiotic relationship. They are separate legal entities with different missions, working both in tandem and independently to advance the field.” FAIC’s goals of advancing the profession, providing information resources, strengthening the professional education program, and expanding outreach, all benefit AIC members in critical ways.

There are important distinctions between AIC and FAIC in how they are funded, classified, and organized. AIC is a 501(c)6 nonprofit, and your AIC membership dues support the resources and staff devoted to AIC initiatives, such as the Annual Meeting, online tools and resources, and publications to disseminate conservation research (AIC News and the Journal of AIC (JAIC)). The Foundation (FAIC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and in contrast, is responsible for raising funds to support its own management and initiatives. Funds raised from grants and individual donations (including from AIC members) support the programs administered by FAIC, which include Connecting to Collections Care (C2CC), Angels projects, the Collections Assessment for Preservation program (CAP), and the Oral History Project, to name only a few.

AIC and the FAIC are each managed by a board of directors. The AIC board is made up of conservation professionals nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected by the broader AIC membership. There are four administrative leadership positions (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) and four additional board directors that oversee different aspects of the organization, such as Professional Education, Communications, Specialty Groups, and Committees and Networks. These positions are all voluntary, and AIC relies heavily on its members to participate in the leadership of the organization. The FAIC Board includes leadership from the AIC Board (including the Executive Director of AIC and FAIC), plus professionals in allied fields and in such areas as marketing, publishing, insurance, and law. These board members provide additional voices that help to broaden the reach of the organization in related areas of arts and culture, as well as expertise we otherwise lack.

Both organizations are based in a Washington D.C. office staffed by 13 professionals in nonprofit management. Some of the staff work for both organizations, while others’ responsibilities are directly tied to either AIC or FAIC. The AIC/FAIC staff are deeply invested in helping our profession grow and to educating the public about what we do. You may have met some of the AIC staff at the Annual Meeting, or have been in touch with them to update your membership information. Their work extends beyond this, and includes crucial advocacy for the field in the broader context.

Stay tuned for our next posts, which will offer further insight into these organizations and the people who keep them running!

Thanks AIC and FAIC!

 

— Jessica Walthew (Education & Training Officer) and Rebecca Gridley (Vice Chair) on behalf of ECPN

Holiday Gifts for Conservators

Need to subtly drop some hints for holiday gifts? ECPN has compiled a list of great gifts for conservators to make it easy for you. We posted our suggestions on our Facebook page last week and got some great additions from ECPN members, which we’ve added below.

image: calobeedoodles

1. Tiny brushes (Windsor-Newton series 7, which come in sizes 0 and 00)

2. Soft Japanese Dust brushes

3. Sharp scissors (Gingher Stork scissors)

4. Tweezers

5. Mini spatulas

6. Silicone tipped tools

7. Labelmaker!

Feeling a bit more generous?
8. Tool roll

9. Lab coat

10. Optivisor

From our Facebook friends:
— Books published by the Getty or National Gallery (tip: shop for them during the biannual sales)
— Septifile Nail buffers: a pack of nail file sandpaper in multiple grits with sticky backs (easy to stick to spatulas)
— Proscope microscope adapter for iPhone, magnifies up to 80X
Thanks for the contributions. Happy Holidays from ECPN!

CCN Seeking New Social Media Chair – Applications Due February 15th!

CCN Seeking New Social Media Chair
Attention, Emerging Conservation Professionals! The Collections Care Network (CCN) is currently seeking a new Social Media Chair. This position would be an excellent opportunity for an ECP to put his or her social media skills to good use, become more involved within our organization, and take professional service to the next level!
The Social Media Chair is a new Officer position approved by the AIC Board this Fall. The applicant for this position should have extensive knowledge of the audience, purpose, and general outcomes for various social media platforms. Work would include developing content strategies and workflow for feeding content to CCN social media sites that adhere to AIC social media policy, contributing and manage contributions from others to CCN social media sites, and communicating social media outcomes to fellow CCN Officers that might lead to potential CCN projects.
The applicant should have a strong interest in furthering preventive conservation and collection care and excellent writing and organizational skills. The CCN Officers meet once a month via conference call, as well as at the Annual Meeting in May.
To apply, please send a letter of interest and C.V. to Becky Fifield at rebeccafifield@nypl.org by February 15. For further information or to discuss the position, you may call Becky at (617) 212-1468. CCN is an AIC board-appointed network. Leadership in a network is by application and selection with final approval by the AIC board. Every effort is made to ensure that the officers represent CCN’s intended demographic, wide geographic representation, and balanced representation from conservators and allied professionals.

ECPN's Follow-Up to the Fall 2016 Webinar on Leadership – Q&A and Further Resources

The importance of leadership in conservation and developing leadership skills throughout one’s career is a rich topic that ECPN explored in the Fall 2016 webinar, Emerging Leaders in Conservation: Developing Leadership Skills as an Early-Career Professional. EPCN received a number of questions in response to the webinar, and speakers Michelle Facini and Molly Gleeson have generously taken the time to answer these questions. This post also provides a bibliography on leadership, including a number of insightful Ted Talks, for those wishing to delve further into this topic. At the end is a list of links to leadership training programs for future reference.
Q&A
Do the speakers have suggestions for how to balance the roles of colleague, friend, and leader in the workplace? Do they have tips for how conservators can step up to a leadership positions while maintaining other facets of their relationships with others?
Molly Gleeson: For the benefit of all work relationships, making space for personal connection is important. No matter what position you are in, you can demonstrate leadership qualities by speaking up with opinions and ideas, but also by making sure to ask others for their input, and being open to different viewpoints. If you are asked to lead a project and to supervise a peer or friend, I believe that taking a collaborative approach is the best course of action – you will need to take responsibility for the decision-making, planning, etc. but much of the work to get there can be collaborative, and recognition of your colleague(s) when presenting decisions and ideas is just as critical. This acknowledgment will help to empower them and make them feel included, respected, and an important part of your team.
How has your leadership style changed/evolved over the years?
Michelle Facini: My ability to recognize project priorities and maximize my time spent on tasks has become more efficient over time. Having good working relationships with colleagues also helps to streamline expectations and makes collaborations effective. As I become more senior in my organization, I am expected to bring clarity and good solutions to tasks because I understand how the organization works. As a result, it is important for me to actively listen, so I can offer good recommendations and ensure success for everyone involved in a project.
How, would you continue to inspire engagement of all colleagues, interns, volunteers, members etc. if the community or team you lead is growing? This question is aligned with making everyone feel included, and the difficulties in generating an intimate collaboration if member size increases.
Michelle Facini: Good colleagues are ones that you trust and respect. Finding a way to build those relationships with your peers is key, and doing so differs greatly from person to person. Leaders who regularly engage with their workforce and recognize their staff for their accomplishments and commitment are generally the most respected. Emotional intelligence is a skill that should continue to be honed throughout our careers so that our work relationships are rooted in kindness and empathy, while still maintaining a supportive and productive work environment.
What can conservation learn from other fields in which management and leadership skills are more explicitly praised, e.g. Business, public policy? Did you look to leadership role models in different disciplines?
Molly Gleeson: There is so much we can learn from other fields about leadership – in fact, most of the recommended reading and resources come from the business world. We can and should look at global trends in leadership, such as the concept of collaborative leadership, which focuses less on top-down management and more on teamwork, transparency, and networks. But we can also look to the museum field for examples of inspirational leaders, even if these leaders are using leadership styles that we may not gravitate toward ourselves. Check out the Leadership Matters book and blog, and forthcoming book, Women & Museums.
With the changing museum field, do you anticipate any changes to your leadership style?
Molly Gleeson: While it is important to think about our “default” leadership styles, it is just as important, as Sarah emphasized in the webinar, to remember that leadership responds to the situations and positions we find ourselves in. Being aware of how the field is changing, current institutional operations and goals, and our individual roles within an organization, will help us all expand and adapt our leadership styles as we grow as professionals.
How did our panelists develop their leadership skills and what resources/opportunities did they find helpful?
Molly Gleeson: Most of my leadership skills were developed by putting myself in positions to lead – by volunteering to organize a conference session, to teach a workshop, run for a committee position, or to take on a new project or role at work. Many of these situations are uncomfortable at first, but I have learned a lot from them and they only empower me to continue to step up into leadership roles. I am currently taking a leadership course offered through my job, and as a part of this we took the Gallup Strengths Assessment, which identified our top 5 strengths. Anyone can take this online for only $15 (there are more expensive options but our course instructor said that they are not worth it and that Gallup actually prices them higher to discourage people from doing them).
What kind of leadership do we need in the field now? What directions should we, as a field, encourage?
Michelle Facini: The availability of digital products to use for outreach is staggering— as information is instantaneously shared and consumed by vast numbers of folks, the preservation field needs to find its voice. This voice should speak humbly of our past while addressing a future that is diverse and inclusive of many skill sets. Inclusiveness allows our community to extend support to those colleagues who yearn for funding, recognition and opportunities for professional growth. Sharing our knowledge via presentations, publications and teaching elevates our standing as a profession and attracts the jobs and financial support necessary for our continued growth.
Is there a way to ask a conservator to be your mentor in a polite way, or should you let the relationship develop naturally?
Molly Gleeson: Either approach works – there are great mentor-mentee relationships that have grown out of the ECPN mentoring program where people are matched often without knowing each other beforehand – but some of the best relationships may end up developing naturally. Most importantly, mentoring works best when expectations and questions are clearly defined – so before approaching someone sit down and think about what you’d like guidance on, and what you’re hoping to get out of that relationship, and prepare to communicate these goals with your potential mentor. It is also important to be respectful of time, availability, and communication styles. Some people prefer emailing while others work better on the phone, and some people may prefer to meet in person – be open to different types of communication.
Do you have any tips for someone transitioning into a promotion and facing changes in one’s role and leadership responsibilities?
Michelle Facini: Make an appointment with yourself to determine your strengths and weaknesses in your new position. Identify ways you can acquire the necessary skills needed for your new responsibilities. Seek out mentors and peers that can assess your progress and help you find ways to rise to all your new challenges. Make sure you set goals for yourself that are attainable to keep your momentum going, but also in the distance so you always know where you are headed.
Bibliography:
This comprehensive bibliography, including both published literature and Ted Talks, was compiled by Courtney Murray for the April 2016 workshop, “Learning to Lead: Training for Heritage Preservation Professionals,” held at the Winterthur Museum. Thank you to Courtney for her willingness to share her work.
The following are addendums to this bibliography:
The Art of Relevance, by Nina Simon
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain
Blog – Leadership Matters: Thoughts on 21st Century Museum Leadership by Anne Ackerson and Joan Baldwin
Opportunities for Formal Leadership Training or Networking:
Applicants for a number of these programs must have previous museum experience or currently hold a leadership position, so they do not apply to emerging conservators; however, you may wish to keep them in mind for the future.
The Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen Program: Executive Education for the Next Generation of Museum Leaders – designed for mid-level staff with 3-5 years of museum management experience
The Clore Leadership Programme (UK-based, but with International Fellowships available for select countries) – applicants must have worked in the cultural sector for at least five years
The American Alliance of Museums Leadership and Management Network – professional network and repository of articles on leadership and management
Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) Leadership Seminar – applications are open to those currently holding leadership positions in academic museums and galleries
 
Thank you to all of the individuals who submitted questions, and thank you once again to our speakers Sarah Staniforth, Michelle Facini, and Molly Gleeson. We are also grateful to Courtney Murray for the bibliography and Debbie Hess Norris for her input on leadership training. If you have additional suggestions for resources to add, or further questions on this topic, please email ECPN.aic.webinar@gmail.com.

Recap: ECPN's Digital Tips and Tools for Conservators

Back in June we posted a series of tips to the ECPN Facebook page. Now that school is back in full swing we thought we’d post a reminder. We hope you enjoyed this collection of digital resources! Feel free to contribute your own tips in the comments below.
1: Zotero Bibliography management tool (https://www.zotero.org/)
Zotero allows you to make bibliographies easily and keep track of abstracts (it pulls them directly from some sources) or your own notes. It also helps you to keep track of artworks from museum collections, and you can keep all the relevant information (catalog information, dimensions, conservation history notes) in one place. Zotero is free and if you install it as a plug-in to your preferred internet browser you just click and –ta da!– it magically saves all the bibliographic information for you. You can share collected references and notes with other Zotero users through groups as well.
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Image 1: Desktop Zotero application.
 
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Image 2: Saving an artwork from a museum’s online catalogue using Zotero on an internet browser (Firefox or Chrome).
 
2: Compound Interest has lots of infographics (http://www.compoundchem.com/infographics/) which are great references for chemistry topics. The site has lots of good information on analytical techniques as well as fun chemistry facts and a weekly roundup of chemistry news. Print materials out for your lab!
Some examples of particular interest to conservators:

 
3: With Inkpad Pro or other vector drawing apps, you can make diagrams for condition mapping, mounts, and packing. These apps are generally far less expensive than the PC-based programs they emulate, like Illustrator or Photoshop, and range from free to a few dollars. You can use a stylus on your iPad to trace from photographs and annotate. There are lots of color, line weight, and arrow options, and it’s easy to do overlays. Since the iPad is also smaller and more portable, you can do your condition mapping in the gallery or during installations as well. You can export your final drawings as PDFs and share them through Dropbox or email.
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Images 3-6: Creating a vector drawing and condition map from a photograph using the iPad app InkPad Pro.
 
4: Podcasts
We’d like to highlight one of our favorite podcasts, “Chemistry in its Element” by the Royal Society of Chemistry. There are short episodes about all sorts of interesting chemical compounds. Of particular interest to conservators are podcasts on mauveine, carminic acid, citric acid, calcium hydroxide, goethite, vermillion, and PVC, for example. Episodes are about 5 minutes long each.
(link: https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts)
 
5: RSS feeds for Cultural Heritage Blogs
Using an RSS feed can help you keep tabs on conservation news reported on blogs. We recommend Old Reader, a free replacement for Google Reader (https://theoldreader.com/), to keep track of the many conservation blogs. AIC has a blogroll list that can help you find conservation blogs: look to the right sidebar here on Conservators Converse.
There are too many great blogs to name, but one favorite is the Penn Museum’s “In the Artifact Lab” (http://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/), which is frequently updated with great photos and stories about conservation treatments underway. Another one you might like is Things Organized Neatly (http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/)– not strictly speaking a conservation blog, but definitely has some appeal for conservators!
 
Feel free to add your favorites tips and tools below in the comments!
 
All images courtesy of Jessica Walthew, Professional Education & Training Officer, Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN).

ECPN Fall Webinar Announcement – Emerging Leaders in Conservation: Developing Leadership Skills as an Early-Career Professional

The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is pleased to introduce our next webinar, “Emerging Leaders in Conservation: Developing Leadership Skills as an Early-Career Professional,” which will take place on Thursday, October 27th from 12-1 pm (EST).
We are delighted to welcome three guest speakers to explore this topic. Our presenters have varied backgrounds and represent different career stages, but each has displayed great leadership aptitude: International Institute for Conservation (IIC) President Sarah Staniforth, who recently co-taught the workshop at the Winterthur Museum, “Learning to Lead: Training for Heritage Preservation Professionals,” in April 2016; Paper Conservator Michelle Facini from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, a Fellow of AIC who has formerly chaired the Book and Paper Specialty Group; and Molly Gleeson, a Project Conservator in Objects Conservation at the Penn Museum, Professional Associate of AIC, and former chair of ECPN.
The presenters will briefly introduce theoretical information pertaining to leadership styles, discuss why it can be important to cultivate leadership skills, and consider what it means to be a leader at any stage of your profession. The speakers will also draw from their experiences to discuss specific instances in their careers that have required leadership skills. Finally, we will be discussing strategies for early-career professionals to cultivate leadership skills and provide information on additional resources for individuals who would like to learn more.
Attendance is free and open to all AIC members. To register to watch the webinar, please visit our registration website. If you are unable to view the program on October 27th, or are not a member of AIC, the full video will be recorded and uploaded onto the AIC YouTube Channel.
We would like to hear from you with any questions up until the morning of the webinar. Please feel free to email ecpn.aic.webinar@gmail.com or submit questions as comments to this post. These questions will either be answered during a Q&A session or follow-up blog post or session.
Please read on to learn more about the speakers:
SARAH STANIFORTH was elected President of the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) in January 2013. Sarah is a Fellow of IIC, the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society of Arts. From January 2011 – June 2014, Sarah was Museums and Collections Director at the National Trust. She was Historic Properties Director from 2005-2010 and Head Conservator from 2002-2004, and she joined the National Trust in 1985 as Adviser on Paintings Conservation and Environmental Control.  Sarah studied easel paintings conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She has also written and lectured extensively on preventive conservation for collections in museums and historic houses; some of this work is recorded in the National Trust Manual of Housekeeping and Historical Perspectives on Preventive Conservation. Sarah was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours 2015.
MICHELLE FACINI is an American Institute of Conservation Fellow, the former Chair of the Book and Paper Specialty Group, and a paper conservator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She has a forthcoming publication describing Degas pastels on tracing paper and has presented research in the past on the preservation of oversized artworks and the materials and techniques in illuminated manuscripts. Michelle regularly collaborates with curators and conservation scientists, as well as conservation colleagues, globally. She received her Masters of Science in art conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program and has worked at the National Archives and Records Administration. She participated in fellowships and internships with the British Museum, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
MOLLY GLEESON is the Schwartz Project Conservator at the Penn Museum. Since 2012, Molly has worked in the museum’s open conservation lab, “In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies.” She has worked as conservator for the University of Pennsylvania’s excavations in South Abydos, Egypt since 2015. Prior to joining the Penn Museum Conservation Department, she worked on contract in Southern California and as a Research Associate on the UCLA and Getty Conservation Institute feather research project. She completed her M.A. in 2008 at the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials. She is an American Institute for Conservation (AIC) Professional Associate and is a co-chair of AIC’s Archaeological Discussion Group (ADG).