Emerging Conservation Professionals – Page 9 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

How to make the most of your pre-program internship webinar: follow-up questions

On September 24, 2013, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) hosted an hour-long webinar titled “How to make the most of your pre-program internship.”
The program featured two supervisors, Tom Edmondson, Paper & Photograph Conservator in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, and Emily Williams, Conservator of Archaeological Materials at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and two former pre-program interns, Ayesha Fuentes, Conservation Intern in the Division for Cultural Properties at the Department of Culture in Thimphu, Bhutan, and LeeAnn Barnes Gordon, Manager of Programs and Events for the American Schools of Oriental Research. During the program, the speakers shared their experiences as supervisors and pre-program interns, respectively; contributed to guided questions; and answered audience questions.
Included below are the questions that could not be addressed during the program with responses from the speakers.
To view the webinar, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBZiIoBYprE
For speaker biographies, visit: http://www.conservators-converse.org/2013/09/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-pre-program-internship-about-the-speakers/
For other related blogposts, visit:
http://www.conservators-converse.org/2013/09/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-pre-program-internship-online-resources-from-ecpn/
http://www.conservators-converse.org/2013/10/financial-resources-for-pre-program-conservation-interns/

When searching for a pre-program internship, do you recommend that students seek recommendations for institutions or names of private conservators from the graduate programs in conservation?
Tom Edmondson: Yes, because they will refer you to those whose pre-program interns they have accepted on a regular basis because of the quality of the training experience. Other options are to contact the closest major museum and inquire there of internship options either there or with the nearest private practitioner that they recommend.
Ayesha Fuentes: It would probably be more efficient and informative to contact the students or ECPN about their experiences. They were successful as applicants and have many different types of backgrounds.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: I suppose that would be one way to find them. Other ideas that come to mind are the ECPN mentoring program or using the AIC Find a Conservator tool to find individuals and labs in your area.
How can pre-program interns gain experience in a specific specialty in an institution or with a private conservator?
Tom Edmondson: Well, you have to know what specialty you want and then seek that out. I don’t recommend that myself. The whole point of the programs is to expose you to everything and then you pick your specialty. I recommend just finding an internship. That will get you started and let you know whether or not conservation is for you. Not everyone who likes conservation can be or even should be a conservator. Be open to any opportunity because it will open doors, even if it isn’t the specialty you think you want to do in the end.
Ayesha Fuentes: Ask them if they’ll take you as an intern? I think it’s more important to be open and flexible when you’re just starting out. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to track down that special person when you’re in school or after, if they have a skill or practice you’d really like to learn eventually.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: If a pre-program intern wants a specific type of training or instruction, then it’s my opinion that they should be as forward about their interests as possible. Although, it seemed to me that being flexible and open to a wide range of opportunities offered me the most internship possibilities and gave me a broad knowledge of conservation.
What skills are the graduate programs in conservation looking for in pre-program experience?
Tom Edmondson: Others who have been through the programs can better answer this (since I didn’t benefit from that aspect), but my sense is, EXPERIENCE. Demonstrated commitment, follow-through, understanding of what the field is about meaning a true intellectual grasp of the principles and philosophy. But, I also sense that it can matter with whom or which institution you did your internship. Short version: hand-skills, problem solving, awareness of the difference between what needs to be done and what would be nice to do, sensitivity. I’m sure there is more that others can add.
Ayesha Fuentes: I’m not on an admissions committee but whenever I meet applicants or pre-program people, I always look for self-presentation, people skills, and curiosity. Learn how to shake hands properly. Otherwise, I really enjoy and encourage a wide variety of skills, experience levels, and areas of knowledge in applicants.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: I’m not exactly sure, but it seems to me like one of the most important aspects of the pre-program experience is to help individuals to better understand what a career in conservation entails and whether that is a good fit. Therefore, it follows that the graduate programs would want to see someone whose experiences demonstrate their persistence, determination, and passion for conservation.
If one finds their personality is incompatible with their supervisors, what is the best to navigate that situation?
Tom Edmondson: Well, if the supervisor is any good she/he will be aware that there is an inherent problem and will address it immediately. If not, then the intern needs to have the self-confidence to bring it up in a non-confrontational manner and request a referral to another situation. If the situation is toxic enough that a decent referral is not likely then simply exit and start over. A bad internship is not the end of the world. There are bad supervisors out there, but many more good and nurturing ones. This is an excellent and important question.
Emily Williams: Talk with the supervisor about your goals and those of the lab. Sometimes people who aren’t otherwise terribly friendly can work well together to realize shared goals. If you know anyone who has worked with the supervisor before, talk to them about their experience. Keep the conversation positive—what did they learn, were there particular approaches that really worked for them? If nothing else works and you feel that you are in an environment where the personality clash keeps you from learning explore other internships.
Ayesha Fuentes: If it is worth it to you to continue learning in that situation, suck it up and remember that this is a small field. You will meet that person again. Or give yourself a deadline: If the internship is too challenging, person-to-person, after another month or so, and you feel that you aren’t learning as much as you’d like, you could look around for another opportunity. My only other comment is that I have learned a great deal from people whose personalities I don’t enjoy. Indeed, those were some of my most valuable lessons.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: If it is causing a problem (for example, the intern feels that the supervisor won’t provide them with a positive recommendation for grad school), then it may be time to move on.
If an intern has to have an additional paying job to support herself, would you be willing to offer an unpaid internship for only a few hours a week?
Tom Edmondson: Here at Heugh-Edmondson Conservation Services we prefer a minimum of a single 8 hr. day, but we have worked out up to 3-4 hr. days because the intern was coming from KC Art Institute. Usually it has been an 8 hr. day. How it gets worked out is very subjective, and we deal with it on an individual basis. So, short answer is yes.
Emily Williams: Because many of our internships are unpaid we frequently work with the interns to figure out a schedule that works for them. Generally I ask interns to try to schedule time in the lab in at least 4 hour blocks (because less time than this makes it hard to teach a skill and actually start to execute it). I also prefer that the intern generally come on the same day (i.e. Mondays) rather than whenever they can because it makes it easier for me to plan activities.
Ayesha Fuentes: I’m not an employer or mentor but I worked full-time as a pre-program intern and was lucky enough to find a few positions that worked with my schedule. Sometimes it seemed best to just call or email my (private practice) mentors periodically and check if they had projects that needed extra hands. It means the hours are irregular but can also work well for both the intern and the mentor. And once they know you are reliable, patient, and flexible, they might start calling you when they have extra work or recommend you to other colleagues.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: In my personal experience, I had several internships that were only a few hours/week; especially when I was just starting out.
Do you think it’s advantageous to stay with one internship for a lengthy period or vary your experience in different internships?
Tom Edmondson: In my opinion this depends entirely on the individual. One who knows from the get-go that she/he wants and is totally committed to a particular specialty should have at least the majority of experience in that area. But I don’t encourage people to pre-commit because experience can lead to a change of direction. Get as many experiences as is reasonably possible. The important thing is to learn as much as possible. But, variety helps, and having a mix of private and institutional experiences will be helpful.
Emily Williams: I think that there are advantages to both approaches. Pre-program internships are your opportunity to experiment and try new things. Just because you think that paper conservation is where your interest lies doesn’t mean that you won’t find tips in another lab or discover a passion for architectural materials you never thought you possessed. Getting a diversity of preprogram experiences helps you to see the big picture in conservation, to see the ways that different supervisors approach similar problems and to appreciate different aspects of the field. On the other hand, interning in one area for a longer time is likely to offer other valuable experiences. As supervisors get to know an intern and develop comfort with their skill level, it is likely that the intern will be exposed to more complex treatments or given greater responsibility within the lab. This cannot only look impressive on an application but it can also be a valuable test for the intern. If they find that they feel stressed by the level at which they are asked to work they may want to reconsider a career in the field or look at other areas of conservation. Above all (to me, at least) pre-program internships are about self-discovery—do you want to work in this field? Do you like the work? What aspect appeals to you most?
Ayesha Fuentes: I’ve seen and heard of both. It’s an advantage to stay with one place for a while because you gain trust and start to develop a consistent working method, which is great. On the other hand, you gain a lot from working in different environments, around different types of people and that kind of flexibility can be really useful to both you and future colleagues/employers.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: I think it’s important to have more than one pre-program internship, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily a “requirement”.
Any tips on effectively and concisely articulating internship experiences for CVs, application materials, etc.?
Tom Edmondson: Don’t exaggerate. Good grammar (which may be lost on many, sometimes even on me). Good organization. Mostly, though, clear and accurate.
Ayesha Fuentes: All I can say to this is that I never want to read a sloppy CV. Keep it tidy and literate.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: Good organization. Follow the standard conventions.
How do supervisors generally divide time between direct supervision and giving students projects to complete on their own? What do the students prefer?
Tom Edmondson: We start with the matting project, once it has been introduced and explained the intern should be able to proceed on her/his own with occasional questions and need of guidance using the mat cutter. We then move on to dry surface cleaning techniques as a preliminary treatment procedure. We encourage the development of self-confidence but not the right to decision making until much later in the internship. It evolves naturally here.
Emily Williams: The amount of direct supervision I give a student depends in part on the project. Some projects require very close collaboration and significant oversight. Others may build on skills that the intern already has. I have to acknowledge that my schedule (as the sole conservator in the lab) also plays a role in the amount of supervision an intern gets in a week. If it is a particularly busy/meeting heavy week for me I will try to check in in the morning and early afternoon and see if there are any issues that need resolving but may need to defer extended hands on supervision to the next week. Each intern has a tray of small objects (simple copper alloy buttons, robust iron objects) in the lab that they can always return to if they reach a stopping point on a more complex object or run out of other things to do. These objects are beneficial in several ways but primarily as reminders of skills that the interns have mastered so that if they are feeling frustrated with more complicated objects they can take a (small) step back and rebuild their confidence.
Ayesha Fuentes: I think that’s up to the student. In my cohort, there were those of us who wanted each step to be a conversation with an instructor and there were those of us who really preferred to be left alone to experiment. A student should always ask if they have a concern, even if it seems stupid, obvious, or they already told you and you forgot. Make sure you’re clear on the instructions beforehand, whatever that takes for you.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: I preferred having a supervisor who walked me through a task that I was going to perform, and then was on hand for me to ask questions as they arose. I’ve never liked having a supervisor stand over my shoulder, but I certainly got used to it in grad school.
If an intern feels overwhelmed, how can the intern convey that sentiment without sounding as if they no longer want additional opportunities?
Tom Edmondson: The sense of being overwhelmed with what is involved with the conservation of historic and artistic works will probably never go away. It is a huge responsibility, and the best way to address it is to just say so and ask for advice. A good supervisor will be sympathetic and will provide guidance. If not, voluntarily move on to a new situation.
Emily Williams: The best approach is to talk candidly with your supervisor about what you are feeling. To be honest, if an intern is feeling overwhelmed, it is usually apparent to the supervisor, before a conversation is initiated by either side. The supervisor may not have brought it up because they were waiting for the intern to articulate what they are feeling and why or they may have been trying to give the intern some time or space to re-center.
Before initiating a conversation, try to think about what is making you feel off-balance and what if any solutions you can picture. Is this a short-term issue that might be resolved in the near term (for example when a difficult class is completed)? Is it a problem that is external to the lab (such as, health issues, scheduling issues) or internal to it (for example, is the project pace too frenetic; do you feel that you haven’t learned enough to do what is expected to you)? Diagnosing the issue and offering solutions shows that you want to be an active partner in resolving the issue and getting to a point where you can accept additional challenges and opportunities.
Having initiated a conversation, listen carefully. Your supervisor may have additional suggestions or solutions. Agree on steps you might take and if possible a timetable.
Finally, make sure you implement the solutions. Check back in with your supervisor periodically (say in 2 to 4 weeks depending on how frequently you are in the lab) to let them know whether the solutions are helping and whether you are still feeling overwhelmed or the issue has been resolved.
Ayesha Fuentes: Tell them you need more time on whatever you’re working on that’s overwhelming you before moving on to the next thing. Tell them you want to make sure you’re doing a good, thorough job and absorbing everything since you’re there to learn.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: Honesty is the best policy. I don’t think that a good mentor would judge an intern too harshly for these types of feelings. I would speak up in regard to the workload – when you want more or less, etc.
What can a pre-program intern do to develop their skills in terms of discussing a treatment both verbally and in writing while creating their portfolio? What sort of research and resources are available to expand my knowledge?
Tom Edmondson: In my opinion this is one of the primary responsibilities of the supervisor. A good supervisor will introduce you to a basic examination and development of a treatment protocol, and then let you do another similar one on your own, with a critique. And as time allows, an exposure to gradually more complicated projects. We allow our interns access to our database, which is FileMaker, so that they become familiar with how we do our examinations/condition reports/treatment proposals. We request that they follow our models, but we allow them to write in their own style. When appropriate we encourage online searches, where a great deal of information is now available. We also engage in a lot of open dialogue with our interns, with a lot of exchange and feedback in both directions encouraged.
Emily Williams: Talk to people about treatments. Listen to what they say about their treatments and how they word things. Attend local conservation guild meetings. Show samples of your writing to your supervisor and to other conservators you trust and listen to their suggestions. If you receive conflicting advice, ask both parties to explain why they made the suggestions they did (some conflicting advice may be inherent in the way that different specialties or programs approach documentation).
Ayesha Fuentes: Practice and watch other people do it. This is a large part of grad school, at least in my program. Reading articles on treatments helps a great deal as well, for vocabulary and presentation of info. However, I remember looking at the cover of the JAIC in despair before grad school because I couldn’t understand anything they were talking about. It’s just a matter of time and exposure and you should never feel embarrassed to ask what something is or means or does.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: I would ask your mentors to see examples of their reports.
How many pre-program internships should one plan to have before applying to graduate school?
Tom Edmondson: As many as it takes. Sometimes one long one is all that it takes, other times 2, 3, 4. I think it all depends on where and/or with whom you have interned. I recommend at least one year of “full-time”, i.e. 4 days a week, on top of any required preliminary time. We usually have an intern for a semester or two working 1-2 days a week, and then when they graduate we try to hire them as a pre-program technician, when we expand the training, and give them time to take the sciences that are required. The competition for admission into the programs is increasingly intense and the bar keeps getting raised. Study the programs and how each is designed, determine which is best suited to you, and plan your pre-program experiences accordingly. Get advice from the programs, normally they are helpful.
Emily Williams: I think it really depends on the intern and the other experiences that they bring to the application process, and the ways they can relate those experiences to conservation.
Ayesha Fuentes: I think it depends entirely on the applicant and experience. In my cohort there were some who only did one, full-time for a period and others who worked a number of different, shorter gigs.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: As many as it takes to get the required internships hours and then some.
What documentation of internship experience is required when applying to graduate programs? What kinds of experience count towards an internship? For example, could preparing posters for conferences, independent research, etc. be considered?
Tom Edmondson: Your application essay should stress your pre-program experience(s) as that is the foundation of your argument that you should be selected. A letter of support/recommendation from your pre-program supervisors is appropriate and necessary, unless your experience with one of your supervisors was less than successful. Your experiences should reflect your interests, including working with appropriate private conservators, working in institutional settings, etc. And yes, preparing posters for conferences and independent research should be included in your supporting information. Just be sure that it is all pertinent and an accurate reflection of what you have done.
Ayesha Fuentes: I think it should all be considered as valuable but, of course, you have to be able to articulate clearly and concisely why or how that experience has prepared you for grad school and a future career as a conservator. What skills did you gain? What have you learned about the field or yourself from those experiences? Learning to document your work is a large part of training and pre-program work. Ask your supervisors, if you feel comfortable, to take a look at your portfolio or help to start one.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon: Take as many photographs as possible. Always keep a log of your hours and possibly a journal of what you did when you went to your internship. It’s my understanding that the types of activities that count toward your internship hours are those that were directly supervised by a practicing conservator. The types of activities that count toward your internship experience could include may things like conference and independent research, but I would NOT count those toward your internship hours.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a question, and to the speakers for their thoughtful responses! We encourage you to continue the conversation below by submitting a comment.

Financial resources for pre-program conservation interns

Internships are an important part of preparing for graduate training in conservation. They are often volunteer positions and finding ways to manage the financial demands of working without monetary compensation can be a challenge. This is most often the case for pre-program interns but certainly graduate interns and even recent graduates can face similar issues.
Here are a few tips and resources for developing a strategy to address these concerns:
Funding:
Of course the best way to make an internship financially viable is to be paid for your work. There are two strategies in applying for funding to cover the expense of your internship: You can apply on your own behalf, as an individual, or you can encourage an institution — such as a museum or historic site — with which you’d like to work to apply for funds to host a paid intern.
For individual grants, a good place to start can be with your undergraduate alma mater, even if you are no longer a current student. Most colleges and universities will provide information on available scholarships or grants that might be used towards funding internships as well as information on potential internship opportunities. And don’t forget to represent yourself: There are funding opportunities available specifically for women, minorities, new Americans, non-traditional students, and veterans and their families. The recently established Denese L. Easterly Conservation Training Pre-program Grant at Indigo Arts Alliance is open to individual applicants for funding for internships as well as other pre-program expenses such as additional required courses, supplies, and more.
For institutional grants, look for funding opportunities at the federal, state, regional, or county level with arts commissions or historic preservation offices. For example, the LA County Arts Commission offers funding for a 10-week internship at a ‘non-profit arts organization’. Check AIC’s ‘Grants and Scholarships’ page, especially the section on ‘Outside Funding Sources’, as some of those listed are national grants open to institutions and provide money that can be used to host an intern.
Finally, if you’re applying for a grant or scholarship, don’t forget to check out AIC’s ‘Five tips for a successful scholarship application’, also available through their ‘Grants and Scholarships’ page. Grant-writing can be an essential part of work in the non-profit world and developing this skill is always useful.
Necessities and considerations:
There are several other aspects to developing a successful strategy for supporting yourself during an internship, paid or volunteer.
Health care:
Health care is essential and finding it affordably priced can be tricky. With the new health care law, people may stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26, which is an advantage since family plans tend to be less expensive than those for individuals. It is possible to shop online for insurance options via sites like the federally-supported www.healthcare.gov and many states are setting up similar online marketplaces. The amount you pay will depend heavily on the type of coverage you need or want. For example, if you are generally healthy, month-to-month insurance might be a cheaper option though your co-pay and deductible will be higher. Also, if you are interning with an organization that offers health benefits to its employees, you might ask about the cost of purchasing their plan, though it is less likely to be available for volunteers.
Taxes:
There are potential tax benefits to being a volunteer intern and it’s important to make the most of these, especially if money is tight. Certain volunteer expenses can be deducted on your annual tax return if you are interning for a recognized non-profit or 501(c) organization. Also, don’t forget to make the most of education credits if you are a current student or if you are paying interest on student loans. Lastly, if you need free or low-cost tax help, the IRS provides several options.
Other types of financial support:
If you are below a certain annual income, you may qualify for food assistance, though eligibility varies from state to state. Likewise, some public transportation authorities offer subsidized fare passes for volunteers, low-income members of the community, and/or in partnership with certain businesses and organizations.
Experiences:
Based on anecdotal evidence, there is a variety of strategies and resources developed to manage a volunteer, part-time, or low-pay internship. Here are a few from the experience of others:

Work full or part-time in a paid position simultaneous to a part-time volunteer or low-pay internship. Look for paid positions with a flexible schedule or odd hours (e.g. mornings, swing shift). When seeking opportunities, consider those beyond working in a conservation lab which might contribute to your pre-program experience, for example in a frame shop, a library, as a set builder, or painting houses. Many of these jobs give you an opportunity to develop hand skills or technical knowledge related to conservation (e.g. the use of solvents, hand tools, or collections management systems). Remember that every job is an opportunity to develop important people and communication skills.

Supportive friends and family might be looking for ways to help. One suggestion is to request professional memberships, community college tuition, bus passes, or supplies as gifts for your birthday, graduation or at holidays.

If possible, especially while gaining pre-program experience, live at home and work locally. If you live in a big city, it may be easier to find experience in a major museum but if you’re outside a city, try looking at local historical societies and libraries where you might volunteer. These opportunities will put you in good standing to apply to other, more specialized or even paid internships.

No doubt there are many ways to manage the financial challenge of working as a volunteer intern that haven’t been addressed or represented here. We invite you to briefly share your suggestions or experiences on how you found, cultivated, or created resources during any of your pre-program conservation internships.

How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Program Internship: About the Speakers

ECPN is getting excited for our upcoming webinar, “How to make the most of your pre-program internship,” featuring Emily Williams, Tom Edmondson, LeeAnn Barnes Gordon, and Ayesha Fuentes. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, September 24^th from 12-1pm ET. To register for the program, please visit: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/766549178.
Get to know our speakers by reading their bios below and send in any questions about pre-program internships that you’d like them to discuss by commenting on this post or emailing Anisha Gupta at agupta[at]udel[dot]edu.
Emily Williams has an M.A. (1994) in the Conservation of Historic Objects (Archaeology) from the University of Durham in England. During graduate school she did placements at the Museum of London, the British Museum and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Bodrum, Turkey. Since 1995, she has worked at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where she is the current Conservator of Archaeological Materials. While at Colonial Williamsburg she spent five months working at the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Australia. She has worked on excavations in Tunisia and Belgium; served as the site conservator at Tell Banat in Syria, Tell Umm el Marra in Syria, and Kurd Qaburstan in Iraqi Kurdistan; and taught courses on the conservation of waterlogged organics in Egypt.
Emily teaches HISP 208: Introduction to Conservation at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She has been a Professional Associate of AIC since 2000, and is presently serving as the chair of the Education and Training Committee (ETC).
Tom Edmondson was apprentice-trained in paper conservation theory and techniques at the New England Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), North Andover, MA (now the NEDCC, Andover, MA). Following his training Tom operated a private practice paper conservation studio in Torrington, Connecticut, from April 1978 until August 1987. In 1987 he closed his studio and took the position of Senior Paper Conservator at the Conservation Center, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. Shortly after his arrival he was assigned the position of Chief Conservator of the Conservation Center, from which he resigned in September 1988, when he and Nancy Heugh, relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, to establish their current private practice of Heugh-Edmondson Conservation Services, LLC. Tom has been a member of AIC since 1977, and was elected a Fellow in 1998. He served as Co-Chair of the PMG Commentaries Committee and served two 2-year terms as Chair of the AIC-Photographic Materials Group. Tom also served 7 years on the AIC Membership Committee, the last three of which he was Chair. Always advocates of mentoring aspiring conservators, Tom and his partner Nancy Heugh are the 2011 recipients of AIC’s prestigious Sheldon and Caroline Keck Award in recognition of their sustained record of excellence in the education and training of conservation professionals.
LeeAnn Barnes Gordon earned her M.S. in Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation where she trained as an objects conservator. For the past two years she worked for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as the Sherman Fairchild Fellow in Objects Conservation and was the Conservator for the Athienou Archaeological Project in Cyprus. Prior to graduate school, LeeAnn completed internships in conservation at the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Midwest Art Conservation Center, with a conservator in private practice in Minneapolis, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Athienou Archaeological Project.
Ayesha Fuentes is a current 3rd year student at the UCLA/Getty MA Program in Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials. She has worked pre-program internships with private practice paintings conservators in Seattle and Ipswich, MA as well as the Objects Conservation Lab at the MFA, Boston. She is currently completing part of her third-year internship at the Department of Culture, Thimphu, Bhutan. As a conservation graduate student, she also has worked at museum and governmental labs in Los Angeles, China, and Sri Lanka.

How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Program Internship: Online Resources from ECPN

Landing a conservation internship or fellowship is tough at any stage of an emerging conservator’s career, but securing a position is only the beginning! Remember, internships are a two-way street and, whether or not your position is paid or unpaid, there are certain steps you can take to make meaningful contributions and enrich your experience (and portfolio!).
To complement ECPN’s upcoming webinar How to Make the Most of Your Pre-program Internship scheduled for Tuesday, September 24 at 12:00PM ET), we’ve collected a number of online resources that we hope interns and internship supervisors alike will find helpful.
If you would like to register for the webinar, please visit: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/766549178
For Interns: Express enthusiasm and gratitude. Network within your institution. Always be professional and behave like an employee. These are just a few words of advice for making the most of your internship that you will find among the resources compiled below.
Checklist for Interns: Getting the Most out of Your Internship, Virginia Association of Museums
Making the Most of Your Internship(s), Quintessential Careers
Key Advice for Young Creatives from Four Nonprofit Professionals, NYCreative Interns
Internship Dos and Don’ts for College Students, Quintessential Careers
10 Tips to Get the Most out of Your Internship, U.S. News
For Supervisors: Thinking of taking on a pre-program intern but not quite sure? Interested in freshening your approach to mentoring emerging conservation professionals? Take a look at these resources and learn a few ways to maintain a mutually rewarding internship program!
Non-profit Interns, National Council for Non-profits
How to Manage Interns, Inc.com
Co-operative Education: 6 Steps to Hire an Intern, University of Arkansas

Finding an Internship: Still searching for a pre-program internship? Don’t forget to regularly review the following sites for paid and unpaid internship opportunities!
Jobs, Internships, and Fellowship Listings, AIC’s Blog Conservator’s Converse
eNews, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Conservation of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
Job and Fellowship Listings, International Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC)
Internship and Job listings, Art Conservation Department, University of Delaware
Career and Job HQ, American Alliance for Museums (AAM)
Listings, Indigo Arts Alliance
Funding for Pre-program Interns: Art supplies are expensive, chemistry courses are not free, and an intern has to eat! Despite the invaluable experience you will receive through your pre-program internships, we all know how difficult it can be if your position is unpaid. Recognizing this challenge faced by many emerging conservators, the Indigo Arts Alliance has established a grant in honor of Denese L. Easerly to support pre-program students and interns as they complete the numerous pre-requisites required for admission to a graduate-level training program. If you are interested in applying for a pre-program training grant or making a contribution to the support the award of such grants, please follow the link below.
The Denese L. Easterly Conservation Training Pre-program Grant, Indigo Arts Alliance

ECPN Webinar on September 24: “How to make the most of pre-program internships”

The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is pleased to announce that our third webinar – “How to make the most of your pre-program internship” – will take place on Tuesday, September 24^th from 12:00-1:00 EDT.
The program will feature two speakers with experience supervising pre-program interns, Emily Williams, Conservator of Archaeological Materials, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and Thomas Edmondson, Paper & Photograph Conservator, Private Practice; and two speakers with more recent experience as pre-program interns, LeeAnn Gordon, Sherman Fairchild Fellow in Objects Conservation, and Ayesha Fuentes, Conservation Intern, Division for Cultural Properties, Department of Culture, Thimphu, Bhutan.
The webinar will include a moderated discussion and Q&A session, where we will learn about navigating pre-program internships and tips on how to maximize your experience.
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions before and after the webinar here on the AIC blog. Please submit your questions as comments to this post, or email them to Anisha Gupta at agupta[at]udel[dot]edu. Questions will be accepted until the morning of the forum. During the webinar, your questions will be posed anonymously. All unanswered questions will be followed up on after the program in an AIC blog post.
Attendance is free and open to all AIC members. Registration is required and will be open until the forum starts. To register for the webinar, please visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/766549178.
ECPN’s first webinar was held in July 2012 and featured Debra Hess Norris in a presentation and discussion on self-advocacy and fundraising for independent research. With over 90 registered participants from 6 different countries, the webinar was a great success. ECPN’s second webinar, in November 2012, featured three speakers in private practice: Rosa Lowinger, Julia Brennan, and Paul Messier. The webinar included a discussion of their experiences establishing their businesses and their evolution, how they have learned to balance various initiatives and projects, and their advice for those considering going into private practice.
“Self-advocacy and fundraising for independent research” with Debra Hess Norris, July 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDWgqY8umqQ
Follow-up Q&A to “Considering your future career path: working in private practice” with Rosa Lowinger, Julia Brennan, and Paul Messier, November 2012

For more information, please visit www.conservation-us.org/ecpnforum.

News from the Foundation of AIC

What IS FAIC Exactly?

You may have read about FAIC grants and scholarships that have been awarded, upcoming professional development offerings, publications, and other initiatives, but you may still have questions about what exactly FAIC does and what makes it different from AIC. We want to share with you the ways FAIC is working to advance the field of conservation, both nationally and abroad.
Here, we’re highlighting a Heather Brown, a recipient of the George Stout scholarship award, one of the many ways our donors support emerging conservators. We have so much to share, and you can learn more at www.conservation-us.org/foundation.
We hope that you enjoy our updates and welcome feedback from you!
The Foundation Team
(Eryl, Eric, and Abigail)

Meet Heather Brown, Graduate Fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, and George Stout Memorial Scholarship Award Recipient!

Heather attended the AIC-PMG/ICOM-CC-PMWG Photographs Conservation Joint Meeting
in Wellington, New Zealand, where she presented a paper titled
“Extending Our Reach: Effective Methods for Engaging Allied and Public Audiences with Photograph Preservation.”

How did you first get involved in conservation? What made you decide to pursue this career path?
As I was finishing up my undergraduate degree in art history, I became interested in the educational mission of museums, so I applied to a one-year MA course on the History and Theory of the Art Museum at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. When I was accepted into the program, I knew that the Courtauld had an excellent reputation as a leading institute for art history and painting conservation; however, outside of a few mentions of the conservator as scientist during my undergraduate lectures, I did not truly know what conservation was. That was until the end of my first term, during a three-week concentration on the history of conservation. My class took a field trip to visit the labs at Tate Britain, and I was immediately fascinated. What I learned that day was that conservation is not just a science, but the three-legged stool of science, material culture, and fine art—all things that I am passionate about. I followed my instinct that told me a career in conservation was the perfect fit and, six years later, here I am in a graduate program.
How did this conference benefit you as an emerging professional?
Attending the AIC-PMG/ICOM-CC-PMWG Photographs Conservation Joint Meeting was an incredible opportunity for my professional development. With over 150 delegates from 18 countries, the greatest benefit of the meeting was the chance to connect with so many conservators in my specialty. I was able to meet many individuals that I have admired, and network with professionals from all over the world. I enjoyed spending time with fellow conservation students and previous employers, but also took advantage of the experience to make new friends with people that will likely be colleagues throughout my career.
Not surprisingly, many of the meeting attendees also presented in some way. I think this demonstrates that conservation is field eager to collaborate and share our knowledge with other members of the community. The talks were very well researched and presented, as were the posters, and ranged from traditional to contemporary media, and from scientific analysis to treatment and theory. I believe I learned the most from the workshops on Emergency Management and Contemporary Photography because they related directly to my interests and what I have been studying in my work at UD, but what made the Wellington meeting unique was the infusion of Maori culture into each event. Through their blessings, narratives, and handling of objects, it was clear how much the locals respect their heritage. My favorite Maori proverb from the closing of the meeting highlighted the conservator’s role as teacher: “With your full basket and my full basket, together we feed the people.”
Leaving New Zealand at the end of the meeting, I felt motivated to continue with my own research, and inspired to think creatively about my in-progress treatment projects. I hope to participate in many more meetings in the future, and I know that I will look back and appreciate having had the opportunity to make it to Wellington in 2013.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about donating to the George Stout Memorial Fund?
Whether you are an emerging conservator or a Fellow of AIC, attending meetings is an important aspect of professional development. Unfortunately it is not always possible for students to afford the expense as many have significant student loan and other debt incurred during years of preparation for graduate study. The George Stout Memorial Fund allows recent graduates and students, like myself, to take advantage of valuable educational opportunities that will shape our approach to conservation in the future. Your financial support really does make a difference. If you are thinking about donating to the Stout Fund, please consider how your own positive experiences as a student have affected your career. I encourage you to help!

You can help to support young conservators like Heather by donating to the FAIC George Stout Memorial Fund!

Thank you ECPN "Mentors"!

When you think of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), you likely think of the officers and the majority of members who are pre-program students, graduate students, and recent graduates. The many seasoned professionals who are involved in ECPN are probably less likely to come to mind. ECPN would like to take a moment to share how our “mentors” are engaged in ECPN and thank them for their thoughtfulness, generosity, and time, which have greatly contributed to our success.
Two AIC Staff Liaisons and an AIC Board Liaison serve on the ECPN committee and are actively involved in its daily activities. Ruth Seyler, Ryan Winfield, and Stephanie Lussier respectively currently hold these positions. From providing guidance on daily activities to helping us plan our events at the AIC annual meeting, ECPN literally could not function without them!
AIC-ECPN’s Mentoring Program matches seasoned conservators (AIC Fellows or Professionals Associates) with emerging conservators (AIC Students, Interim Year Members or Associates) to engage in mentorships that focus on topics such as, providing pre-program experience guidance to post-graduate career guidance. In 2012-2013, twenty-four mentors volunteered countless hours of their time to strengthening the emerging conservator community.
ECPN is always taking on new projects. For many of those projects, we ask seasoned conservators to share their expertise and experience with us. From 2012-2013, the following seasoned conservators assisted us with a variety of initiatives: Rachel Perkins Arenstein – AIC 2013 poster, “The Art Con<server>: How conservation professionals make use of online resources”; Julia Brennan, Rosa Lowinger, and Paul Messier – November 2012 webinar, “Considering your future career path: working in private practice”; Suzanne Davis and Kathleen Kiefer – AIC 2013 Portfolio Session; Debbie Hess Norris – July 2012 webinar, “Self-advocacy and Fundraising for Independent Research,” and fundraising support; Nancie Ravenel – AIC 2013 poster and AIC Lexicon Project; Rebecca Rushfield – student research resource; Liz Schulte – public relations toolkit; Sarah Stauderman – ECPN resources; Emily Williams and the Education and Training Committee – mentoring program. And, we are thrilled that many of these seasoned conservators will be continuing to work with us!
As we enter our sixth year as a network and reflect upon the many projects and programs we have been able to develop, we are aware of just how many have helped us. Thank you ECPN “Mentors.” We are profoundly grateful!
– Eliza Spaulding, ECPN Chair

Meet the new ECPN officers

The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is very excited to welcome our new officers as of the 41st AIC Annual Meeting. Following is a brief introduction to each new officer.
Eliza Spaulding – Chair
Eliza Spaulding is the current Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2010, she graduated from the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University with an Advanced Certificate in Conservation and a Master’s Degree in Art History. From 2011-2013, she served as the ECPN Vice Chair, and is thrilled to be serving as the Chair this year. She is passionate about advocacy for conservation and the arts.
Megan Salazar-Walsh – Vice Chair
Megan Salazar-Walsh is a third year student specializing in paintings at the Buffalo State College graduate program in Art Conservation. She will be dividing her third-year internship between the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, in The Hague. Megan served as ECPN’s Co-Outreach Officer from 2011-2013 and as the new Vice Chair she is looking forward to working with both emerging and established conservation professionals to create more resources for career development.
Saira Haqqi – Outreach
Saira Haqqi is a second-year student in the New York University graduate program in Art History and Conservation, where she is an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Library and Archives Conservation. She received her pre-program training at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., and Quarto Conservation of Books and Paper, Maryland. Having served as a student liaison for ECPN over the past year, Saira is excited to begin serving as Co-Outreach Officer.
Carrie McNeal – Outreach
Carrie McNeal will complete her Masters in Conservation of Library and Archival Materials from the Winterhtur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in August 2013. She is currently completing her third year internship at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. After graduation, Carrie will return to her hometown of St. Louis, MO, to serve the area as a private conservator. Carrie is excited to serve as ECPN Co-Outreach Officer.
Michelle Sullivan – Professional Education and Training
Michelle Sullivan is a second-year fellow at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) specializing in the conservation of works on paper. She has completed internships with the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Lunder Conservation Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Prior to her current position as ECPN Professional Education and Training Co-officer, she served as Regional Liaison to Southern California and Graduate Program Liaison to WUDPAC. Michelle is enthusiastic about conservation outreach and working collaboratively with allied fields.
Ayesha Fuentes – Professional Education and Training
Ayesha Fuentes is finishing her second year at the UCLA/Getty MA Program in the Conservation of Archeaological and Ethnographic Materials. Next year she will be working at internships in Bhutan and Cambodia. Ayesha has a BA from Williams College and an MA from Tufts University. Her research interests include the management of cultural heritage in disaster-relief and post-conflict situations, and the conservation of ritual objects from Buddhist and other South Asian traditions. Last year, Ayesha co-founded the Graduate Symposium for Students of Conservation and Preservation (GSSCP) and, in collaboration with Indigo Arts Alliance, established the Denese L. Easterly Conservation Training Pre-Program Grant.
Kendall Trotter – Communications
Kendall Trotter is pre-program with a BA in Art History from Tufts University and a BFA in studio arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She has completed pre-program training at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA and is currently a pre-program intern at the Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, OH. Kendall is preparing to apply to graduate programs for Fall 2014. She is excited to serve as Co-Communications officer this year.
Fran Ritchie – Communications
Fran Ritchie completes her MA and CAS degree in Art Conservation from Buffalo State College in the fall of 2013. She has been a Third Year Intern at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, and after graduation will be relocating to Washington, D.C. to be an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian. In addition to her focus on Native American objects (especially organic materials), Fran also has a strong interest in natural science and is on the Conservation Committee of the Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC).
Anisha Gupta – Webinars
Anisha Gupta starts her first year at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in the fall of 2013. She has completed her pre-program training at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, University of Illinois Library Conservation Unit, and Indianapolis Museum of Art. She served as ECPN Co-Outreach Officer from 2011-2013. Anisha is passionate about conservation outreach and plans to draw on that enthusiasm as the ECPN Webinar Coordinator.
This post is just a brief introduction to who we are, but you can also follow ECPN’s ongoing projects right here on the AIC blog and on our Facebook page.

41st Annual Meeting- Closing Session, June 1, "The Great Debate: Topic #2 (Volunteers)"

The energy, audience participation, humor, and yes, snarkiness, at the second annual Great Debate at this year’s AIC Annual Meeting proved that this is an event that should definitely become a regular installment on the Annual Meeting schedule. After a rousing debate over Topic #1 (whether we should exhibit unstable objects as an act of preservation), the teams for Topic #2 took the stage to debate the statement:

“While volunteers used on preservation projects often allow us to accomplish more work, they undermine our capacity to regularly employ conservation and collections care professionals.”

Arguing for the affirmative were Dawn Wallus, Rose Cull, and Kelly Keegan. Their opponents for the negative position were Beverly Perkins, Will Hoffman, and Michele Marincola. Moderator Richard McCoy (who wore a very dapper bow tie in honor of the “modified Oxford style” of the debate) made it clear that the event was a purely intellectual exercise, and that the opinions expressed by the participants did not necessarily reflect their own or their institutions’ views. It was clear by the energy in the room, however, that this topic represents a significant concern for many in our profession.

First up for the negative team was Will Hoffman, who began his argument by pointing out that the statement in question requires clarification before it can be considered. Hoffman explained that, though many institutions do use the kinds of volunteers that most of us were probably thinking about, such as pre-program interns and good samaritans who help with large tasks such as rehousing projects,we should all expand our idea of the “volunteer.” The speaker then cited examples of experts in other fields who have volunteered their time and skills to help conservators with the things that we cannot do for ourselves, such as a hospital performing a CAT scan on a mummy. The opening statement also touched on the commonly held belief that many institutions simply would not be able to function without volunteers, and suggested that volunteer programs sometimes lead to employment for either the volunteers or for new staff members by demonstrating the need for personnel.

Next, Dawn Wallus stepped up to the podium to set up the argument for the affirmative team. She began by declaring that even though she could hear a “puppy dying” somewhere in the distance, she and her team were still prepared to make a case against the use of volunteers in institutions. Wallus commented that while there are many good volunteers, there are also those who, despite the best of intentions, end up undermining the professional nature of our work (cue Wallus’s teammates holding up masks bearing the image of the unfortunate Ecce Homo fresco that was botched by a volunteer conservator in Spain last fall). The speaker also noted emphatically that there are laws in place that stipulate that non profit organizations cannot use volunteers to further their own agenda, and that any volunteer interns must be present for their own educational benefit only, and not to provide work for the institution.
Next to the podium was Beverly Perkins for the negative team. She reiterated her team’s position that the presence of volunteers can lead to the creation of new staff positions- she even provided an example from her own institution. Kelly Keegan’s rebuttal for the affirmative team made use of the old adage, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” Teammate Rose Cull followed up on her remarks by restating the argument about the legality of volunteer labor, adding that our use of volunteer pre-program interns creates a socio economic barrier to entry into our field.
When the time came for audience questions, it was clear that the audience had much to say about this topic. Several people wanted to know whether the affirmative team would outlaw volunteers, or, more simply, how they would address the problem. Among a variety of answers, Rose Cull’s response stood out when she stated that all we have to do is to simply follow the guidelines in our own Code of Ethics. Beverly Perkins delivered a rebuttal in the form of a poll, in which the majority of the room declared that they do indeed follow these guidelines, as their volunteer programs exist for the purpose of training people and not in order to get work done. Other audience questions addressed issues of unskilled vs. skilled volunteers (which instigated one of many subsequent reappearances of the Ecce Homo masks), how to get into formal training programs without volunteering, whether data exists on the actual effect of volunteer programs on employment, and other issues. There was so much interest in the topic that the moderator eventually had to cut off the questions in order to allow time for closing arguments.
After both teams had reiterated their points in closing arguments, the room was polled to determine the winner. Both teams appear to have been equally persuasive, and the debate ended in a tie. The end of the formal debate signaled the end of the conference, but it was clear from the conversations heard in the halls on the way out that it will not be the end of this very important discussion. Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments, but please remember to uphold the good-spirited nature of the Great Debate!

41st Annual Meeting – ECPN Happy Hour sponsored by Tru Vue, May 29

This year, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network’s (ECPN) Happy Hour was sponsored by Tru Vue, who generously provided food and drink tickets. It was a great success, with at least 100 attendees. Since the Happy Hour was on Wednesday, it was a great opportunity to mingle and relax before launching into the busy conference. It also directly followed ECPN’s Portfolio Seminar, which provided a nice segue and allowed participants to continue their conversation over food and drinks. We hope you’ll join us at next year’s Happy Hour in San Francisco!