ECPN – Page 4 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

Welcome 2015-2016 ECPN Officers!

We are pleased to announce the new officers for the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network for the 2015-2016 term. The new and returning officers are very grateful to all the outgoing officers who have worked so hard in their 2014-2015 term: Heather Brown, Laura Neufeld, Ayesha Fuentes, Amy Hughes, and especially our out-going chair, Megan Salazar-Walsh. We wish you the best and hope to see you involved with future AIC and ECPN activities!
Meet the 2015-2016 ECPN Officers:
Fran Ritchie, Chair
Fran graduated with a BA in Art Conservation and Anthropology from the University of Delaware (2006), an MA in Museum Anthropology from Columbia University (2009), and an MA and CAS from the Buffalo State College Program in Art Conservation (2013) with a specialization in objects. She completed pre-program jobs and internships at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, Patronato Panama Viejo in Panama City, Panama, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Her Third Year Graduate Internship at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University and subsequent Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at the National Museum of the American Indian solidified an interest in organic materials. Fran is currently a Project Conservator at the American Museum of Natural History working on a grant-funded project researching dyes used in recoloring faded taxidermy. After serving as Communications Co-Officer (2013-2014) and Professional Education & Training Co-Officer (2014-2015), she is now ECPN Chair (2015-2016).
Michelle Sullivan, Vice Chair
Michelle graduated with a BA in Art History and Studio Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara (2005). In August, she will earn an MS and CAS from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (2015), specializing in works on paper with a minor concentration photographic materials. Michelle has completed internships at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. She will return to the Getty in September as a post-graduate fellow in the Department of Old Master drawings. Previously, Michelle has served as ECPN Regional Liaison to Southern California (2011-12), Graduate Program Liaison to the University of Delaware (2012-14), and Professional Education and Training Co-officer (2013-15).
Jessica Walthew, Professional Education and Training, Co-officer
Jessica holds a BA in Art History and Biology from Williams College (2009), with an MA in the History of Art and Archaeology with an Advanced Certificate in Conservation from The Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (2015). She has worked in the conservation departments of the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Penn Museum. Her research interests include theory and practice in archaeological and ethnographic conservation, best practices in documentation, and technical research in art history and archaeology. In fall 2015 she will begin an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at The Metropolitan Museum of Art researching the intersection of textiles and objects conservation practices in the Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas.
Elyse Driscoll, Professional Education and Training Co-officer
Elyse is Assistant Paper Conservator at the Brooklyn Museum. She holds a BFA in Drawing from Pratt Institute and an MA and CAS in Art Conservation with a specialization in works on paper from Buffalo State College (2014). Her training included internships at the Morgan Library & Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. This is Elyse’s first year serving ECPN.
Alexa Beller, Communications Co-officer
Alexa holds a BA in History, a BFA in Painting, and a minor in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2013). She is currently a second year graduate fellow at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and is focusing her studies on paintings conservation. Alexa has had pre-program jobs and internships at the University of Illinois Library Conservation Unit, The Spurlock Museum, the Chicago History Museum, in the private paintings conservation practice of Ria German-Carter, and Architectural Conservation Inc as well as a graduate internship at the Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Art. She previously served as the ECPN Regional Liaison for the San Francisco Bay Area (2013-2014).
Rebecca Gridley, Communications Co-officer
Rebecca holds a BA in Art History from Yale University (2009). She is entering her third year at The Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she is specializing in objects conservation. Prior to graduate school, she worked for three years as a National Account Manager at The Conservation Center in Chicago and completed pre-program work at Art Conservation Group and Cranmer Art Group, private practices in New York with respective specialties in objects conservation and modern and contemporary paintings conservation. She recently completed an internship at The Museum of Modern Art, and is interning at The Frick Collection this summer. This is Rebecca’s first year serving ECPN.
Anne Schaffer, Outreach Co-officer
Anne Schaffer earned her BA in Visual Art and Chemistry from Bennington College (2011), with additional coursework at Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy. She has held pre-program internships at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Williamstown Art Conservation Center, Higgins Armory Museum, and Baltimore Museum of Art, in addition to work in private practice. Anne completed a graduate summer internship in 2014 at ICA – Art Conservation in Cleveland, OH and is spending the summer of 2015 at the Menil Collection in Houston, TX before beginning her third year graduate fellowship at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Anne expects to earn her MA and CAS in Art Conservation with a paintings specialization from Buffalo State College in 2016. This is her second year serving as an Outreach Co-Officer for ECPN.
Kimi Taira, Outreach Co-officer
Kimi has a BA in Studio Art from Mills College (2008) and is finishing her degree with the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, specializing in paper with a minor in library and archival materials. Her interests include conservation ethics, community-centered preservation initiatives, and the relationship between tangible and intangible heritage. She has worked various conservation positions and internships at Zukor Art Conservation, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She is completing her third-year internship at the Cleveland Museum of Art and will continue as their Kress Fellow. This is Kimi’s first year serving ECPN.

43rd Annual Meeting – ECPN/CIPP Happy Hour, May 13

Before the opening sessions began, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network and Conservators In Private Practice co-hosted an evening happy hour at the Hyatt Regency Miami (sponsored by Tru Vue, Inc.). Everyone at the conference was welcome as this event was not ticketed. Appetizers present included breads, cheeses, hummus, fruits and vegetables, and even mini burgers. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were available for purchase.
Attendees ate, drank, and mingled indoors on the Promenade or outside on the Riverwalk Terrace (image below). The event was well attended with probably between one or two hundred people networking and having fun. Some people decided to stay inside the air conditioned building while others went outside to enjoy the 80˚ weather and view of the Miami River. There were tables and chairs available for small groups to gather, and alternatively, many small groups also chose to sit on the steps and relax.
I certainly recommend those of you who did not attend to do so at a future conference, especially if you are an emerging professional. This happy hour was an excellent opportunity to meet the other attendees. If you are someone who is nervous about attending, please remember that this is supposed to be laid-back and other people want to meet you too. If you know some people at the conference, feel free to begin the evening with them. But after you are more comfortable, you should also make an effort to branch-out and talk to people that you do not know. And do not forget to distribute business cards to your new contacts.
If you want to learn more about other networking opportunities open to attendees, you should read reviews for the Opening Reception, Specialty Group Receptions, and Emerging Conservation Professionals Luncheon.

Your Conservation Career: Resources for Negotiating Your Next Salary

In November of 2014, I gave an ECPN Webinar titled “Beyond the Portfolio: Your Conservation Career” in which I briefly discussed salary negotiations (that webinar is here). Whether you’re just starting out or are further along in your career, here are two more resources to help you research and negotiate your next salary.
1) BUST magazine recently had a short but excellent feature on how to negotiate a salary for a new job. If you’re male, be aware that although BUST is aimed at women, most of the content is great for men, too. Including this article, which you can read here.
2) The 2014 AIC/FAIC Compensation Survey is online now, here! I LOVE these things! They are gigantic goldmines of data about our profession. But back to you – here is how to use this survey report for salary research. Start by having an overall look at how the report is organized, and then start to think about which sections and criteria apply to your situation. Page 69 gives an example of how to combine criteria to determine a salary.
Let’s use the survey for a pretend scenario: you are applying for a full-time job at a medium-sized, private museum in Washington, DC; you have a master’s degree in conservation and 3 years of post-graduate experience. What kind of salary offer should you expect?
To do this exercise, you’ll need to have the survey in front of you. Flip to page 70, Exhibit 3.17. We’ll move back and forth between columns a bit; because you’re a relatively new grad, you can expect your salary to be below the median in most categories. But I also don’t want you to aim too low, so we will stick mostly to the 25^th percentile column* and not reference the 10^th percentile data. Once you get the hang of this, though, you can figure out a range for yourself with points at the high, middle, and low end.
You can see that a salary in the 25^th percentile for a medium-sized museum is 49K – write that down. It’s not part of a university, so the 25^th percentile there is about 47K. Write that down, too. For a private museum, we’re at 46K. Keep writing these numbers down. You have less than 5 years of experience, but here let’s look higher – you’re really good, right? The 75^th percentile for your level of experience is 47K. This would be a new position for you, so 35K. Look at the numbers for gender (yes – look again, my friends!). We’ll say you’re female. Write down 45K. Nope, that was too painful for me. Erase 45K! Let’s assume instead that your work is worth the same as a man’s; write down 60K. You have a master’s degree in conservation, so write down 45K. Probably no one will be reporting to you, so write down 34K. Will you have input into the department’s budget? Probably not? Write down 34K. We’ll say you’ll be working under supervision, write down 34K. DC is in the “South Atlantic” as defined by the survey (which you know, because you paged through it and looked at how the report is organized), so write down 43K.
Based on this super basic research, you should be looking at a salary somewhere between 34 and 60K/year. Add together all the numbers you wrote down (I got 474) and divide by 10 to get the mean, which is 47. 47K/year would be a solid salary offer that you could feel good about.
Remember that you can calculate a salary range for yourself based on the different criteria and percentiles given in this table. Also remember the gender disparity; if you’re female and you feel a salary offer is too low, this survey provides solid statistics to which you can point.
Finally, you can use this survey for more than salaries; it gives good data on rates charged by private conservators, and you can also use it to evaluate benefits packages. In case you were wondering, I had nothing to do with this survey. I just really like it. Good luck!
* When you use this survey to find a salary range, make sure you use the data in a way that makes sense for your situation. This example is written for a recent graduate, which is why I suggest the 25th percentile in most places. If you’re mid-career, look at the 50th percentile. If you’re quite senior, look higher. There are also a few places where the survey data are sorted by level of experience. In these places, look at the midpoints that match your criteria.

ECPN Webinar “Get Involved! Conservation Education, Outreach, and Advocacy”: Follow-Up Q&A

On April 23, 2014, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) hosted an hour-long webinar titled “Get Involved! Conservation Education, Outreach, and Advocacy.”

The program featured three speakers with experience working in various aspects of conservation education, outreach, and advocacy: Teresa Myers, private practice conservator who participated in the American Alliance of Museum’s Museum Advocacy Day in 2011; Richard McCoy, an arts and cultural consultant with an established history of writing for digital and print publications, teaching in graduate programs, and creating innovative web projects; and Sarah Barack, private practice conservator and co-chair of AIC’s K-12 Educational Outreach subcommittee.

During the program, the speakers shared their experiences as supervisors and pre-program interns, respectively; contributed to guided questions; and answered audience questions. The recorded webinar can be found on AIC’s YouTube channel (or click here).

Included below are the questions that could not be addressed during the program with responses from the speakers.

What are some tips you have for emerging conservators who would like to get involved with outreach and advocacy? What can they be doing short and long term to make an impact?

Teresa Myer: As I mentioned during the webinar, I found the Museum Advocacy Day event to be incredibly educational regarding the mechanics of advocacy. It’s a great place to start. It’s well organized, very clear and focused and well worth attending. Looking at longer-term activities, finding ways to foster relationships with Congresspeople and state-level legislators as well will boost your impact. Another way to be involved is simply to talk about your advocacy activities with other conservators and museum professionals. Hopefully, the more people realize how straightforward and achievable this activity can be, the more they will join in. As Ruth mentioned, there is a real strength in numbers; the more voices there are speaking to a common point, the more weight the point carries.

Richard McCoy: I think getting involved in a community is the best way to get involved, however you want define “community.” Your community might be local, national, or international. Working with folks on a common goal in a larger project is a very good way to make an impact in educating others about the need to care for cultural heritage, and therefore advocate for your profession.

Sarah Barack: Getting involved with your local community at first— see where there is a need and/or opportunity. For instance, going to open houses to meet people at local schools; volunteering with local groups that already have ties to the community, etc. I think the first step is really just making connections with people and once that has been established, it is easier and more natural to find ways in which you can promote conservation.

Regarding long term versus short term, hopefully short term smaller projects might lead to a more permanent or deeper activity. If particular conservators enjoy outreach activities, I would encourage them to think big picture, so that they can align their efforts with a larger strategy— whatever that may be. For instance, to be part of a school curriculum, or part of an annual arts fair or weekend, etc.

Besides conducting a wiki search, how else will people know about the articles that are being written through Richard’s class?

RM: A drive goal I’ve been working towards is to change how people find information when caring for cultural heritage. What I mean is that when you search for something on the Internet (Google it), I think you should be able to find excellent information, either about a particular item of cultural heritage or how to care for it. Sure this is a big goal but really we have the tools to solve this, it’s just a matter of getting more people working to the same end.

SB: Links from other websites are certainly a great way to drive traffic to any particular site.

The more students hear about conservation the more, presumably, applicants we will have for conservation graduate programs. How can we make more jobs and paid opportunities for the people we are recruiting to prevent an overabundance of conservators in a small job market?

TM: At this point there are a fairly consistent number of graduates each year because of the limits the programs put on the number of students they will accept each year. But it could certainly expand in the future. There will never be a shortage of work; entropy is on our side. The limiting factor seems to be funding and the value put on conservation by the people setting the budgets. So how do we increase the available funding? Advocacy! As a conservator in private practice, I believe that it is up to me to improve the job market I’m functioning in. Though I did have an excellent experience with advocacy, I have found that I use outreach more consistently to build my local job market. I’ve done lectures, workshops, visited museums, and been on the board of our state museum association. I’m a CAP assessor as well. People won’t make room in their budget for something that’s not on their radar; it’s up to all of us to stay visible.

RM: I think conservators need to start thinking about how they can be helpful in caring for cultural heritage inside and outside of cultural institutions. Too often we narrowly define our profession to be almost principally about conservation treatment. Well, I don’t think there are that many jobs that will be growing in that kind of work. But if conservators are able to demonstrate that they can do all sorts of other things then they may find themselves able to gain more employment.

SB: I don’t know if greater awareness does really lead to greater practical interest (e.g. applications) — I don’t know if we can make that link in such a clear way. Rather, I think greater awareness among students means that down the road, our future investment bankers, doctors, lawyers, etc., will hopefully appreciate and support our field—hopefully leading to more funding. It is such a niche field at the end of the day, and demands such a wide array of skills and abilities that it naturally filters itself. Still, the question of supply and demand is a good one— and whether the professional market demands the amount of supply we have created is a valid discussion. I don’t know the answer; anecdotal information and personal stories are not the full picture. We really need a better grasp on what all the graduates and mid-career folks are doing to understand.

When advocating by way of Wikipedia articles, for example, is there a concern that it actually devalues what we do since people may use these articles to attempt their own treatments?

RM: To answer your question in a word: no. There is a clear need to have better information out online because people are looking for it. My concern is around getting good information in highly visible places; I’m not worried about what people will do with good information.

And remember, Wikipedia is a freely available online encyclopedia that anyone can edit; it’s not a place to publish how to guides. If the articles published in Wikipedia are of high quality, they can only serve to reduce misunderstandings and point people to good and reliable sources.

On the other hand, I think that the amount of questionable or bad information on the Internet is problematic and dangerous. Take for example the stuff that’s on places like “WikiHow,” which does publish how to guides that will teach you things like How To Clean a Painting in 12 Easy Steps. I think we might see that kind of thing as a call to action.

Meet the Speakers! ECPN’s Upcoming Webinar on Preparing for Graduation Education in Art Conservation

ECPN’s next webinar, Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation is quickly approaching! This Wednesday, July 16 at 12pm EDT, representatives from five of the North American graduate programs in art conservation will discuss what makes a strong applicant and ways you can grow as an emerging conservation professional.
You may have seen their names on the program websites, but we thought you might like to get to know the speakers a little better before the webinar. Each program representative has provided a short bio to help you become better acquainted!
And there is still time to register — just follow the link below. You will have a chance to submit questions for the Q&A session when you complete the registration form, but you can also send us your questions by leaving a comment on the ECPN Facebook page, or by commenting below on this blog post. You can also submit your questions via email to Megan Salazar-Walsh, ECPN Chair, at salazar.walsh@gmail.com.
Registration link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/177805026
Let’s meet the speakers!
Margaret Holben Ellis is the Eugene Thaw Professor of Paper Conservation, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She also serves as Director, Thaw Conservation Center, The Morgan Library & Museum. She is currently Vice-President and Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works of Art (AIC), Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC), Accredited Conservator/Restorer of the International Institute of Conservation (ICON). Professional and academic awards have included the Caroline and Sheldon Keck Award (2003) for a sustained record of excellence in education, the Rutherford John Gettens Merit Award (1997) in recognition of outstanding service to the profession both conferred by the AIC, and a Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome (1994). She has published and lectured on artists ranging from Raphael and Titian to Pollock and Lichtenstein with her research on artists materials similarly far-ranging. She is a graduate of Barnard College (1975 B.A. art history, magna cum laude) and the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (1979 M.A. art history; Advanced Certificate in Conservation).
James Hamm has taught paintings conservation in the Art Conservation Department at SUNY Buffalo State since 1986. He earned his M.A. degree and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Art Conservation in 1978, in the earlier iteration of the Buffalo program operated by Sheldon and Caroline Keck, as part of the Cooperstown Graduate Programs. Between graduate school and the beginning of his tenure at Buffalo State, James and his wife Patricia Hamm (’75) operated a successful private practice near Albany, New York. Professor Hamm has an ongoing interest in authentication issues and the detection of fakes and forgeries in paintings. Working closely with colleagues in the department, he regularly examines paintings using modern imaging techniques and sophisticated methods of materials analysis, in conjunction with an educated eye, to address questions of age and authenticity. He also applies the knowledge gained from the study of art materials and the processes of their degradation, to the improvement of materials and techniques available to modern artists. As a part of this work, he was awarded a U.S. patent for a rigid painting support for artists and has recently developed a pigmented wax-resin system for filling losses in paintings and objects. He has lectured and published on a wide variety of conservation topics. In 2007, Professor Hamm was honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has supervised students who have become conservation professionals at museums all around this country and a few overseas, as well as those who have established successful private practices.
Rosaleen Hill is the Director of the Queen’s University Art Conservation Program. Prior to joining Queen’s University in 2013 she taught at the School of Library and Archival Studies at the University of British Columbia and in the Conservation of Cultural Materials program at the University of Canberra in Australia. Rosaleen has taught more than 40 workshops and seminars for conservator and allied professionals and has consulted widely for archives, museums, libraries and other heritage institutions.
Debra Hess Norris is chair of the Art Conservation Department at the University of Delaware, director of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, and professor of photograph conservation. Debbie has taught more than 125 workshops and seminars for conservators and allied professionals globally including in Peru, Columbia, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Ireland, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Morocco, Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and India. She has published over 35 articles and book chapters on the preservation of photographic materials, conservation education, ethics, and emergency planning. Debbie served as president of the American Institute for Conservation from 1993 – 1997 and chairperson of Heritage Preservation from 2003-2008. She currently serves on the boards of Heritage Preservation and the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, and the Advisory Committees for the FAIC Hermitage Photograph Conservation Initiative, the Mellon Collaborative Photograph Workshops, and the American Friends of the National Gallery of Denmark, among others. In 2002, she was inducted into the University of Delaware’s Alumni Wall of Fame and in 2004 she was appointed as the Henry Francis duPont Chair of Fine Arts. She is a Fellow in the AIC and the International Institute for Conservation, and received the 2008 AIC University Products Award for distinguished achievement in the conservation of cultural property and the Caroline and Sheldon Keck Award for Teaching Excellence.
Ellen Pearlstein is one of the founding faculty and is associate professor at the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation, which accepted its first students in 2005. Beforehand, Ellen spent 22 years as a conservator at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City, and she taught classes at the Conservation Center of the IFA. Ellen teaches classes in organic materials conservation, conservation and ethnography, and preventive strategies at UCLA/Getty. Her research focuses on tribal museums and values for cultural preservation; effects of environmental agents on ethnographic and natural history materials (including understanding and preventing light damage in feather work); reinstating context for museum materials found ex situ; and curriculum development within conservation education.

We are looking forward to learning from this amazing group of conservation educators on Wednesday! If you miss the webinar, it will be posted afterwards on the AIC YouTube channel. Keep an eye out for an announcement when the link becomes available.

ECPN meeting minutes from November 11, 2013

ECPN Conference Call Minutes
November 12, 2013
Submitted by Kendall Trotter
Network:
Eliza Spaulding (Chair)
Megan Salazar-Walsh (Vice-Chair)
Michelle Sullivan (co-Professional Education and Training)
Ayesha Fuentes (co-Professional Education and Training)
Anisha Gupta (Webinars)
Saira Haqqi (co-Outreach)
Carrie McNeal (co-Outreach)
Fran Ritchie (co-Communications)
Kendall Trotter (co-Communications)
Ryan Winfield (AIC Staff Liaison)
Ruth Seyler (AIC Staff Liaison)
Stephanie Lussier (AIC Board Liaison)
Liaisons:
Rebecca Shindel, Indianapolis
Emily Gardner Phillips, New England
Courtney VonStein Murray, Denver, Colorado
Jennifer Bullock, South Carolina
Sarah Hunter, Austin, Texas
Erin Stephenson, Houston, Texas
Kimberly Frost, Florida
Genevieve Bieniosek, WAG
Amanda Burr, Southern California
1.Approve September 10, 2013 meeting minutes
Minutes were approved, Fran will post to blog and Facebook
2.Invite liaisons to introduce themselves and share updates
Eliza_ welcomes liaisons, asks for updates they want to share.
Carrie_ asks about questions on liaison toolkit.
Rebecca_ new to Midwest and doesn’t have much of an infrastructure on who is in the region. With the new AIC directory be able to help make a regional list?
Ryan_ in the new AIC directory, can click on ECPN box as interest and can put in state and criteria you are looking for and list will pop up.
Carrie_ good that liaisons are introducing themselves on Facebook to connect to those in regions. Fran_ on Facebook if not friends with someone, messages don’t go to main inbox.
Carrie_ possibly list liaisons contact info on ECPN webpage or on Facebook.
Megan_ we can list names, might not want to list their contact information.
Eliza_ good idea, possible for Facebook members to go through ECPN officers to get liaisons contact information. Post on liaisons may not be seen with everything going on in Facebook.
Megan_that’s why it should be put in the description.
Kimberly _ lives in Florida, everyone is spread out. Other than correspondence, what to do when having events is not feasible regionally?
Carrie _ some regions are more conducive than others for happy hours, etc. Create a Facebook group for those in your region, or an email list. Different levels for everyone in how much time they can devote and if it’s possible to get people together. The main point is to be the connection between region and ECPN so we know what you are up do. As long as they know you’re there if they have questions.
Eliza_ another way to interact is by sitting in on ECPN calls and sharing our activities with people in your region. And, likewise, to report back to us with ideas, issues, and questions from people in your region. Thanks liaisons, thanks Carrie and Saira.
3.Annual meeting update
Eliza_ spoke with Ruth, Ryan, and Stephanie last week. There is a document on Basecamp they worked on together. Happy hour will be Wed. May 28th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Bar or atrium space near the bar or main lobby area. Ruth is looking into options. May not be possible to offer free food/ drink, may be possible to get happy hour specials. Thursday May 29th 12-2 lunchtime session. Combining info meeting, speed networking, 1 on 1 resume review and 1 on 1 career coaching all in one session. 12-12:45 lunch and informational meeting — brief time for ECPN to introduce themselves and to share activities. May be difficult to gain feedback because larger audience and lunchtime, but will reach a larger, more diverse audience. The rest of the time will be divided among the other events, it may be possible for people to participate in multiple things. The conversation can continue after the call. Ruth is putting together basic info for registration brochure. Many won’t register until after New Year. Hoping to organize events before people register then think about matching people for sessions. Will contact about how to divvy up tasks.
Saira_ sounds good. Especially planning in advance of registration knowledge.
Eliza_ some of the projects we’ll be able to work on beforehand include making a survey to see who people want to be paired with and guidelines for the experienced conservators for the 1-on-1 career coaching and resume review sessions.
4.Mentoring program update
Megan_ will be a call for those matching mentors and mentees, will discuss matching strategies then. Michelle and Megan have been pulling together resources ECPN created in the past. Next step is to organize into something easy to find and useful. Want to do more than preprogram and recently graduated.
Fran_ possible to overlap information to keep in categories but if it targets multiple groups can be seen in both places? Many think of ECPN only for preprogram. Need to show how it’s useful for other emerging professionals.
Eliza_ can also organize by subject matter?
Megan_ another subject is applying to schools, specific to preprogram. Could also do interviews in general to appeal to broader group.
Eliza_ personally would look more at subject matter than personal designation.
Michelle_ Some resources will be self-selecting but will have information for people in various levels. Don’t know how long it will take to put up.
Megan_ as continue organizing it will keep developing. Fran’s blog post for grad apps looks good, kind of thing that would want to be included.
Fran_ hopefully can be used for years to come.
Megan and Michelle will go over what they want to work on first. Need to review specific resources more carefully.
Genevieve _ through WAG getting together pamphlets to get more people into wooden objects conservation. Should distribute to mentors who may not have experience other than their specialty? How to distribute?
Megan_ Internships are a good way to distribute info. Can include WAG pamphlet in resources, can discuss later.
Eliza_ thanks Megan and Michelle.
5.Review of new website
Eliza_ looks great. ECPN page looks very different from old page and currently only includes description of group and names of officers. No longer has info on contact information etc. (Asked Ryan about this but was Ryan not on the call)
Ayesha_ couldn’t find the call number on the website. It is hard to navigate the page.
Eliza_ agrees, will ask Ryan.
Rebecca_ specialty groups are listed at the top and ECPN is not listed there.
Stephanie_ AIC wants networks to have more visibility but had trouble distinguishing groups requiring dues and not. Agrees that it’s hard to find ECPN, something that will continue to be worked on.
Anisha_ can find contact info in online directory, may be streamlining information.
Eliza_ Opportunity to redraft page the way we want.
Anisha_ Not wanting to depend on Facebook is another concern. Should beef up page with programs, how to get involved and ways to reach out to others.
Megan_ links to resources would also be nice.
Eliza_ for example webinar program wanted an archive of links all in one page for easier access. Not sure how doable but should try to put it forward and see what AIC thinks.
Ayesha_ Thinks it’s important to advertise ourselves. Don’t want to make people follow links, need to have a one stop internet face
Stephanie_ bothered by hearing statements like ‘get involved with AIC’ there is a liaison and paid AIC staff. ECPN is AIC. ECPN is working to achieve goals and AIC is working to help achieve these goals. Wants ECPN to feel like we are part of AIC.
Eliza_ thanks Stephanie. Should try to put information together in organized fashion, see what we can do by end of year. Follow up with Ryan on this through listerv.
6.Webinars
Anisha_ next webinar early February. Ruth and Ryan doing Cuba trip in January. Subject is outreach and advocacy so want it before museum advocacy day, build into that momentum. Like to put planning call together week before Thanksgiving. Use weeks before to see what issues to cover and format of the webinar. Timeline: preliminary call in early December. After holidays in January 1 or 2 calls with chosen technology. Technology has been upgraded need to talk to Ryan and Eric about new features. Doesn’t seem too complicated, just seems better. Following American Alliance of Museums on museum advocacy day how to incorporate in webinar.
Anisha_ Suzanne Davis webinar on professional development follow up on talk at AIC originally thinking of March or April. Too close to annual meeting, being pushed back to next fall. Do blog post on issues posed in session as a teaser to the webinar? Thoughts on this?
Eliza_would be fine to wait until next fall. Just a topic of great interest in community. Need some way to address session or continue discussion before that.
Anisha_ would be good to get more information out there.
Megan_ Can do frequently asked questions as a blog and get Suzanne’s input.
Eliza_good to make this interactive. Ask Suzanne if can share PowerPoint from AIC and solicit questions and then do a blog post based on this. If she is open for it.
Michelle_q&a good way to create less static blog post. Her 1st post was great. Good resource of commonly asked questions.
Anisha_will get in touch with Suzanne about this.
7.Introduce Public Relations Toolkit
Eliza_ Started 2 years ago when AIC asked for assistance. Project currently lives on AIC wiki, encourages to take a look at it and will send out a link. Hoping to get in contact with those Involved. Not sure how many people are actually looking at it on the wiki. How to develop ideas?
Megan_ great strategy, know from poster not everyone looks at AIC wiki. Good to figure out ways to promote it. Glad working on it again because it’s a good resource.
Eliza_good to share with broader community.
Eliza_reminder to keep as much info as possible on listserv so everyone knows what’s going on.
Stephanie_ if you’d like to send a more private conversation, please copy her, Ruth, Ryan, and Eliza on communications with those outside of group. In case issues arise can move conversation along.
Confirm next call time: January 14, 2013 from 12-1pm ET
Won’t be dedicated liaison call, though we encourage the liaisons to attend, next dedicated liaison call will be in March.

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.

AIC CERT Responds to Hurricane Sandy

On Monday, October 29, New York City was hit by Hurricane Sandy, leading to mass blackouts and flooding in Brooklyn and most of lower Manhattan. Among the areas that were particularly hard hit was Chelsea, home to many of the city’s art galleries and artist studios. A week later, the AIC Collections Emergency Response Teams (CERT) held two back-to-back sessions of the Consortium on Recovery of Works of Art Damaged by Flooding at the Museum of Modern Art. The meeting was filled to overflowing with museum, gallery, and conservation professionals and artists who were still reeling from the disaster they had witnessed.

The Consortium served as a means for conservators to guide recovery efforts across New York City. Lisa Elkin, Director of Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), started off by reminding attendees of the resources open to them, not least of which were the conservators around them. Then Kala Harinarayanan, Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the AMNH, reminded those present that however concerned they may be for collections, their health and safety must remain paramount. She pointed out that surge waters could contain all kinds of hazardous materials, while buildings may have become unstable after the storm. These are important things to keep in mind as we begin recovery efforts. She advised having a companion when re-entering a disaster site, using communication devices, and using personal protective equipment as advisable.

At this point, Beth Nunan, Associate Conservator at the AMNH took over. She covered the nuts and bolts of actually running a successful recovery, stressing the importance of planning prior to beginning the effort. She reminded everyone that documentation was key – not just of the damage to the site and objects, but also of the priorities, logic, and work-flow of the recovery effort. Beth also discussed ways to prioritize damaged objects, which could include business records that could be critical to the continued functioning of a business; storage, and inexpensive sources for needed materials. Caitlin O’Grady, Conservation Fellow at the University of Delaware, concluded the session by discussing various recovery techniques and their suitability to different scenarios, taking us through the merits and drawbacks of freezing versus air drying material, and discussing issues of mold and treatment. The entire presentation can be viewed here.

At the end of the meeting, attendees adjourned to a separate room to discuss more specific problems faced by those in the audience. This was where the true magnitude of the problem became clear. One attendee was dealing with forty-five different insurance companies, none of which had given permission to move the artworks to a stable area. Another had soaked canvases and no space to dry them flat. As questions arose, the conservators in the room worked together to find solutions to common problems. Eventually the room broke up into the various specialties, with paper conservators in one corner, paintings conservators in another, and so on, each dealing directly with attendee concerns.

The Consortium equipped all those dealing with recovery with a broad base of knowledge relating to the differe issues involved. In addition, it served as a gateway to getting involved with recovery efforts throughout New York, as among other things, attendees had the chance to sign up to volunteer their conservation services.

Additional Resources:

Museum of Modern Art – Hurricane Sandy: Conservation Resources

AIC CERT – Hurricane Response Google Group

Author’s note: A version of this post has also be posted to the NYU Conservation Center blog.

39th Annual Meeting – ECPN Portfolio Session, Thursday, June 2, 10-10:30am and 3-3:30pm

ECPN Portfolio Session at the 39th Annual AIC Meeting

The Emerging Conservation Professional Network (ECPN) organized the first graduate student portfolio session ever sponsored at an AIC Annual Meeting. Graduate students in conservation programs from the University of Delaware, New York University, University of California Los Angeles, and Buffalo State College presented their portfolios to a packed house of attendees during both the morning and afternoon sessions. In all, over 80 individuals attended the two sessions.

The graduate students volunteered to exhibit portfolios representing their cumulated experience as either a first-year, mid-term, or graduating student in art conservation. The portfolios highlighted their treatment experience and professional training; including reports, photographs, and research projects. The participating students were available to address any questions attendees had and to offer advice and information to those interested in pursuing a graduate education in art conservation. Attendees included pre-program students, current graduate students, emerging professionals, and AIC professional members and conference attendees who were curious about the work graduate students are doing.

The portfolio sessions were a tremendous success and we look forward to the opportunity to make this an annual event at the AIC meetings. ECPN would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the following students for participating in this initiative and making it such a wonder experience for all:
Buffalo State College – Genevieve Bieniosek, Kari Kipper, and Rebecca Summerour
New York University – Julia Sybalsky and Maggie Wessling
UCLA/Getty Conservation Program – Tessa de Alarcon and Dawn Lohnas
Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation – Sarah Gowen, Laura Hartman, Gwen Manthey, Carrie McNeal, and Elena Torok

To read and contribute your comments on this event please visit ECPN on Facebook or our Blog.

AIC’s 39th Annual Meeting – Links to photos

Photos from AIC’s Annual Meeting are being uploaded to our Flicker site as time permits. Each photo below represents a set. So far I’ve posted photos from the reception at Philadelphia Museum of Art on Wednesday night, the Manikin workshop, and Thursday’s portfolio review session. There will be a lot more coming, so please check back regularly to this post or go directly to our Flicker site (at www.flicker.com/photos/aic-faic/) to view additional photos.

Museum Manikins Workshop (click on this photo to view the entire set)

The reception at Philadelphia Museum of Art, June 1 (click on this photo to view the entire set)

Portfolio Review Session (click on this photo below to view the entire set)

ECPN Officers (click on this photo below to view the entire set)