Other Emerging Leader Groups

Hey emerging conservators, it's time for you to get to know your peers, to share your work, and to get informed about the larger world of conservation. AIC is actively working to form a group that will serve the needs of emerging conservators. Do you want to have a say? A role? Do you have an opinion about what that this group should become?

Lucky for us, there are already some models to look at. AAM now has an Emerging Museum Professionals Group, and a group of recent graduates in Canada just started the Canadian Association of Emerging Conservators which has just been accepted as an ad hoc committee of the Canadian Association for Conservation. Although their missions and scope are probably different from what this group is likely to become, it is helpful to be able to look at what has, and has, not worked for them.

AAM/EMP

"The EMP group was started by a handful of AAM's emerging staffers who recognized that people new to the museum field needed a better roadmap for career development and networking. This page isn't about us though. It's about you. Please share your ideas with us and get involved." (taken from the AAM website June 6, 2008, www.aam-us.org/getinvolved/emp/index.cfm)

The EMP group have presences on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and have a Google Discussion Group. AAM/EMP staff created a kit for those interested in planning an event that lays out very clearly the steps needed to have a successful event. Meet-ups have started around the country. In April 2008, there were events in Washington D.C. and New York City. At the annual AAM meeting in April, there were several EMP events, including question and answer sessions with established professionals, and open mic night at a local bookstore.

CAEC

"The Canadian Association of Emerging Conservators (CAEC-ACRE) has been formed by the six post-graduate interns in the first cycle of the re-instated Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) advanced internship program. Observing the imminent retirement of many veteran CCI staff members, and finding themselves in an ideal situation to form a group, the interns determined to form an association whose main purpose is to address the issue of the 'knowledge gap' in the field, to aid in efficient succession planning and to work to promote the interests of new conservation professionals.

The CAEC is pleased to announce that as of a vote taken on May 6th at the Canadian Association for Conservation (CAC) Board meeting, the CAEC is an official Ad Hoc Committee of the CAC. This status is meant to be temporary, meaning that in a year's time a vote by the CAC membership at large, to be taken at the 2009 Annual General Meeting in Vancouver, will determine whether the CAEC is to become a regular CAC Standing Committee. The intervening year will be an opportunity for both the CAEC and the CAC to test the waters in terms of a working relationship and to begin the task of tackling the issues that are of greatest concern to emerging conservators." (taken from the CAEC website June 6, 2008, http://caecacre.wordpress.com/caec/ )

YMP Blog

There is also a young museum professionals blog that is "dedicated to new museum professionals which is a more open forum. There is a link to the blog on the AAM/EMP website, but it seems to be run through a team of contributors, not through AAM. Some of their recent posts include:

· Museums: A Hot Bed of Liberalism? - Jun 5, 2008

· The Salary Conundrum - May 8, 2008

· Report on the next generation of nonprofit leaders - Mar 6, 2008

If you know any further information about this blog we are interested in hearing!

So Now What?

So now is the time to think about what you as an emerging conservator, or you who were once an emerging conservator, want from this group. Please fill out the survey and keep checking this blog- and leave comments. We anticipate discussions of Certification and other topics to begin popping up soon! In case you have a question you do not want to publicly post, and would like to respond to us as emerging conservators, please email Rachel (Buffalo '07) or Laura (NYU '08) at art.conservation.nation@gmail.com.

The Emerging Leaders Network Survey

Your network needs your voice! To best gauge the direction in which the Emerging Leaders Network should go, we would like to extend this short survey to you. We want to make sure that we can gather the most information we can on how best we can serve our constituent members. Your answers to this survey will be kept confidential.

Click Here to Take the Survey!

Please forward the survey to your colleagues. Results will be analyzed and reported on the Emerging Leaders Network Blog.

Amber Kerr-Allison to Serve as an Advisor on the Certification Task Force

Please join me in welcoming Amber Kerr-Allison as the new Emerging Leader Network advisor on the AIC Certification Task Force! Please see the short bio below for more information about her.

Amber Kerr-Allison, Graduate Fellow
Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation
Class of 2008
Prior to entering the field of conservation, Amber spent nine years working as a manager in marketing, design and business development for Motorola, Inc. She completed her undergraduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art History and a minor degree in Glass Blowing. During her undergraduate studies, Amber interned with private conservator Cleo Mullins at the Richmond Conservation Studio and was an active member of the Virginia Conservation Association, where she served as Publication Chair. After graduation, Amber relocated to Raleigh, NC where she interned at both the North Carolina Museum of Art’s Regional Conservation Center and the private conservation studio of Ruth Barach Cox. To further her experience, she worked at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she assisted in the relocation and storage of the collection during the museum’s renovation and compiled a preventive care and general housekeeping manual for the museum. She is currently a third-year graduate fellow in paintings conservation at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. Her 2006 summer internship was at the Château de Parentignat in France under the direction of Dr. William Whitney, professor of Paintings Conservation at the Sorbonne and the Institute Français de Restauration des Oeuvres d’Art (IFROA) and her second summer internship was at the National Museum of American Illustration conserving a mural by American artist James Wall Finn. She is completing her internship year at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Lunder Conservation Center in Washington, DC, where she will continue as SAAM’s first Lunder Conservation Fellow after receiving her Masters of Science in Paintings Conservation this summer.

Please feel free to contact Amber with all your questions/concerns about the certification process by e-mailing her at amberkerr@aol.com.

Green Task Force – New AIC Initiative

During the AIC Annual Meeting in Denver, Paul Himmelstein presented a proposal signed by a long list of AIC supporters to develop a Green Task Force that will assist members and the AIC in improving and implementing environmental sustainability actions.

Therefore, AIC is seeking up to seven members to serve on the newly created Green Task Force, and we would like one of these seven to be from the Emerging Leaders Network.

This task force is charged with investigating implementation of green practices for AIC itself and the conservation profession. It will report to the AIC Board regularly through the director of Committees and Task Forces and will submit its recommendations within two years.

The Green Task Force will communicate through email and conference calls and should consider including corresponding members who can provide additional expertise to assist in completing the charge. To be considered for service, please send a letter of interest to Cathy Hawks at cahawks@aol.com by August 1, 2008.