Meg Craft discusses AIC

The following are my notes from a meeting with Meg Craft and Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation faculty and students on March 11, 2010.

The meeting began with a brief description of AIC:
It is a membership organization instead of a institutional organization.
There are 3,300 members
supported by a staff of 10
FAIC is a separate organization, AIC is the office and membership portion
Both are non-profit, but the FAIC applies for educational grants, receives donations, while AIC is in a better position for political advocacy. AIC is the only member of FAIC, we are all members of AIC

Current Topics - Environmental Standards

One activity this year is the re-assessment of environmental standards. AIC cannot change or make up the standards, but they can form a committee or a task force to keep everyone informed. The IIC roundtable at the AIC 2010 meeting will give us a litmus test of how everyone feels about changing standards. Sustainability, Economics, protection of objects, need for access, we’ve reached this point by which we need to re-evaluate. AIC can be a resource and a place to put this information about environmental mangement and make it available to all members

CoOL - Conservation OnLine

Cool – COnservation OnLine has been taken over by FAIC. We would like it to be maintained made into a functional and growing resource. There are significant costs to maintain and operate the website. The site needs to be mapped, and there are numerous broken links on the site. If you find a broken link send it to Brett Rogers or Rachel Arenstein at AIC.

Who uses the resources in Cool? Mainly developing countries and conservation programs without library sources use cool as a primary source. AIC is looking to form an international board, and they have a strategic plan. Mapping will not be very expensive, but will require organization. They are looking at putting CoOL in other languages.

Ethics Complaints

There has been an increase in ethics complaints, now more than ½ the membership is in private practice. Meg encouraged students to use a contract for everything, write down changes and risks involved in treatments and have the owner sign the contract before the treatment and if there are changes add these in the margins and initial at the end when the object is returned. Since it is always not possible to predict if your client will like their object after it has been treated, be sure to outline how it will look post-treatment as much as possible.

How to get more involved - thoughts from Meg Craft and the students

The meeting ended with a discussion of how students could be more involved in AIC, Meg suggested joining a specialty group, becoming involved with Angel's Projects, helping out with the online projects as needed (CoOL, the Wiki), offering to edit JAIC, and/or writing a book review for the JAIC (bonus - you can keep the book! AIC has a stock of books waiting to be reviewed). For the journal information you can contact Brett Rodgers at AIC. It was also mentioned that we may begin a 'student day' at the AIC annual meeting which would offer a great opportunity for students to present their work.

Overall, it was a great introduction to AIC and what is currently on the President's desk. Thanks to Meg for taking time out of your lunch to update us all.

Student blog about issues in conservation

Dear Colleagues,

I am currently teaching an undergraduate class called "Critical Issues in art conservation" to undergraduate students at the Johns Hopkins University. The course looks at issues in the history, ethics and contemporary practice of conservation and tries to grapple with how conservation changes art and artifacts, as well as our interpretations of them. As part of our course, the students contribute to a blog: www.criticalissuesinartconservation.blogspot.com. One student posts a new reflection on the reading for that week and his/her colleagues respond by posting comments to the blogpost. I think that it would be tremendously interesting and exciting to this group of dedicated and serious students if some of the authors of the articles they are reading (and you can find a reading list as a link at the blog) would comment on their blog entries and perhaps suggest weblinks of interest. Part of what I was hoping for in this blog was that it would be an interactive forum for the students, conservators and the general public. I'd be most grateful if you would look at the blog and the reading list, and if the authors we are reading especially (but all are welcome to comment) would write something in response to the blogposts. There is also a little poll that is posted on the blog to get a sense of who is looking at it. If you would kindly take the poll, that would be helpful to understand our audience as well. New student posts appear every Monday, so please do check back!

Also, any suggestions for me on other readings that might be appropriate for undergraduates would be most welcome.

with thanks in advance,
Sanchita Balachandran

Lunch Discussion with Meg Craft, March 11, at Winterthur

Meg Loew Craft, President of AIC and senior objects conservator at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, will have a casual lunch discussion at the Winterthur Museum Research Building on March 11, 2010. It will be during lunch, around noon to 1PM.

The WUDPAC graduate students have been invited and anyone in the area is encouraged to attend. The purpose of the lunch discussion is to talk to Meg Craft about her work in AIC and to allow a forum for students to ask questions about AIC, and voice their concerns as emerging conservators.

Written-in questions are encouraged, and if you would like you can ask questions in the comments section of this post, or e-mail questions to me at rose.daly[at]gmail.com. It would be helpful to give a list of questions to Meg Craft before the meeting so she can be better prepared to answer them. A summary of the discussion will be posted on this ECPN blog.

New-York Historical Society Internships

The Conservation department at the New-York Historical Society is again looking for interns. It is for this summer and it is a paid internship. Please pass on this information to anyone who might be interested.

The summer internship is a full-time program for graduate and undergraduate students and interns work Monday through Friday from June 14th through August 6th. During the workweek, interns also take part in regularly scheduled cultural excursions and luncheon lectures. Students may receive a stipend of $2000 for the completion of the program or they may complete the program for credit. Applications are due by 5PM on Monday, March 8, 2010.

Interns in the conservation department receive practical hands-on training in book and paper conservation at an intermediate level. This internship is for individuals who have at least a bachelor’s degree and who have 1-2 years of practical experience working in book and paper conservation, or for students currently enrolled in a formal conservation training program. Interns will undertake and complete a project based on their interests and skills and the needs and capabilities of the Conservation Department. At the end of the internship period, the intern will be required to produce a written report and possibly deliver a presentation of their work. An interview with the Senior Conservator is required (preferably on-site) and candidates should present a portfolio of completed treatments at that time.

To apply for an internship, please submit the following:

• A cover letter that indicates the specific department(s) with which you would like to be placed;

• A resume;

• Two recommendations (at least one from a professor);

• Some applicants may be required to provide a portfolio or other information, but they will be notified of this when they are called for an interview.

All applications must be submitted electronically only. Please email completed application package to internships@nyhistory.org with your name in the subject line. The cover letter, resume, and writing sample should be submitted together in one email. Recommendations must be emailed directly from the reference to internships@nyhistory.org and should have “Recommendation for Applicant’s Name” as the subject.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact Betsy Gibbons by email at internships@nyhistory.org or by phone at 212-485-9281.

Thanks,

Betsy

Betsy Gibbons
Manager of High School and College Programs
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
212-485-9281
bgibbons@nyhistory.org

Education and Training Committee Looking for Student Liaison

The Education and Training Committee is looking for a current student to serve as a student liaison on our committee. The student liaison term would serve a 1 or 2 year term, depending upon their anticipated graduation, and begin after the 2010 Annual Meeting. Contact the ETC Chair, Jennifer Hain Teper (jhain@illinois.edu) if you are interested.

Kinney Foundation Paintings Conservation Internship

Conservation Department
Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is seeking an advanced paintings conservation intern for the June 1, 2010-August 19, 2010 time period. The Conservation Laboratory has been awarded a conservation grant from the Kinney Foundation for the extensive collection of Frank Duveneck paintings that are part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Candidates who demonstrate a career interest in the conservation of American Painting will be especially welcome to apply. Candidates must be fluent in both spoken and written English.
The internship is intended for students currently enrolled or recent graduates of one of the North American conservation graduate programs. The internship will include surveying and prioritizing the conservation needs of 119 paintings, technical examination and treatment of selected paintings and frames. The tasks will be coordinated and supervised by the Chief Conservator and by the Curator of American Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings.
The internship is set up to further the career of a conservator in training. The preferred candidate would posses strong organizational skills, solid understanding of the field of conservation including practical conservation techniques and current approaches both ethical and philosophical.

Please send a letter of interest along with Curriculum Vitae. In addition, enclose 2 letters of recommendation from conservation professionals familiar with the applicant’s work sealed in envelopes with the referee's signature across the flap.

The application deadline is February 26th, 2010. Candidates chosen for a phone interview will have to submit additional information, such as treatment examples and scholastic research.
The internship is paid bi-weekly with a total stipend of approximately $4,500 that is subject to all applicable taxes.

The applicant will be notified no later than April 1st, 2010 by phone.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer and is strongly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where a variety of backgrounds, cultures, orientations, ideas, and talents can flourish.

All applications should be sent to:

Jennifer Hart | Director of Human Resources
Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Research and Writing Workshop Opportunities

Research and Writing provides editorial and business management services to artists, artisans, academics, professional practitioners and small non-profits. We are pleased to offer members of the Emerging Conservation Professional Network a discount on my services. Of special interest may be:

“500 Words or Less”: Writing an Abstract or Short Proposal
Next scheduled session: 20 April 2010.
Regular price: $50. ECPN price: $45, with complimentary editorial review of one abstract if submitted by 15 June 2010

Your Life as an Independent [Whatever]
A three-week online workshop for unemployed, underemployed and independently employed artists, artisans and academics--or anyone interested in learning more about integrating who you are and what you do. Develop the tools for your independent life. More information at http://www.scribd.com/doc/19645357/Your-Life-as-an-Independent-Whatever
Next scheduled session: 8-28 February. Regular price: $275 ECPN price: $245

Proposal Writing Workshop
A three-week online workshop about the writing process, focused on writing a proposal or bid. Bring your own project—a book or thesis proposal, a job application, project bid or other application-based writing project—or ask for an ‘assignment.” More information at http://www.scribd.com/doc/19645371/Proposal-Writing-Workshop
Next scheduled session: 24 January-13 February Regular price: $275 ECPN price: $245
Contact me for the deeper discount for groups of 5-8 and 8 or more.

I’m also pleased to offer ECPN members an across-the-board 10% discount on editorial or business consulting services.

You’ll find more information about Research and Writing and all the online courses, meetings, and hot topics meeting series we offer at http: bit.ly/RaWblog and at http://www.scribd.com/doc/23541119/Research-Writing-2010A

For editorial and consulting fee schedules, to register for these or other online courses with discount, questions, etc email me at researchandwriting.nyc@gmail.com

-Sarah Lowengard