IIC S&ECC - 2011 London, Conservation: Futures and Responsibilities

London

Thursday, 15 September, 2011 - 23:00 to Friday, 16 September, 2011 - 23:00

Place: London, UK

IIC was delighted to present its first Student & Emerging Conservator Conference, held at the very centre of London, in Bloomsbury, at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.

Conservation: Futures and Responsibilities

The conference focused on the relationship between conservation education and the actualities of conservation in practice. It aimed to offer an international perspective and to facilitate communication between students and emerging conservators on the one hand and, on the other, professionals active in the field of conservation in national institutions and museums as well as in the private sector. One of our main objectives was to enable dialogue and debate about current needs in conservation, and the relationship between expectations and reality in conservation education and work. The themes discussed were supported by visits to some of central London’s conservation studios, at both not-for-profit cultural institutions and conservation businesses.

The Conference had a two-day format and the programme was broadly as follows:

Friday 16th September

After registration, for participants able to attend in person the morning of the first day was devoted to visits to conservation studios, followed by a Live Web Broadcast session in the afternoon and a wine reception in the evening.

Session 1: Questions & Answers

Saturday 17th September

The morning and afternoon of the second day was devoted to two Live Web Broadcast sessions, followed by a closing reception.
The presentations were held in the form of live Web Broadcasts from the Conference venue, in IIC’s familiar Round Table format, which allowed an international community of speakers and participants to join the conference, either in person or on-line. Participants, including those attending via the web, were able to ask questions and join in the debate.

Conservation professionals, active in the private sector as well as in museums/galleries/training institutions, discussed their career paths and work experience and addressed the relationship between their expectations at the outset of their careers and the reality of where they are now and where they see themselves going. Speakers gave their views on the future of the profession, and the evolution of the conservators’ responsibilities. Experienced conservators addressed the issues of getting started, professional accreditation, and setting up one’s own business, as well as looking at conservation training.

Though held in London, this was an international conference and we hope the event provided a useful platform for the exchange of ideas among those studying conservation, archaeology, art history, curatorship and related disciplines, people who are soon to share the professional responsibility for a wide array of heritage-related issues.

Session 2: Questions & Answers

Conference Organising Committee

Jo Kirby Atkinson  IIC 
Graham Voce  IIC 
Mikkel Scharff  IIC 
Amber Kerr-Allison  Smithsonian American Art Museum 
Adam Klups  UCL 
Francesca Lemass  Camberwell College of Arts 
Kathleen Froyen  UCL 
Marie Louise Liwanag  UCL 
Elizabeth Ralph  Camberwell College of Arts 

IIC Council Officers and Members

Jerry Podany  President, J. Paul Getty Museum, USA 
Jo Kirby Atkinson  Secretary-General, National Gallery of Art, London, UK 
Velson Horie  Treasurer, UK 
Joyce Townsend  Director of Publications, Tate, UK 
Julian Bickersteth  Vice-President, International Conservation Services, Sydney, Australia 
Sharon Cather  Vice-President, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK 
Gabriela Krist  Vice-President, University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria 
Rick Kerschner  Shelburne Museum, USA 
Hans Christoph von Imhoff  Ecole superieur d'Art, Avignon/Independent conservator, Switzerland 
Tuulikki Kilpinen  National Gallery, Finland 
Anne Rinuy  Musées d'art et d'histoire, Switzerland 
David Saunders  British Museum, UK 
Mikkel Scharff  Konservatorskolen, Denmark 
Naoko Sonoda  National Museum of Ethnology, Japan 
Michael von der Goltz  University of Applied Science and Art, Hildesheim, Germany 
Valentine Walsh  private practice, UK 
Cornelia Weyer  Restaurierungszentrum der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, Germany 

IIC Staff

Graham Voce  Executive Secretary 
Valerie Compton-Taylor  Membership Secretary 

Web Editor

Dr Athanasios Velios  Research Fellow, University of the Arts, London

Supporting and Partner and Sponsoring Organisations

The conference had the support of the History of Art Department and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL), Willard, Maney Publishing and Rotaset.

IIC S&ECC - 2011 London Gallery