Programme overview

Thursday 12th September
09.00 - 10.00 Registration
10.00 - 11.00 Introduction and Coffee
11.00 - 12.00 Studio Visits, Conservation Studios across Copenhagen
12.00 - 13.30 Lunch

13.30 - 15.30 Web Broadcast, Session 1.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT ACROSS BORDERS
Transcripts for session one are available here

Conservation is a small field and collaboration across borders is therefore essential to broaden one’s work experience and strengthen one’s professionalism. Globalisation has meant that it has become easier to find training and work placements abroad, which can also start conservators on an international career.
a) What advantages and disadvantages are associated with attending conservation training courses at institutions in other countries? The network acquired in this way during one’s training can greatly influence later work options. However, does an international education always benefit the student and does it lead to a loss of potential conservation work in the student’s country of origin?
b) Internationalisation also requires linguistic and cultural adaptation for the student – at one’s educational institution, one’s work place and to enable the discussion of conservation matters in other countries. How do students whose first language is not English, for example, fare in comparison to native English speakers in regard to training and work abroad? Conversely, how are English speakers received in countries where English is not the first language?
c) How should links across linguistic, cultural and national borders be enhanced? Should we aim to some degree of commonality across borders? How do the efforts to create standardisation in conservation education/terminology help us students/emerging professionals/the field? How does this help skills transfer from one place to the next and skills develop within a person?

15.30 - 16.30 Coffee
18.00 - 23.00 Evening Reception

Friday 13th September
09.00 - 10.00 Coffee

10.00 - 12.00 Web Broadcast, Session 2.
PRESENTING ONESELF IN A PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT
Transcripts for session two are available here

In the pursuit of a professional career a student must learn to promote him or herself by presenting work experience and study to a potential employer or institution (e.g. students seeking work placements either at home or abroad, or applying for a local or an international training programme). It has become increasingly common to present oneself with the help of a portfolio, in print and online versions. What constitutes a good portfolio? How should one be designed / appear?
What should a portfolio include and for what reasons? How can the student’s educational institution prepare the student for this challenge? Should the student have versions of this in a number of languages?

12.00 - 13.30 LUNCH

13.30 - 15.30 Web Broadcast, Session 3.
OPTIMISING SKILLS AND NETWORKING - LOCALLY AND FURTHER AFIELD
Transcripts for session three are available here

In addition to applying for work, how can the newly-trained conservator become better involved within the Nordic conservation field in order to strengthen his or her qualifications and experience and build a professional network?
How does one become engaged in the field of conservation? What are the advantages of this sort of involvement?
How does this differ from the situation elsewhere? How does the newly-trained conservator become engaged with issues?

15.30 - 16.30 Reception.

Speakers

Conference Moderator

Tine Louise Slotsgaard
GV Art Conservation, New York / Paintings conservator
Educated as a Paintings Conservator, M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark. Tine graduated in August 2013 with a thesis on the painting technique of the 18th Century Danish portrait painter Jens Juel. She will start working at a private conservation studio, GV Art Conservation, in Long Island City on October 1st.

Thursday Session 1

Julian Bickersteth (via Web)
International Conservation Services Pty Ltd, AU / Managing Director
Julian received his education from Oxford University before completing a diploma in materials conservation, specialising in furniture. Before establishing International Conservation Services, he worked at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. Since 2009 Julian has been a Vice President and Director of Communications at IIC. Julian chairs the Australian Museums and Collections Committee and is a board member and past Deputy President of the National Trust of Australia (NSW).

Stina Ekelund
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and TU Eindhoven / PhD Student
Furniture conservator with a B.Sc. from Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies at Linköping University in Sweden and a M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark. Stina is currently doing her PhD project, Climate4Wood, at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Department of the Built Environment at Eindhoven University of Technology.

René Larsen
School of Conservation, KADK / Associate Professor, former Rector and Head of School
Conservator M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Copenhagen. Former Head of the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark and member of the board of ENCoRE (European Network for Conservation-Restoration Education). Research specialisation are leathers, parchment and other collagen-based materials. Current major research project is MEMORI, Measurement, Effect Assessment and Migration of Pollutant Impact on Movable Cultural Assets – Innovative research for Market Transfer.

Meaghan Monaghan
SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark / Kress Painting Conservation Fellow
Meaghan received her education as a Paintings Conservator, M.Sc. from Queen's University in Canada in 2010. For the past year, she has been a Samuel H. Kress Paintings Conservation Fellow at the National Gallery of Denmark. Her previous fellowships and internships include Yale University Art Gallery, Canadian Conservation Institute, and Australian Museum.

Friday Session 2

Rikke Bjarnhof
Department of Conservation, The National Museum of Denmark / Head of Buildings and Artefacts
Paintings Conservation M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark and MPG from Copenhagen Business School. Rikke is today head of Buildings and Artefacts at The National Museum of Denmark, Department of Conservation. Rikke is also involved with the implementation of recent changes to conservation training and education at KADK.

Amber Kerr
Lunder Conservation Centre, Smithsonian American Art Museum / Paintings Conservator
A Paintings Conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Lunder Conservation Centre. She received her Master of Science from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Programme in Art Conservation. Beyond her role as paintings conservator, Amber also serves as a member of Council for the IIC in addition to her contributing roles as Social Network Editor for the IIC Facebook and Twitter pages and her support of advancement programmes for emerging conservation professionals and students.

Carrie Roberts (via Web)
Metropolitan Museum of Art / Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation
Caroline (Carrie) Roberts graduated from the Winterthur / University of Delaware Programme in Art Conservation. Carrie recently completed a one-year Graduate Internship in Antiquities Conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and is now working as a Mellon Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Carrie served for two and a half years as co-officer of Professional Education and Training for the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network of AIC. She is now part of the Education and Training Committee of AIC, serving as a liaison to the AIC WIKI project.

Sarah Staniforth
The National Trust / Museums and Collections Director
From 2011, Sarah Staniforth has been Museums and Collections Director at the National Trust. She was Historic Properties Director from 2005-2010 and Head Conservator from 2002-2004. She is also a director of National Trust Enterprises and Historic House Hotels. In 1985, she joined the National Trust as Adviser on Paintings Conservation and Environmental Control. She read chemistry at Oxford University, studied paintings conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and worked in the scientific department of the National Gallery from 1980-1985. In 2013 she was elected President of IIC and has just completed a book on preventive conservation for the Getty Conservation Institute's Readings in Conservation series, Historical Perspectives on Preventive Conservation.

Prof. Dr. Jørgen Wadum
Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) / Director of Conservation
Jørgen received his education as a Paintings Conservator, M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark and a PhD from the University of Amsterdam. At present he is Director of Conservation at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, Director of CATS (Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation) and a professor of Conservation & Restoration at the University of Amsterdam. Jørgen previously worked for 15 years as chief conservator at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.

Friday Session 3

Karen Borchersen
School of Conservation, KADK / Student Counsellor, Conservator-restorer
Karen studied for a Paper Conservation, M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark. Karen guides students as a Student Counsellor at the School of Conservation KADK and runs the secretariat of ENCoRE (European Network for Conservation-Restoration Education). Karen is chairman of the board of NKF-dk (Nordic association of Conservators- Denmark) and as a result of this is part of the board of the internordic NKF ( IIC Nordic group). As Chairman of NKF-dk Karen also participates in the bi-annual E.C.C.O.presidents’ meeting.

Britt Christmas-Møller
Owner of the Konserveringsværkstedet workshop associated with Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Arts
Britt has a Paintings Conservation M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark. Britt has been working as a private Conservator since 1998. The Conservation Workshop is associated with Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and restores paintings before and after auctions as well as providing consultation to their clients in connection with condition reports.

Michael Højlund Rasmussen
Konserveringscenter Vest / Head of Conservation
Paper Conservation M.Sc. from the School of Conservation KADK in Denmark. Michael has worked as a Paper Conservator at The Conservation Centre in Vejle and since 2009 he has been Head of Conservation at the regional conservation centre, Konserveringscenter Vest, in Western Jutland.

Cornelia Weyer
Restaurierungszentrum der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, Germany / Director
A trained Paintings Conservator and PhD student at Zürich University, Cornelia has lectured on art technology, restoration ethics, and the history of restoration. Cornelia is an IIC Council member and the former Vice President of VDR (Verband der Restauratoren). Today she is Director of the Restaurierungszentrum der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf.