AICCM special interest groups—key issues for the twenty-first century

Abstract

Three AICCM Special Interest Groups (SIGs) address the topic ‘critical reflections and key issues for the twenty-first century.’ Participating SIGs include Textiles, Gilded Objects Conservation and Emerging Conservators. This paper will reflect on important initiatives GOCSIG conducted during the 24-year history of the group, and future directions for the group. The Textile SIG will explore issues facing textile conservators relating to modern materials (plastic) and hazards, as well as the possibilities digital technology opens up for the profession. The Emerging Conservators SIG reflects on issues for new professionals and look to future directions, drawing particularly on skills learnt in graduate programs to increase advocacy, training and professional opportunities.

Keywords:

• Special Interest Group
• Conservation education
• Hazards
• Frames
• Advocacy
• Textiles
• Emerging Conservators‌

Acknowledgements

The GOCSIG authors would like to thank to Grace Barrand (AGNSW) for her valuable comments and suggestions.

Author Biographies

Jennifer O’Connell, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Australia; Jennifer O'Connell is currently Senior Conservator (Painting) who graduated from the Master of Arts (Cultural Material Conservation) at the University of Melbourne in 2011. She also completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Photographic Material Conservation and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in History and Cinema Studies. Jennifer was the recipient of the ADFAS Student Conservator of the Year Award (University of Melbourne) in 2011. Prior to moving to Hobart, Jennifer worked as a painting conservator at International Conservation Services. Jennifer is a Professional Member of the AICCM and National President (2017–2020).

Barbara Dabrowa, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia; Barbara Dabrowa completed her Master’s Degree in the Preservation of Architectural Monuments at the University of Nicolaus Copernicus, Torun, Poland, majoring in the Conservation of Gilded Objects, 1985. Since 1995 she has been working as a Senior Frames Conservator, at the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia. During her career she carried out many projects in the field of gilding conservation at various galleries, museums, and private collections in Europe and Australia. Prior to her migration to Australia, she worked as a Head of Gilded Objects Conservation Laboratory at the Royal Castle and later at the Wilanow Palace, both in Warsaw. Other major projects comprise conservation treatments and research at the Bishops Palace, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1992; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK, 2003 and State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia, 2015 and 2018. She was the organiser and convenor of AICCM- FRAME: Concept, History and Conservation Symposium 2, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, April 2019. Since 2014 she has been a convenor of the AICCM Gilded Objects Conservation Special Interest Group (GOCSIG).

Jessie Firth, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia; Jessie Firth is a textile conservator at the Australian War Memorial, working with textiles and related materials for over 14 years. Prior the this she completed a Master of Arts (Conservation of Cultural Materials) at the University of Melbourne with her undergraduate degree from the University of Canberra. Jessie was the AICCM Textile Special Interest Group convener from 2009–14, organising the 2011 TSIG Conference. With the increasing volume of modern material in the AWM collection Jessie's interests have shifted in this direction, including plastics conservation and in 2020 she joined the Memorial's Hazard Management Project team.

Lisa Mansfield, Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne; Lisa Mansfield is a Master of Cultural Materials Conservation student at the Grimwade Centre, University of Melbourne. As SC@M President (2018) and Treasurer (2017), Lisa co-developed cross-disciplinary workshops funded by the university, and a pilot mentorship program linking masters students with industry professionals. She is co-convenor of the AICCM Emerging Conservators SIG and an AICCM VIC Division committee member. Her recently completed minor thesis research project undertaken at SFMOMA in San Francisco is on the conservation of net art.

Frances Paterson, International Conservation Services, Melbourne, Australia; Frances is currently Senior Conservation Manager at International Conservation Services where she has been working since 2017. She is a trained objects conservator and graduated from the University of Melbourne program in 2012. Previously, Frances has worked for Museums Victoria and Museums Galleries Australia (Victoria). She has extensive experience in the strategic preservation and remedial conservation of heritage and archaeological collections, outdoor sculptures and memorials, and contemporary artworks. Frances established the Emerging Conservators SIG in 2016 and served as Convenor until 2019. She is currently a committee member for the AICCM VIC Division.

Dr Malgorzata Sawicki, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia; Head of Frames Conservation, AGNSW, Sydney, Malgorzata was trained in gilded/ polychrome objects conservation in Poland, prior to migrating to Australia in the 1980s. Malgorzata received her PhD in Applied Science (Materials Conservation) for research on non-traditional gilding techniques (University of Western Sydney). Founder and first convenor of GOCSIG, Malgorzata was honoured by the AICCM with the Conservator of the Year award (1999), with the Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Research in the Field of Materials Conservation (2009), and The AICCM Medal (2018). Malgorzata was Assistant Coordinator and then Coordinator of the ICOM-CC Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer Working Group, 2005–2014. Malgorzata is professional member of the AICCM and Fellow of IIC.

Emily Vearing, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney, Australia; Emily graduated with a Master of Cultural Materials Conservation in 2018, where she specialised in paintings conservation. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with Majors in Art History and Creative Writing. She has worked as an exhibition assistant for Museums Victoria, a graduate paintings conservator for Grimwade Conservation Services and she completed a summer training residency in wall paintings and polychromy conservation on the St Mary's Church Conservation Project in Wiltshire, England in 2019. She is currently an assistant conservator at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney.