Survey: Selecting storage materials in challenging contexts

Posted on behalf of Flavia Ravaioli:

Please take part in a brief survey on the use of storage materials. It should take from 6 to 10 minutes to complete.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LLTZTRB

My name is Flavia Ravaioli and I am studying towards an MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. You can view my personal profile here: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/dept/conservation/staff/fr306.html

The aim of this survey is to collect information on how heritage practitioners choose storage materials while carrying out fieldwork. I’m primarily interested in how the choice is made in contexts in which "conservation grade" materials are not readily available. These contexts may include: archaeological sites; heritage sites or museums located in remote or poorly connected areas; heritage sites or museums in low income countries.
Please only answer this survey if you have experience of working in similar contexts.

The information gathered will contribute to a dissertation on the use of sustainable techniques and locally produced materials in conservation. The data will also be disseminated online on this page: http://uclconversationsonconservation.blogspot.co.uk

You must be aged over 18 to participate. By clicking on the “next” button at the bottom of this page, you are indicating that you are over 18, and you are consenting to participate in this survey. If you wish to withdraw at any stage, simply close the browser.

For comments, questions or more details about this survey please contact:
flavia.ravaioli.10@ucl.ac.uk

Thank you for contributing to my research, it is greatly appreciated!

Check out Kaman-Kalehöyük's blog

Current MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museum student Davina Kuh Jakobi is doing a summer internship in archaeological conservation, on site at Kaman-Kalehöyük, located in the province of Kırşehir, Turkey (about 100 km south of Ankara) with the Japanese Institute for Anatolian Archaeology. The site is located on a mound with the ancient Silk Road passing adjacent to the south. It has been inhabited by many groups that have occupied central ancient Anatolia starting around the third millennium BCE, during the Early Bronze Age.

Image from the Kaman-Kalehöyük Archaeological Museum website, which discusses chronology of the site and results of excavation.

The conservation team there consists of the director of conservation, the field conservator, the preventative conservator, and two interns. Together, they are responsible for the conservation and preservation of the excavated finds, which primarily include many small copper alloy and iron objects, but also include lead, glass, stone, bone, obsidian, and ceramics. They also have the opportunity to collaborate with other researchers on site, such as archaeobotanists, zooarchaeologists, osteologists, and archaeological analytical scientists.

Field conservator, Kate Wight and Cheryl Anderson, a Ph.D. student in anthropology at the University of Nevada Los Vegas, examine a bone that has become green from associated copper alloy objects.

Occasionally, they are called out to the field to lift fragile finds; so far this season, they have lifted two fragile iron artefacts. Additionally, Davina is working on a research project to formulate a methodology for the cleaning and unrolling of lead scrolls.

Davina cleans one of the iron objects that has been lifted this season.

They've gotten their conservation blog up and running, which gives a bit of insight into some of the artefacts and projects that they are involved in, so definitely check it out!

Survey: Participatory processes and conservation practice

If you haven't done so yet, please take part in a brief survey about the impact of participatory processes on conservation. It should take from 5 to 8 minutes to complete. 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/25DKHGW

The survey closes on 4th Aug.

The survey is aimed at museum professionals, with a special focus on curators and conservators. I am especially (but not exclusively) interested in the opinions of professionals working with collections originating from Indigenous groups worldwide, contemporary art, and archaeological material. 

The survey aims to gather information for an investigation on the impact of participatory processes on conservation practice and thinking worldwide. The data obtained from the survey will be used in my research and in an article I am writing about the topic. The data will also be made available on this blog.
Thank you very much for your time, I value your opinion! 

Conference call for papers: The impact of cross-disciplinary conservation on social development

16^th-17^th May 2014UCL Institute of Archaeology

A two-day conference organized by the Conservation and Development Network (University College London), in collaboration with the Heritage Conservation and Human Rights Network (University of Nairobi) and the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (University of Delaware).

Conservation decision-making processes are influenced by local, national and international socio-economic factors and their associated contexts. Conversely, conservation can also significantly affect socio-economic development and lead to improvements in people’s lives. Understanding layers of history, values, how they are shaped, their contexts, motivations, and their impact form the fundamental basis for effective decision-making processes in conservation today. The conference will explore the impact of conservation ethics and practices on socio-cultural, economic and ecological contexts in need of development, areas of post-conflict recovery and reconstruction due to natural disasters. The main purpose is to stimulate lasting discussion (within heritage conservation, the broader field of heritage, and nature conservation) on how the practice of conservation can promote human wellbeing and economic prosperity, support conflict or disaster recovery, and foster social cohesion.

Submissions will be invited in the following areas:

• The impact of the practice of conservation on people’s wellbeing and quality of life.
• Engagement of local groups in re-construction and/or development through the practice of conservation.
• Cross-disciplinary collaborations between professionals involved in heritage and nature conservation (in both practical and theoretical levels).
• Research on and use of locally produced resources to replace expensive imported treatment materials. 
• Practical issues of conservation in the field, focusing on involvement/training of local people.
• Theoretical and practical approaches that make the practice of conservation sustainable.

Dissemination: Presenters will be invited to submit their papers to a special issue of the Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies http://jcms-journal.com/  (an open access and peer-reviewed journal).

For more information contact conservationucl@gmail.com

Save the date: The Impact of Cross Disciplinary Conservation Practices on Social Development

16th-17th May 2014 at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London


Submissions are invited to a conference organized by the Conservation and Development Network (Institute of Archaeology, University College London) in collaboration with the Heritage Conservation and Human Rights Network (University of Nairobi) and the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (University of Delaware). 


The conference aims to stimulate lasting discussion (within heritage conservation, the broader field of heritage, and nature conservation) on how the practice of conservation can promote human wellbeing and economic prosperity, support conflict or disaster recovery, and foster social cohesion. 


We invite papers exploring the impact of conservation ethics and practices on socio-cultural, economic and ecological contexts in need of development, areas of post-conflict recovery and reconstruction due to natural disasters. We are particularly interested in submissions in the following areas: 


• The impact of the practice of conservation on people’s wellbeing and quality of life.


• Engagement of local groups in re-construction and/or development through the practice of conservation.


• Cross-disciplinary collaborations between professionals involved in heritage and nature conservation (in both practical and theoretical levels). 


• Research on and use of locally produced resources to replace expensive imported treatment materials.


• Practical issues of conservation in the field, focusing on involvement/training of local people. 


• Theoretical and practical approaches that make the practice of conservation sustainable.
Presenters will be invited to submit their papers to a special issue of the Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies http://jcms-journal.com/ (an open access and peer-reviewed journal). 


Keynote speakers and detailed program will be publicised in the next few months. For more information please contact conservationucl@gmail.com 
More details on the Conservation and Development Research Network here http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/research/directory/conservation_peters

ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY THE INTERNS OF THE MSC IN CONSERVATION FOR ARCHAEOLOGY AND MUSEUMS (16 May 2013)

Everybody was very impressed by the presentations last Thursday. Congratulations to all the presenters! 
The presentations discussed the research the students are doing for their final MSc dissertations, due in September. Here is the list of topics, for those who could not be there:

Shiree Roberts [Manchester Museum]
Wax on, wax off? An exploration of the relationship between lacquer and wax.

Rafael Lopez Bravo [Plowden and Smith; Wallace Collection]
The influence of the object's context on conservation decision-making.

Emma Payne [Victoria and Albert Museum, sculpture; British Museum, stone]
Making moulds of objects: uses and conservation perspectives.

Rachel Greenberg [British Museum, ceramics and metals]
Revising the methodology for testing MDF sealants to prevent corrosive emissions.

Nicola Harrison [Horniman Museum]
A fair comparison? The impact of experience on the adoption of new materials.

Kelly Schulze [Historic Royal Palaces; Plowden and Smith]
Functions and events in historic houses and museums.

Rebecca Pont [Bodleian Library; Ashmolean Museum]
The removal and stabilization of fragile ceramic fragments from a damp soil-block.

Alison Foster [Royal Albert Memorial Museum; Pitt Rivers Museum]
Powerful objects: meanings, contexts and conservation.

Lisa Barter [Museums of Scotland]
Corrosion to metal: there and back again; or potentiostatic reduction from a conservator's perspective.

Ben Regel [National Maritime Museum; Science Museum]
Exploring the effect and impact of institutional context on the management and conservation of culturally sensitive materia.
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Flavia Ravaioli [Scott Polar Research Institute & Fitzwilliam Museum]
Sourcing sustainable conservation materials.

Carmen Vida Navarro [Museum of London]
Evaluating treatment processes: a discussion of treatment viability and acceptability in relation to the acetone-rosin treatment for waterlogged wood.

Two conservation-related projects feature in the Happy List 2013!

Be inspired! Two conservation-related projects feature in the Independent's Happy List 2013!

This is the Independent's sixth annual Happy List, naming "100 outstanding people whose volunteering, caring, fundraising, mentoring, charity founding or selflessness makes Britain a more contented, supportive, better-adjusted and happier place".

You can see the list here but look out for:

Acorn Bank Watermill Volunteers - Heritage lovers:
"Richard Harland, Ray Gill and Bob Price form the trio who painstakingly restored and now maintain an ancient mill at Temple Sowerby, Cumbria. For five years they have helped to rebuild the wooden structure, and the mill is now able to grind flour for the first time in over 70 years."

Denise Bernard - Restorer:
"Denise’s determination to restore The Florence Institute in Toxteth, Liverpool, which closed in the 1980s, is the reason it stands tall today. Denise and her community, helped by lottery funding, have transformed “the Florrie” into a youth and social club that is used by 250 children weekly."

ICOM-CC Interim meeting: CONSERVATION NOW - 5th-6th September 2013

CONSERVATION NOW, an ICOM-CC Interim Meeting organized by Working Groups for 'Education & Training' and 'Preventive Conservation' will take place at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th September 2013. 

The organizers seek to understand the current and future demands on conservation practice so that conservation programmes can maximise the employability of their graduates. They would like to gather data on the experiences of conservation graduates, conservation programmes, practising conservators as well as those employing conservators.

For this, they are asking for feedback through online surveys. The links are below. Please choose the one that is most appropriate to you. 

Conservation Practitioners Survey
Conservation Employers Survey
Conservation Graduates Survey
Conservation Programmes Survey 

The deadline for completion of the surveys is Friday 31st May 2013

If you have any queries please contact Jean Brown

17th Triennial Conference through Friday, May 3, 2014: deadline for contributions has been extended

ICOM-CC is extending the deadline for contributions to the 17th Triennial Conference through Friday, 3rd May, 2013. 

The conference will take place in Melbourne, Australia from 15th to 19th September, 2014. The theme is 'Building Strong Culture through Conservation'. 


See more details on the theme and on how to apply on the dedicated website
For any questions, contact  preprints

If you are interested in the Working Group on Ethnographic Collections please contact Renata