Blog Posts

When the wing was being designed, did no one think it would be a good idea for the architect to confer with the museum’s conservators?

By Rebecca Rushfield posted 3 days ago
According to “ The Real Thing? That’s a Big Question” , an article by Robin Pogrebin in the August 5, 2026 issue of The New York Times , the New York Historical had put several reproductions and facsimiles of light-sensitive works in the exhibit, “Democracy Matters”-- the first exhibit mounted in its new Tang Wing for American Democracy. The reason for the use of reproductions is that the galleries are flooded with light from windows placed up near the ceiling and the museum's Director felt that the effect produced by the use of blackout shades “undermined the wing’s soaring architecture”. The wing cost $175 million to construct. When it was being designed, ...

Cultural Heritage Advocacy Updates and Emerging Concerns

By Lissa Rosenthal-Yoffe posted 5 days ago
The stories making headlines in the past few weeks about museums, historic places, archives, libraries, artificial intelligence, federal policy and cultural institutions are all asking the same questions: Who decides what is preserved? Whose voices are heard? How do we balance change with thoughtful stewardship? What do we owe future generations? These are fundamentally questions of conservation. As you may remember , AIC recently joined the American Alliance of Museums and numerous partner organizations in submitting comments on ...

SAVE THE DATE: Microfading Tester Workshop, 2027 April 14 and 15, Singapore

By Vincent Beltran posted 6 days ago
"Save the Date" Details What: 1-day workshop “Microfading Tester: Gaining Practical Experience” Where: Heritage Conservation Centre in Singapore When: 2027 April 14 and 15 (participants will only attend 1 day) Capacity: Maximum of 18 participants each day Cost: 100 SGD (Singaporean Dollars), includes coffees and lunch Registration: Link to be announced soon Description This 1-day workshop will provide participants with practical experience on three iterations of the microfading tester (MFT) instrument commonly in use today: the original Whitmore MFT design, the Retroreflective MFT, and the Fotonowy MFT. The ...

Augerson Bibliography

By Christopher Augerson posted 14 days ago
Selected publications on Academia: https://buffalostate.academia.edu/CAugerson C. Augerson, “Improvements in 18th Century French Shipbuilding : Duhamel du Monceau’s early modern methodology, scientific testing, and steam-bending wood,” submitted for publication in The Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society . C. Augerson, "The Study and Treatment of the sleigh "The Cattails" (ca. 1740) at Versailles, Postprints of the Wooden Artifacts Group, Presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation , Washington DC: AIC (2014) 27-36. C. Augerson, “Carriage Painting : f2rom Baroque masterpieces to understated lining,” ...

Celebrating our 2026 Award Recipients

By Bonnie Naugle posted 22 days ago
2026 AIC, FAIC, and CAC Awards Recipients WASHINGTON, DC, and MONTREAL, QC, CANADA—The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) joined with our colleagues in the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property (CAC-ACCR) to celebrate the accomplishments of our members in Montreal, QC, Canada, on April 29, 2026. See the 2026 slideshow and statements from those who could not attend. Since 1974, AIC has awarded members and allied professionals for outstanding and distinguished contributions to the field of conservation. FAIC’s service award started in 2023. CAC has recognized its members since 2008. Join us in congratulating the following honorees: ...

Advocacy Alert: Proposed Changes to OMB Guidance Impacting Federal Grant Making & Spending

By Katelin Lee posted 07-02-2026
You may already be aware of proposed changes to guidance for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that have raised concerns from colleagues across the cultural heritage landscape. Amidst an already uncertain federal funding landscape, the proposed changes would exacerbate existing issues by expanding the authority of political appointees. Our colleagues at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) have outlined some of the most relevant issues: Political appointees must review all award proposals and relegate peer reviewers to an advisory role. Political appointees will review all award proposals to ensure they align with “national ...

CAR Volume 4 is now published

By Alessandra Guarascio posted 06-23-2026
CAR Volume 4 is now published The Contemporary Art Network (CAN!) is happy to announce that Volume 4 of the Contemporary Art Review (CAR) is now published and available for free on our website: https://resources.culturalheritage.org/contemporaryartreview/volume-4-2024/ . Volume 4 compiles post-prints from the 52nd annual meeting of the American Institute for Conservation held in Salt Lake City, Utah, and contains seven papers: Susan Costello and Georgina Rayner's article "Preservation of the Plastic Objects in the Harvard Art Museums’ Fluxus Collection" Lauren Fly and Samantha Springer's article "A Framework for Sustainable ...

Art Conservation in the Tropics: Reflections from Malaysia

By Chit Keong Ng posted 06-22-2026
More than ten years ago, I studied oil painting restoration in Florence, Italy. During my training, I was introduced to many traditional conservation materials such as dammar resin, rosin, beeswax, and natural resin-based systems. These materials have a long history of use and have proven their value through generations of conservation practice. At that time, I assumed that if the same materials and methods were used correctly, similar results could be expected everywhere. After returning to Malaysia, however, I began to notice that the situation was not always the same. As my restoration work increased, I observed that some natural resin varnishes ...

MFT-IDG/PCN Webinar, June 11: "Shifting Perspectives on Damage, Change, and Value"

By Vincent Beltran posted 05-05-2026
Update (2026 July 13) : I'm happy to share that the recording for the 2026 June 11 webinar "Shifting Perspectives on Damage, Change, and Value" has now been uploaded to the AIC YouTube page. The MFT-IDG and PCN would like to thank our speakers— Rob Waller, Jane Henderson, Marina Pugliese, Josefa Orrego, and Holly Salmon— for sharing their knowledge with us, the Getty for helping with webinar logistics, and AIC for supporting our communities. ---------- What counts as damage in cultural heritage and who gets to decide? AIC's Microfading Tester International Discussion Group (MFT-IDG) and Preventive Care Network (PCN) will host the webinar "Shifting ...

Resources: MIT Libraries' Wunsch Conservation Lab staff and collaborators present 'Doc Box Systems: Bins and Pockets

By Jana Dambrogio posted 05-01-2026
Do you need a storage solution for your indie tarot decks, photos, 35mm slides, cassette mixed tapes, or small objects? In celebration of #PreservationWeek , the MIT Libraries' Wunsch Conservation Lab staff and collaborators present ' Doc Box Systems: Bins and Pockets .' The schematics to make these innovative container systems are freely downloadable as accessible PDF, TIFF, and PNG. These modular pockets and bins fit into the flip-top document boxes and Paige ‘miracle 15’ boxes traditionally used for flat legal and letter-sized file folders. Download files: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/mitcontainers Watch Video: how to ...

MFT-IDG Meetup at AIC/CAC in Montreal

By Vincent Beltran posted 04-22-2026
For those attending the AIC/CAC meeting in Montreal, the Microfade Testing International Discussion Group (MFT-IDG) is hosting an informal meetup on Friday, May 1, from 12-145pm in the Hallway Le Saint-Laurent. We hope you'll join us to share thoughts on how MFT-IDG can be helpful for you, discuss any issues you are having related to MFT and lighting policy, or just complain about Blue Wools!. Everyone is welcome. Present will be all the MFT-IDG officers: Vincent Laudato Beltran (Chair, Getty Conservation Institute); JP Brown (Vice Chair, Field Museum); Rio Lopez (Secretary, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures); Kirsten Dunne (Information Repository, National ...

Creating a Culture of Climate Consciousness

By adrian hernandez posted 04-21-2026
April 22, 2026 As part of the AIC Sustainability Committee's efforts to connect with other organizations, we have invited Environment & Culture Partners to help us celebrate Earth Day by sharing their thoughts on the steps we can take to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Creating a Culture of Climate Consciousness By Al Carver-Kubik and Danielle Sakowski, Environment & Culture Partners On this Earth Day, Environment & Culture Partners encourages you to create a culture of climate consciousness in your community of friends, colleagues, and workplace. Here we offer some thoughts on how to develop climate ...

WESTERN ASSOCIATION FOR ART CONSERVATION - Aug 29-Sept 1

By Casey Mallinckrodt posted 04-13-2026
2026 WAAC CONFERENCE- August 29 -September 1, Denver Art Museum The Western Association for Art Conservation (WAAC) is pleased to invite presentation submissions for our upcoming 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. As we gather to celebrate our shared dedication to the preservation of cultural heritage, we look to our community to share the innovative research, practical treatments, and evolving philosophies that define our field today. We invite conservators, scientists, students, and allied professionals to submit abstracts that explore the care and preservation of cultural materials. Whether you are working within a major institution, a private ...

Job Posting - Paper Conservator at the Northeast Document Conservation Center

By Michael Lee posted 02-24-2026
PAPER CONSERVATOR Position Summary The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) seeks a motivated professional for the position of Paper Conservator with interest in developing their photograph conservation skills. The individual will join the staff of the Paper, Photograph and Asian Paintings Conservation Department. The opening is a full-time position located in NEDCC’s new facility located in Andover, Massachusetts. Founded in 1973, NEDCC is a non-profit conservation and preservation services center supporting the collections of its private and institutional clients. The Paper Conservator will be joining a team ...

Midwest Microfading Tester Workshop, Mar 20

By Vincent Beltran posted 02-19-2026
Registration is now open for the "Midwest Microfading Tester Workshop" taking place from 830am-3pm on Friday, March 20, 2026, at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. The audience for this practical training workshop includes prospective and emerging microfading tester (MFT) users, and those interested in alternatives to their current MFT setups. The workshop has a capacity of 18 persons and the registration fee is $85, which includes morning coffee and lunch. Registration c an be purchased from the following link (note: please do not add the "Meal Voucher" option as lunch will be provided): https://tickets.fieldmuseum.org/special-event-tickets?events=6967cccd3a63d6d037b6abe8&date=2026-03-20 ...

Highlights from COP30 – Culture Check-in

By adrian hernandez posted 02-17-2026
February 17, 2026 Highlights from COP30 – Culture Check-in We are off to another busy year and continue to look back on global climate conversations. We recognize that the news moves at full speed, given the many local and global changes taking place. In the frenzy, you may have missed happenings at COP30, which took place November 10 to 21, 2025, in Belém, Brazil. In recent years, many have written off the COP (Conference of the Parties), since it has been inundated with fossil fuel lobbyists and inaction from world leadership. However, culture has demanded a seat at the table and is starting to be heard. We’ll share some big wins and some disappointments ...

It is interesting to hear that it is still THE “modern practice” in Italy where the conservation work was carried out

By Rebecca Rushfield posted 01-26-2026
Each week in its weekend edition, The Wall Street Journal features a work of art in a column titled Masterpiece. The January 24-25, 2026 column features Giovanni Bellini’s “Pieta” (1470) currently on view at the Morgan Library & Museum in “ A Radiant Work Reborn ”. an article by Karen Wilkin. Along with a lyrical description of the work, Wilkin recounts its history of being moved from place to place, the toll that those moves took upon the work, and its restoration history. Of the painting's most recent treeatment she writes, “…discolored varnish was removed, holes and cracks were repaired, and, as is modern practice, restored areas were made congruent ...

Summer Internship in Textile Conservation at Peebles Island Resource Center

By Sarah Stevens posted 01-21-2026
Summer Internship at Peebles Island Resource Center, Textile Conservation Lab 30 hours/week, Monday - Thursday, mid-June to mid-August (8 weeks total) at $21.57/hr Please forward your resume and cover letter to Textile Conservator Sarah Stevens at sarah.stevens@parks.ny.gov with the subject line “Parks & Recreation Aide 6 (Textile Internship)”. If you have any questions concerning the position, please email Sarah. A portfolio may be required upon interview. Resumes are due January 30th, 2026 Link for more information: StateJobsNY - Public Information: Review Vacancy From the job posting: Established in 1972, the Bureau of Historic Sites provides ...

Summer Internship in Textile Conservation at Peebles Island Resource Center

By Sarah Stevens posted 01-21-2026
Summer Internship at Peebles Island Resource Center, Textile Conservation Lab 30 hours/week, Monday - Thursday, mid-June to mid-August (8 weeks total) at $21.57/hr Please forward your resume and cover letter to Textile Conservator Sarah Stevens at sarah.stevens@parks.ny.gov with the subject line “Parks & Recreation Aide 6 (Textile Internship)”. If you have any questions concerning the position, please email Sarah. A portfolio may be required upon interview. Resumes are due January 30th, 2026 Link for more information: StateJobsNY - Public Information: Review Vacancy From the job posting: Established in 1972, the Bureau of Historic Sites provides ...

Responders in Red Hook

By Katelin Lee posted 01-21-2026
When a catastrophic fire burned through artists' studios and galleries, National Heritage Responders provided crucial support Following a devastating 5-alarm fire in Red Hook in September, hundreds of artists were left wondering what, if anything, would remain of their work. The 150-year-old warehouse in Brooklyn was home to artists’ studios, gallery spaces, and community organizations. The fire ripped through the building, creating one wave of damage, followed by the necessary work of putting the fire out, which leads to water damage and hazards like mold. To a community reeling from the possible loss of years, decades worth of artistic growth and practice, ...