The Objects Specialty Group (OSG) is pleased to announce we are seeking abstracts for the 2024 AIC Annual Meeting in Salk Lake City, Utah, from May 20 – 24, 2024. This year's AIC theme is Expect the Unexpected: Embracing and Managing Change, Uncertainty, and Surprise – and for objects conservators this is a common everyday truth. Above all, we embrace uncertainty each time we have to treat something new or unfamiliar under the giant umbrella of "objects."
We have heard your requests for more treatment-oriented sessions (to be sprinkled amongst the analytical and research talks) and want to encourage those submissions! Share with us what you have learned from your recent projects, collaborations with other specialty groups, and surprises (good and/or bad). Nothing is too small to share with our fellow colleagues in our endless fight for long-term preservation.
Abstracts must be under 500 words and need to be submitted by September 15, 2023. All abstracts will be considered. See the AIC submission portal for more information here.
Talks are to be a maximum of 20 minutes in length with an additional 5 minutes for questions. Please note that accepted authors are expected to submit a written version of their presentation for publication in the OSG Annual Meeting Post Prints following the Meeting.
For this session, we are looking for submissions that address (but not limited to!):
- Advice and tips you have learned along the way from others (maybe even from other specialties) – pass it on - from treatment techniques, tools, and/or organizational tools.
- Facing unknown materials on your table- how did you proceed? Even if you think it was just new to you, we all want to hear about your experience!
- Navigating budgetary constraints and how did that influence your decision making.
- What object(s) have you fallen in love with this year (or conversely driven you crazy) – during your treatment or research? Tell us.
- How is your institution dealing with climate change? Have discussions even begun?
For questions or more information, please contact OSG Program Chair, Fran Baas (FBaas@dma.org).
and Assistant Program Chair, Caroline Roberts (cirobert@umich.edu).
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Caroline Roberts
Conservator
Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
Ann Arbor, MI
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