In anticipation of the joint AIC-CAC 2026 Meeting in Montreal, please join us for presentations and a discussion on building frameworks for fire response. Moderated by Carolina Squires and featuring talks by Laleña Vellanoweth, Linnaea Saunders, Malaika Abramson, Amy Green, Kamila Korbela, and Moira McKee, this event will be on April 21, 2026, at 1pm ET/10am PT, and is open to all.
Please use the link here to register- it's free!
Following the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, recovery of artwork and other personal and cultural materials became a focus for the conservation community. The scale of the damage to Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and the surrounding areas has meant a long-term recovery process. For many, this is their first interaction with conservators, and an opportunity for conservators to share collections care approaches with the wider public. Personal possessions may have been impacted to different degrees, including those that have surface grime/ash, smoke smell, other organic and particulate contaminants, and those that have severe damage, including full transformation of metal, glass, and ceramic objects. The extent of damage is often related to whether a work comes from a standing home or a fully burned home. Because of the complex nature of the pollutants created during the fire, long-term health consequences to owners and conservators are a concern. This webinar will present the experiences of conservators' ongoing and evolving response in Los Angeles, as well as the perspective of insurance adjusters working with industrial hygienists, noting community members' deeper understanding of the complexity of the recovery process. The need to improve upon existing responses is emphasized, given the ongoing concern for similar climate-related disasters in the future.
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Abed Haddad
AIC Vice President (2025-2027)
Assistant Conservation Scientist
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, NY
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