Pre-, Post-, and Lunch Sessions
Propose a session or /Submit an Abstract
DEADLINE:THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER 23, 2021@11:59 pm
Propose a session that will take place before, after or in-between main meeting sessions.
Pre/Post Sessions
Sessions should provide information on a topic of interest to attendees and should should be between 1 and 3 hours or a half- or full-day session. They may require an additional cost to attendees beyond the base registration. However, we make efforts to keep that cost low and/or offer sessions at no additional cost when possible. If you want to propose a longer session or one that doesn't quite fit one of the existing types, email Ruth Seyler, Meetings Director, at
rseyler@culturalheritage.org.
Lunch Sessions
You can propose content for a 1 or 2 hour lunch session during the main meeting days. These are targeted sessions that cover a specific topic in a lecture or panel format. Sessions that begin at noon will be ticketed to cover the cost of lunch; lunch will be 30-45 minutes and the session can start before lunch or after. We recommend programing not exceed 90 minutes in a lunch session. One-hour sessions that begin at 1 p.m. will not include lunch.
Open Symposia
The following symposia are accepting abstracts.
Life After Conservation ( To be offered the morning of May 18)
The lifeblood of a professional practice always lies in its next generation, but everyone knows conservators who stay at their job for what seems to be forever. Conservators who are truly dedicated to the advancement of conservation as a discipline must be willing to let younger people take the lead. Yet many conservators don't think about retiring from the field, and fewer actively plan for it. They may fear inadequate resources to support retirement, whether loss of community, loss of purpose, or loss of critical income. Others stay in the field because they cannot imagine what else they might do with their skills.The goal of this session is to help conservators—those holding institutional positions and private practitioners—strategize about a retirement or other job-changing plan. The focus will be on ways to maintain established intellectual and practical interests, while exploring new avenues for their expression. Participants will learn about finding new opportunities for their training as a conservator (heritage/conservation professional). The presenters will offer a demographic glimpse of conservators' responses to retirement, discuss actions they have (and participants) might take, and point out some solutions to the financial conundrums.
Viz for the Conservation Whiz: A Data Tools Symposium ( To be offered the afternoon of May 14)
Abstracts are requested for presentations for the AIC 2022 Annual Meeting Pre-Session Viz for the Conservation Whiz: A Data Tools Symposium. The event will be an engaging two-hour symposium on data-driven tools and approaches to conservation and preservation projects. Interest in data-driven methods is growing exponentially with increasingly powerful and accessible tools. Conservation professionals gather many kinds of data in their daily work but, due to an overwhelming number of options and data sets that can get messy quickly, there is a strong need to better manage, analyze, and visualize the information. The goal of this Pre-Session is to present a variety of case studies where data-driven tools and methods are integral to conservation professionals' work. The symposium will feature full-length case study presentations, a lightning-round session, and a moderated open-floor discussion. Attendees will gain exposure to multiple tools and methods, insight on new and different ways to work with their own data, and inspiration from a community of like-minded, data-curious colleagues. Focus will be placed on open-source and free tools, however projects done in proprietary software will not be excluded. Projects need not be completed to be presented, and in-progress projects are encouraged.
We seek papers that highlight;
- Functionality of data tools or methods that inspire application in the cultural heritage professionals’ work.
- Projects where data analysis and/or data visualization played a significant role in the outcome.
- An overview of a data tool with a live demonstration.
- Comparison of different tools for a single/particular application (i.e. OpenRefine v.s. Excel for data cleaning, Photoshop v.s. ImageJ for image analysis)
- Collaboration between the cultural heritage and data science professionals
Approximate length of presentations are 20 minutes for a full-length case study and 5 to 10 minutes for a lightning-round talk. Please indicate in your submission if you have a preference for presentation length. Wifi connectivity will be available in the conference space if required for live demonstrations.