Ariana Makau has been involved in the field of conservation for over 20 years. She is the president and principal conservator of Nzilani Glass Conservation, Inc. Ms. Makau trained in the Antiquities Conservation Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum and received a Masters in Stained Glass Conservation at the Victoria & Albert Museum/ Royal College of Art, in London, England. After the RCA, she spent a year in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art supported by a Samuel H. Kress Foundation Fellowship for Advanced Training in Conservation. A native Californian, Ariana returned to the Bay Area and founded Nzilani Glass Conservation, which specializes in glass conservation, restoration and commissioned works.
Ms. Makau is the 2nd Vice President of the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA) and their Health & Safety Chair, a Professional Member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and an Independent Stained Glass Conservator/Consultant.
A native Californian, Ariana returned to the Bay Area after receiving an MA in Stained Glass Conservation at the Victoria & Albert Museum/ Royal College of Art, in London, England. She founded and has been the president and principal conservator of Nzilani Glass Conservation since 2003. In 2018, Nzilani was the recipient a California Preservation Foundation Award for its conservation of 5000+ square feet of stained-glass windows at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
The Company’s mission of “Be Safe. Have Fun. Do Excellent Work.” - also describes Ariana. Personal safety has always been a driving force in all of her work; as she believes that if you are aware of your environment and materials, it frees you up to do your best and have fun doing it. To this end, Makau has intentionally reached out to Site Hygienists and representatives of CalOSHA to apply general regulations within the construction industry (as they pertain to lead workers) to customize them to stained glass work; for individual artists, or site/studio work for studios of all sizes. In her capacity as Health & Safety Chair for the Board of the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA), plus speaking engagements and articles she disseminates her findings to improve the Health & Safety of the Stained Glass Industry as a whole.