Conservation at the Intersection of Innovation and Tradition: 2026 AIC-CAC Joint Meeting in Montreal

By Abed Haddad, AIC Vice President and Program Chair, 2026-2028, with others

I’m still buzzing from our time together in Montreal during the joint meeting with our colleagues from the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property (CAC-ACCR). I made the best of our time there and was so lucky to talk to many of you, some for the very first time but certainly not the last! I even lost my voice towards the end—totally worth it! Returning to Montreal for our second joint meeting with CAC-ACCR felt especially meaningful to many of you, and that was evident in the smiling faces and warm hugs I saw throughout the Palais des congrès. I hope that we continue to return to Montreal and further deepen our collaboration with our Canadian colleagues, to whom we are all thankful for their open sharing and welcome spirit as this year’s hosts.

By the numbers, this year’s joint meeting brought together approximately 1,200 in-person attendees in Montreal, with nearly 200 colleagues joining online. The program featured 41 unique sessions, 220 presentations, 145 posters, nine luncheon programs, 12 sold-out workshops, and six sold-out tours. We also celebrated two Big Cheese Awards, welcomed two very popular puppies, sang along with six incredible queens (did you see that floor-length jacket with the fur trim? I lost it!), and capped off the first full day with an Opening Reception that brought the community together around mounds of butter in all shades.

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From the President and Executive Director

Listening, Learning, and Moving Forward Together

As we reflect on the 2026 AIC-CAC Joint Meeting in Montreal, we’re thinking less about any single session, presentation, or conversation and more about what we learned from being together. Each annual meeting offers an opportunity to exchange knowledge, share new research, reconnect with colleagues, and welcome new ideas and voices into our continuing dialog within our community. It is also a chance to step back and consider not only the work we do, but how we engage with one another as professionals and as a community—not only during the annual meeting, but throughout the year in virtual and in-person meetings and through our workplaces, specialty groups, and our online communities.

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