Winterthur recently welcomed this year’s ten-member cohort for the Six-Week Introduction to Practical Conservation (SIP-C), which will provide them with an overview and introduction to conservation. SIP-C was created in 2017 to increase diversity in cultural heritage conservation and related professions through a partnership of the Alliance of HBCU Museums and Galleries and the University of Delaware, with funding from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
The cohort spent the first two weeks of SIP-C at Winterthur. For the ensuing four weeks, the students are working in pairs in the conservation departments of the Brooklyn Museum, Fisk University, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Yale University Art Museums, and Winterthur to gain more hands-on experience. The two students staying at Winterthur are Dominique V. Goden and Dorian Henry. Dominique is interested in costume and textiles, and Dorian in furniture.
“The first week was packed, with speakers, hands-on conservation activities, and building knowledge of artistic techniques and materials,” said Nina Owczarek, assistant professor of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware. Speakers included Dr. Jontyl Robinson, curator and assistant professor at the Legacy Museum at Tuskegee University, discussing heritage preservation and human preservation there and Dr. Julie McGee, associate professor of Africana studies and art history at the University of Delaware, who discussed David Driskell, an important African American artist, art historian, and curator.
The cohort took a tour of the Winterthur collection with Kathy Gillis, senior furniture conservator. Dr. Melissa Tedone, conservator of library materials and lab head, offered a paper marbling workshop. The students were introduced to preventive conservation concepts and participated in a hands-on seminar about creating protective sealed packages for artwork. In addition, the students mended paper tears and learned the features of print identification.
Photos
Top: William Donnelly, associate preventative conservator at Winterthur, instructs the 2023 SIP-C interns about the technique of sealed packages to help protect artwork.
Bottom left: Kathy Gillis, furniture conservator, points out inscriptions on the interior door of a tall case clock in the collection related to its history of cleaning and repairs.
Bottom, left: Gabrielle Hilliard and Shamica Terry participated in a paper marbling workshop led by Dr. Melissa Tedone, conservator of library materials and lab head at Winterthur.