Whether you’re just beginning your conservation journey or you’re deep into doctoral research, conferences offer a unique opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired. Two University of Lincoln conservation students – Amy, who has just completed her first year of training, and Anna, a PhD researcher and experienced textile conservator – recently attended major textile conservation conferences and shared their reflections. Their words speak volumes about the value of these events, no matter where you are in your career.
Amy: First-Time Conference Attendee
In June, I attended the TCC@50 conference, hosted in the Textile Conservation Centre’s (TCC) current home at the Kelvin Centre, Glasgow.
This was the first conference I’d had opportunity to attend, and it was an intense and fascinating experience. Over 40 presentations, covering the breadth of textile conservation practice, reflected on the past 50 years of the TCC and possible futures for the specialism. My interest was pricked by topics as diverse as working with indigenous communities in Alaska to conserve ceremonial robes, to experiments with new dye brands promising greater sustainability, to the use of X-ray technology to discover stitch holes (suggesting removed Catholic iconography) on a Reformation era alb. Discussion of where and how textile conservation is practiced was a recurring theme, from museum and historic house contexts, to institutions such as art galleries and libraries, to private and community practices. I especially enjoyed hearing about collaborations between textile and object conservators.
Many speakers and attendees were TCC graduates, and the atmosphere of a reunion permeated the two days. Even as an outsider, the friendliness, curiosity and generosity of time and knowledge I’ve come to associate with the conservation community was very much in evidence. I was starstruck to recognise the conservator from the BBC’s Secrets of the Museum who’d worked on Pumpie the Elephant, and even more so when she offered to share a pattern to make my own replica Pumpie.
Current students on the MPhil Textile Conservation programme were on hand to speak about their studies – TCC dissertations are available on request – and led tours of their lab facilities. For those with the stamina, National Museums Scotland also opened their textile and paper conservation studio and stores, in Edinburgh, up for a brilliant tour the morning after the conference.
Overall, it was an excellent and exhausting few days, packed with Tunnocks caramel wafers, that pushed me to think about familiar techniques and ideas differently, as well as introducing new ones, and left me feeling freshly excited about conservation.
Anna: An Experienced Conservator’s Perspective
As a textile conservator and PhD researcher, I was thrilled to attend not one, but two exciting textile conservation conferences this past spring.
Late April brought me to Chesterfield to take part in the Woven Worlds conference hosted by the National Trust. Celebrating the rehanging of the Gideon Tapestries at Hardwick Hall, the conference looked not only at the history and conservation of this set of tapestries, but also the conservation and analysis of other historic and modern tapestries. The first day was filled with fascinating presentations from well-known names in tapestry research and conservation, and the amount of knowledge shared at the event made my head spin. Some of the highlights for me were presentations on the use of hyperspectral imaging for dye analysis and mapping; how micro-fade testing is used to balance access to and preservation of tapestries in stately homes; and on adaptations to the De Wit aerosol suction wet cleaning method. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the second day when in-person attendees toured through Hardwick Hall to view the Gideon Tapestries and other highlights of the collection.
As a Textile Conservation Centre (TCC) graduate, the TCC@50 conference in Glasgow felt like a homecoming for me. The atmosphere was charged with joy and comradery as textile conservators from across the UK and around the world gathered in the place where many of us had treated our first objects. The feeling of both looking back and looking forward pervaded as presentations reflected on the development of textile conservation as a discipline; changes in materials and technology used in the profession; and how conservation can continue to become more diverse, environmentally friendly, and mindful of the impact our work has in the interpretation and access of cultural heritage. The session looking at dyes was particularly fascinating for me, and I was excited to learn of a conservation dye, Avitera™, which can be used on both silks and cellulosic fabrics (an unusual but beneficial property for textile conservators).
Both conferences were absolute whirlwinds and highlights of my year thus. I was delighted to meet up with friends and colleagues, some old, some new, and some who I had previously only met online, to discuss our favourite subject: old textiles and how we can care for them! The collective professional knowledge and experience at both events fostered discussions and conversations inside and outside of the conference rooms that were open, honest, thought-provoking, and filled with shared experiences and smiles. It is this sharing of knowledge and feelings of comradery which makes me so grateful to be part of such a dedicated and diverse profession.
A Shared Message
Amy and Anna’s reflections show that conservation conferences are not just for seasoned professionals – they’re for everyone. Whether it’s your first time attending or a long-awaited reunion, these events offer a chance to learn, share, and grow and, as Anna beautifully puts it, “filled with shared experiences and smiles.”