Past Meetings

"What's Your Story? The Power of Collaborations and Connections"
53rd Annual Meeting, May 27-31, 2025

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"Expect the Unexpected: Embracing and Managing Change, Uncertainty, and Surprise"
52nd Annual Meeting, May 20-24, 2024

In his novel Slapstick or Lonesome no More! Kurt Vonnegut wrote “history is merely a list of surprises… it can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.”  For those of us working to study, treat, and preserve cultural heritage our jobs often involve encounters with the surprising and unexpected.  We may encounter unanticipated materials on an object, have to change treatment methodology as new information comes to light, uncover new aspects of an artistic practice, discover unexpected advantages of a collaboration, or navigate shifting institutional or client priorities.  While these types of uncertainty can be exciting, terrifying, and stressful, they present real opportunities for growth and learning.  At AIC’s 52nd Annual Meeting – May 20-24th at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah – we want to hear your stories of encountering the unexpected, of the surprising things you’ve learned and the pivots you’ve had to make.  Through sharing our experiences, we can help our community be prepared to be surprised (yet) again and to embrace and take full advantage of the opportunities presented when the unexpected occurs.

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"Conservation in the Age of Environmental, Social, and Economic Climate Change"
51st Annual Meeting, May 16-20, 2023

 

Rising global temperatures, international conflicts, political shifts that threaten to erase hard won rights, and a fragile and unbalanced economy. These are some of the issues our organization, our field, and we as individuals are facing right now, and they may seem overwhelming, but as the activist and historian Rebecca Solnit said, “Hope locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act.” Conservation is an inherently hopeful pursuit. We hope through our actions to preserve the legacy of humanity for future generations. We hope through our research and collaborative efforts with source communities to tell richer, more nuanced stories of individuals and cultures. Conservation is also an active pursuit involving treatment, surveys, monitoring, research, development of site use plans, outreach, advocacy, education, and a myriad of other activities.

What actions are we or should we be taking to deal with the many crises facing us:

• How do we make our field more sustainable and lessen our negative impact on the earth and our environment?
• How do we protect sites and collections in times of climate crises?
• How do we need to adapt treatments to changing climatic conditions?
• How can our field and organization support the transformative movements working to address racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination?
• How do we adapt to a fluctuating economy and ongoing supply chain issues?

These questions do not have single right answers, and instead give us space to experiment, to try, to perhaps stumble or fail, and to succeed. We hope that by sharing our ideas and approaches and possible solutions to these problems at AIC’s 51st Annual Meeting, we will be energized and inspired to continue our efforts on behalf of humanity.

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"Reflecting on the Past, Imagining the Future"
50th Annual Meeting, May 13-18, 2022

The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of the American Institute for Conservation. The field of cultural heritage preservation has grown immeasurably since 1972, with the introduction of new treatment methodologies, analytical techniques, and conservation materials. During this time span, the nature of the objects and sites we deal with has changed and our philosophies surrounding their care have necessarily evolved. We also must acknowledge that we are facing increasingly global issues such as climate change, social justice, and mass displacement and migration of peoples, all requiring new approaches and collaborations with other fields and stakeholder communities.

As we celebrate and reflect on AIC's first fifty years, we invite introspective and innovative contributions to:

• Examine with modern eyes the history of field, its practice, and practitioners.
• Address concerns we are facing now.
• Explore and imagine our next half century.

Where do we want AIC to be in the year 2072? What lessons can we learn from the past that will help guide our field into the future? What should our priorities and goals be? What steps should we take, and which frameworks should we build, to achieve those goals and shape our field for the next fifty years?

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“Conservation: Reactive and Proactive”

We work in a rapidly changing world. Globally, the economy is volatile, the marketplace demanding, and the negative impact of climate change looms large in conservation. Many collecting institutions have shifted their priorities to preventive conservation for collections and interactive learning in exhibitions, which can decrease emphasis on traditional conservation treatment and the supremacy of original display materials. Conservation professionals are drawing from a wide skill set to respond to these challenges in creative and productive ways. From offering conservation services that go beyond treatment, to focusing on sustainability, to utilizing materials science and technical art history in public education, our field is adapting and evolving. In 2020, we’ll explore ways we can anticipate and embrace change. How are you meeting your biggest challenges? Please join us to share your triumphs and reflect on areas for growth.

We held this annual meeting in virtual format, presented live from May 21 through September 2, 2020.

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New Tools, Techniques, and Tactics in Conservation and Collection Care

Uncasville, CT & New England • May 13-17, 2019

Are conservation professionals innovators? We think so. From developing new approaches to conservation treatment and preventive care, to utilizing cutting-edge technological research, to examining how cultural heritage is defined and valued, conservation professionals are innovative, dynamic, forward-looking agents of change. And how does collaboration with related fields and allied professionals influence the dynamics of the conservation – innovation process? We asked for papers that explore all types of new work: practical, method-focused treatment projects; advances in collections care and management; discoveries in conservation science; and conservation initiatives that intentionally have a positive impact on communities.

This meeting, we came together to share new ideas for solving conservation and collections care problems large and small.

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Material Matters 2018
Houston, TX • May 29-June 2, 2018

How does a better understanding and appreciation of the properties of materials change their treatment, interpretation, and preservation?

This meeting investigated the impact of material studies – or studies of materials – on the conservation profession, including the emergence of innovative treatments, new ways of “looking” and “seeing,” shifts in decision-making and desired outcomes, and changes in collection care strategies. It also explored the impact of trending “materiality” studies on related disciplines including archaeology, museum and curatorial fields, and art history among others. Topics included: cutting-edge imaging and analysis techniques of materials, new materials having conservation applications, revelations about the meaning and significance of materials within an artist’s work, and improved methods of authentication.

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Treatment 2017: Innovation in Conservation and Collection Care
Chicago, IL • May 28-June 1, 2017

Whether item or collection-level, preventive or interventive, treatment remains at the heart of what conservators do in order to preserve cultural heritage collections. The design and implementation of an ethical and sound conservation treatment, even the ultimate decision of no treatment at all, begin before its commencement and the consequences continue well beyond its completion.

This meeting explored various facets of conservation treatments and collection care programs intended to prolong the lifetime of cultural property. Topics included reconsiderations of historic procedures no longer in practice, cutting edge technologies employed in treatments, effective preventive conservation or collection care steps that reduce the necessity or extent of interventive treatments, the incorporation of sustainability into conservation treatments, or innovations in treatment design, execution, and documentation. 

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Emergency! Preparing for Disasters and Confronting the Unexpected in Conservation
Montreal, Quebec, Canada • May 13-17, 2016

This meeting addressed in a broad-based way the impact of past, present, and future disasters on the protection of cultural property. In addition, confronting the unexpected in conservation--whether it occurs during the treatment of an artifact or during a natural disaster--was covered. The scope of the theme included immediate reactions, such as the application of crowd-mapping technology to aid response efforts, as well as longer term developments stemming from disasters, such as the adoption of simple strategies: Fail to Plan – Plan to Fail, effective risk assessment methodologies, the rapid transformation of damaged artifacts into objects of veneration, the repercussions of instantaneous visibility of destruction.

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Practical Philosophy, or Making Conservation Work

Miami, FL • May 13-16, 2015

All aspects of conservation, from preventive care to in-painting, include both theory and practice. In most cases, theory supports practice. Nonetheless, conservation professionals are sometimes challenged in their efforts to smoothly meld the two. Many factors, ranging from available resources to questions of public access and politics, can thwart even the best treatment plans and noblest intentions. The transition from what we initially envision as ideal to what we eventually acknowledge as realistic often requires compromise. But, are less than satisfactory outcomes inevitable? Or, can better solutions evolve from necessity?

This meeting discussed how philosophical principles can be successfully translated into workable—even superior—practice.

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Conscientious Conservation – Sustainable Choices in Collection Care
San Francisco, CA • May 28-31, 2014

No longer focusing exclusively on treatment, conservation professionals today routinely incorporate preventive measures into the care of cultural heritage. Coupled with the awareness that our work takes place within the larger context of an increasingly interconnected and vulnerable global environment, we have become more dedicated to the issue of sustainability.

This meeting explored how sustainability and collection care changing the way we practice conservation. Topics ranged from architectural projects to re-housing and storage, approaches to archaeological excavations, collection maintenance practices, or recycling and efficiencies in your own private practice.

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The Contemporary in Conservation
Indianapolis, IN • May 29-June 1, 2013

This meeting focused on contemporary approaches to conservation. In addition to the treatment of contemporary art, it considered topics including: current issues in conservation and preservation, such as digitization, environmental sustainability or the effects of architectural design on the preservation of objects; current trends in exhibition design and the new challenges they present for preservation including greater physical access, longer display times and more touring exhibitions.

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Connecting to Conservation: Outreach and Advocacy
Albuquerque, NM • May 8-11, 2012

This meeting took up the issue of outreach and advocacy in conservation with an exploration of how conservation connects with allied professionals, the press, our clients, and the general public.

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Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Ethical Principles and Critical Thinking in Conservation
Philadelphia, PA • May 31 - June 1, 2011

This meeting examined how ethics, logic, and perception guide conservation decisions. Assumptions long held in the practice of conservation are being challenged by the modern world. Environmental sustainability, economic drivers, art as entertainment, the use of cultural heritage, and public access concerns changing the practice of conservation.  Do the core values of conservation still hold?

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Conservation Continuum—examining the past, envisioning the future
Milwaukee, WI • May 11-14, 2010

This meeting set the theoretical framework for the discussion of conservation in a changing world. The talks represented aspects of the profession examining itself, incorporating theory and interpretation into its focus and identity and, conversely, the necessity of reinventing the role/image of conservation in a public institution. The meeting also described the place of conservation in a global environment, moving towards the future on several fronts.

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Conservation 2.0—New Directions

Los Angeles, CA • May 19-22, 2009

This meeting highlighted the ways in which emerging technologies will affect the conservation field. Papers outlined and showcased recent advances in all specialties addressing scientific analysis, treatment method and material improvements, and documentation. Papers focused on improving environmental practices for all aspects of conservation and business practices were also invited.

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Creative Collaborations
Denver, CO • April 21-24, 2008

This meeting covered the unique challenges that come with the preservation of looted art, details on how to safeguard collections during times of construction, a successful partnership that emerged after a natural disaster, and many more topics of interest to professional conservators and those who work with them.

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Fakes, Forgeries and Fabrications
Richmond, VA • April 16-20, 2007

Insatiable demand and record prices at auction for fine art and artifacts have fueled new interest in optimistic attribution of cultural property, misattibution of property, and the creation of deceptive forgeries.

This meeting explored the following questions and more:

• How do the marketplace, museums, and courts define fakes, forgeries, and fabrications?
• How do connoisseurs, art historians, and scientists discriminate authentic works
• When does deceptive manufacture of misattribution cross the line to criminal fraud
• How does law enforcement apprehend and prosecute criminal perpetrators? How does the law define an expert?
• How can conservators, scientists, and other art experts protect themselves from civil complaints of libel, slander, disparagement, and more?
• Does authenticity affect insurance underwriting and claims for damage or loss?

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Using Artifacts: Is Conservation Compromised?
Providence, RI • June 16-19, 2006

This meeting highlighted on the importance of viewing conservation in the larger context of heritage management and as part of sustainable development...preservation as a way to offer support to communities and individuals in their current struggles for idenitity and development, in contrast to considering preservation as an idealized view of the past. Other issues, such as who or what conservators serve (people or things), questions of ownership, justifiable use, definitions of what is considered "damaged,"  the need for preservation of specimens during numerous scientific analyses, and the emotional stories objects tell, were also addressed.

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Documentation
Minneapolis, MN • June 8-13, 200

Documentation in conservation is interdisciplinary in its attempt to categorize condition, treatment, and site information. The advent of database and digital technologies has forever changed the documentation process. In 2005 the AIC Annual Meeting explored concerns that ouch a wide range of conservation disciplines.

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