Winterthur Museum is accepting registration applications until March 31st for their Craft and Conservation workshop.
June 10-13, 2025, Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library, Winterthur, DE
Instructors: David Bayne, Kathy Z. Gillis, and Gregory J. Landrey
Conservation professionals need to be able to identify the historic techniques used in the making of the object they are treating. Furniture conservators need to recognize the woodworking abilities of the original maker as well as the techniques used by subsequent restorers. Furniture makers need to understand the long-term effects of their woodworking practices and understand how their work will change or be viewed over time. This workshop will work with the premise that each of these groups can contribute to the other’s knowledge and to the dialogue concerning when, where, and by whom furniture was and is made.
The Craft and Conservation workshop will gather five emerging furniture-making professionals [EFPs] including students, and five emerging conservation professionals [ECPs], including students, for a mutual learning experience. Guided by conservation and museum professionals, the group will examine representative pieces from Winterthur’s collection and identify woodworking techniques incorporated within them. Following observations and assessing the likely tools used in fabrication, participants will practice the same techniques using the same tools.
Each day will lead to discussion about the contributions that can be made by the furniture makers to the field of conservation in providing the conservators with the perspective of a furniture maker, including aspects of training of the original craftsmen. Correspondingly, conservators can share approaches that can contribute to the care and longevity of both antique and contemporary furniture. This sharing of perspectives will allow both groups to become more cognizant of principles pertinent to their respective professions.
The workshop will draw heavily on resources available at Winterthur, including library materials and allied professionals. Both ECPS and EFPs will benefit from establishing relationships in allied fields. All participants will engage in intensive examination of a select group of furniture in Winterthur’s collection as well as hands-on activities in the workshop.
Interested individuals must apply by March 31, 2025. Registration to participate is free and participants will each receive a $1,000 travel stipend.
Full information is provided at this link: https://learning.culturalheritage.org/products/craft-and-conservation
This workshop is organized and supported in part by the Wooden Artifacts Group (WAG) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).
Additional funding for this program comes from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) Endowment for Professional Development, which was created by a grant from the Mellon Foundation and is supported by donations from members of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and its friends. Workshops are made possible with the assistance of many AIC members, but no AIC membership dues were used to create or present this workshop.