AIC's 46th Annual Meeting

When TSG and RATS began planning a joint session for the 2018 annual meeting, we met with some resistance because AIC records suggested that there were no individuals who were members of both specialty groups.  We've learned since that this is both not true (two of our panelists are members of both) and it's definitely not the case that no one in TSG is doing research, nor because no conservation scientists are interested in textiles. But how can we increase the interactions and strengthen ties between our two groups? 

In this panel discussion you will hear from a conservator in a major museum, a current professor, a retired professor and a conservator in private practice. Each will bring a different approach to this topic and offer advice and anecdotes on how they bridge the gap between research and textiles in their profession. Topics of discussion will include: what makes for a good and successful research project? Do all projects have to involve big questions and fancy scientific equipment?  How can keeping an open mind, and questioning assumptions lead to new discoveries?   What makes projects work?  What makes projects not work?  We hope that this panel will help our communities forge connections, learn from successes and failures and encourage each other.  Audience participation in the form of an open question and answer session will follow.
Panelists:

• Dr. Margaret Ordoñez, Professor Emerita, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design, University of Rhode Island; Conservator, Ordoñez Textile Conservation Services, Camden, TN
• Mary W. Ballard, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Senior Textiles Conservator, Suitland, Maryland
• Gwen Spicer, Spicer Art Conservation, LLC
• Dr. Nancy Odegaard, Conservator, Head of Preservation Division, Arizona State Museum; Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, School of Anthropology, American Indian Studies GIDP, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ