Budget cutbacks at Indianapolis Museum of Art

As the AIC prepares for its 41st annual meeting in Indianapolis--to
focus on contemporary approaches to conservation, it may be worth
taking a moment to review what is happening at the Indianapolis
Museum of Art's conservation department, as well as to the IMA as a
whole. For those who have not been following this story, the
newly-hired director has reduced IMA staff by 11%, many of whom were
apparently collections personnel.  I hear that the conservation
department has only momentarily been spared lay offs, but will
suffer significant cuts in the very near future.

For more details, I recommend reading the article on "Modern Art
Notes", written by Tyler Green, one of Keynote Speakers from last
year's AIC Annual Meeting:

    "The sad, unnecessary situations at MOCA, Indy"
    <URL:http://blogs.artinfo.com/modernartnotes/2013/03/the-sad-unnecessary-situations-at-moca-indy/>

The conservation department at the IMA has been an innovative leader
in conservation advocacy and education using social media, and one
of the most historically stable and consistent labs around.  Much of
their work points to the fact that conservators are unique in their
ability to integrate conservation into the complex fabric of
cultural heritage and art historical knowledge.

Thus, as the AIC rolls into Indy in May, it may be worth the
conservation field making a united statement regarding the critical
role of conservation within institutions and communities. This may
be the perfect opportunity for conservators to educate and advocate
for our profession a as we all face the real risk of shrinking
conservation departments, shrinking budgets, and out of work
colleagues, all in perhaps a somewhat misguided and short-sighted
attempt to protect the perceived bottom line.

John Campbell
Conservator
CCS Conservation
21-55-45th Ave
Long Island City, NY 11101
347-743-3850


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:42
                 Distributed: Wednesday, March 20, 2013
                       Message Id: cdl-26-42-001
                                  ***