AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

Not all museum conservators work in museums. This is a common start to conversations between conservators in private practice and our acquaintances, family, and potential clients. Sometimes it takes the insights of outsiders to the art world to realize just how demanding this career choice can be. Twenty-five years ago, I found myself in the position that many conservators have or perhaps will have when work opportunities and life goals do not line up. The result was the establishment of Museum Textile Services, which allowed me to combine my experience working at regional conservation labs with what I had learned growing up in a family full of self-employed academic and technical specialists. This presentation will cast a frank and occasionally humorous light on how to meet both the expected and unexpected challenges encountered by conservators in private practice, and how today’s post-pandemic economic and social climates are fuel for advancement and improvement in our practice. The newest statistical information about demographics in both emerging conservation professionals and experienced professionals choosing to temporarily or permanently turn to private practice, will be gathered in a survey to be released in January, 2025. These findings will build on the Summer, 2024, survey by the newly inaugurated Icon Private Practice Group in the UK, and the 2024 survey on Mental Health in the Conservation Workplace that was circulated by the AIC’s CIPP community.