Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup.
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1. WEBINAR: Climate Change Risk Assessment for Heritage Sites and Properties
2. Survey on autistic adults' experiences of museums and their accessibility
measures
3. Two funded PhD positions in heritage science | ERC SustainCARE | University
of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria
4. RE: Survey on Social Justice, Politics, and Censorship in the Cultural
Heritage Profession
5. CALL FOR POSTERS: Colloids and Art Conservation - ACS Colloid and Surface
Science Symposium 2026
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1.From: Phillipa McDonnell
Posted: Wednesday March 4, 2026 8:21 AM
Subject: WEBINAR: Climate Change Risk Assessment for Heritage Sites and
Properties
Message: WEBINAR: Climate Change Risk Assessment for Heritage Sites and
Properties
5th March 2026 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm GMT | 25
Join Dr Cathy Daly for an introduction to the principles of climate
change risk assessment and their application to heritage sites and properties.
Drawing on case studies from her own research and consultancy work, Cathy will
illustrate how the process can be used to understand potential risks and
inform management decisions. This session is designed for those working in
heritage management who may be unsure how to approach climate change risks in
practice. The presentation will be followed by a 30 minute discussion, giving
participants the opportunity to ask questions and explore specific challenges
in their own contexts.
About the speaker
Cathy Daly is a senior lecturer in conservation of cultural heritage within
the school of history & heritage and has a background in archaeology and museum
objects conservation. She first became interested in the impacts of Climate
Change on heritage in 2007 while undertaking her MA in World Heritage and has
been researching it since then, including for her PhD in 2013. Cathy is the
lead author and researcher for the Irish government's sectoral adaptation
planning for built and archaeological heritage (2019 and 2025) which is part
of Ireland's Climate Change NAP (national adaptation plan). She is a member of
the Climate Action Working Group of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments
and Sites) and represents the University of Lincoln on the Climate Heritage
Network (of which University of Lincoln is a founding member).
Get tickets here:
https://www.lincolnconservation.co.uk/training/online-webinars/heritage-horizons/heritage-horizons-cd
<https://www.lincolnconservation.co.uk/training/online-webinars/heritage-horizons/heritage-horizons-cd>
<https://www.lincoln.ac.uk>
Situated in the heart of a historic city, the University of Lincoln is
committed to transforming lives and communities through our teaching and
research. We are listed in the world's top 150 universities in the Times Higher
Education's (THE) Young University Rankings 2024 and hold a five-star score
overall in the QS Stars rating system of global universities. We are one of a
select group of universities to achieve the top Gold rating overall and in both
aspect ratings for student experience and student outcomes in the national
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were awarded the Queen's
Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2023.
The information in this e-mail and any attachments may be confidential. If you
have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and
remove it from your system. Do not disclose the contents to another person or
take copies.
Email is not secure and may contain viruses. The University of Lincoln makes
every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this
and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions.
The University may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with
its policies and English law. Further information can be found
at:https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal <https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal>.
2.From: Leah Warriner-Wood
Posted: Wednesday March 4, 2026 8:21 AM
Subject: Survey on autistic adults' experiences of museums and their
accessibility measures
Message: Posted on behalf of third-year University of Lincoln Conservation
student Gabe Griffith.
I am recruiting participants for my dissertation on the accessibility of UK
museums for autistic adult visitors for my BA (Hons) Conservation of Cultural
Heritage degree.
You will be asked to complete a survey on your experiences visiting museums
and the availability of accessibility measures for autistic people in museums.
Your participation should take around 15 minutes and is completely voluntary.
Participants must be aged 18-25, autistic (either self-diagnosed or
professionally diagnosed), and currently residing in the UK. They must also
have visited a museum within the last twelve months. This project has been
approved by the University of Lincoln Ethics Committee (ref. 2026_22704). The
survey is anonymous and will not collect any personal data. If you would like
to take part, please click on the following link:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/vNkjuF6tGh
<https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/vNkjuF6tGh>. Thank you!
To read the participant information sheet, please click on the following
link: https://lncn.ac/info-sheet <https://lncn.ac/info-sheet>.
<https://www.lincoln.ac.uk>
Situated in the heart of a historic city, the University of Lincoln is
committed to transforming lives and communities through our teaching and
research. We are listed in the world's top 150 universities in the Times Higher
Education's (THE) Young University Rankings 2024 and hold a five-star score
overall in the QS Stars rating system of global universities. We are one of a
select group of universities to achieve the top Gold rating overall and in both
aspect ratings for student experience and student outcomes in the national
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were awarded the Queen's
Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2023.
The information in this e-mail and any attachments may be confidential. If you
have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and
remove it from your system. Do not disclose the contents to another person or
take copies.
Email is not secure and may contain viruses. The University of Lincoln makes
every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this
and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions.
The University may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with
its policies and English law. Further information can be found
at:https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal <https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal>.
3.From: Yun Liu
Posted: Wednesday March 4, 2026 4:41 PM
Subject: Two funded PhD positions in heritage science | ERC SustainCARE |
University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria
Message: Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to share that two PhD positions at the Conservation Institute,
University of Applied Arts Vienna in the ERC Starting Grant project SustainCARE
(Climate-Conscious Conservation of Documentary Heritage: An Integrated
Multiscale Modelling Approach) are now open!
Positions: 2 funded PhD positions (4 years, 30h/week)
Start date: planned for 1 June 2026
Application deadline: 5 April 2026
1) PhD Position – Degradation Modelling of Documentary Heritage
English: https://www.dieangewandte.at/en/news/jobs/jobs_detail?job_id=254
<https://www.dieangewandte.at/en/news/jobs/jobs_detail?job_id=254>
German: https://www.dieangewandte.at/jobs/jobdetail?job_id=254
<https://www.dieangewandte.at/jobs/jobdetail?job_id=254>
Basic requirements:
Master's degree (or equivalent) in materials science, chemistry, chemical
engineering, physics, biology, heritage science, or a closely related
scientific discipline
Understanding of relevant analytical methods/instrumentation (e.g.,
spectroscopy, microscopy, and/or imaging)
Experience with quantitative analysis (e.g., statistics, scientific
programming, and/or numerical modelling)
Excellent written and spoken English (working language: English)
Ability to work independently and in a multidisciplinary team
2) PhD Position – Multiscale Hygrothermal Modelling for Documentary Heritage
English: https://www.dieangewandte.at/en/news/jobs/jobs_detail?job_id=255
<https://www.dieangewandte.at/en/news/jobs/jobs_detail?job_id=255>
German: https://www.dieangewandte.at/jobs/jobdetail?job_id=255
<https://www.dieangewandte.at/jobs/jobdetail?job_id=255>
Basic requirements:
Master's degree (or equivalent) in building physics, architectural engineering,
civil engineering (materials/building science focus), heritage science, or a
closely related scientific/engineering discipline
Good understanding of hygrothermal dynamics across materials/scales, with
interest and/or experience in hygrothermal modelling
Experience with scientific programming and quantitative analysis (e.g.,
statistics, numerical simulation)
Excellent written and spoken English (working language: English)
Ability to work independently and in a multidisciplinary team
Salary (both positions): Minimum gross monthly salary currently €2,832.08
(14x/year, based on 30h/week), with possible increase depending on relevant
previous experience, according to the Austrian university collective agreement
(B1).
We welcome applications from candidates with relevant backgrounds. Please
consult the full job announcements for complete information, including
qualifications and required application documents.
If you know suitable candidates, I would greatly appreciate your sharing this
call within your networks. Please note that all applications must be submitted
via the online application platform.
For questions, please contact Yun Liu at [email protected]
Regards
Yun Liu
------------------------------
Yun Liu, PhD
Senior Lecturer/Conservation Scientist
Conservation Institute, University of Applied Arts Vienna
Wien
Austria
------------------------------
4.From: Lisa Goldberg
Posted: Wednesday March 4, 2026 4:45 PM
Subject: RE: Survey on Social Justice, Politics, and Censorship in the
Cultural Heritage Profession
Message: To the authors of the survey on Social Justice, Politics, and
Censorship,
Thank you for your work in trying to engage colleagues around questions of
professional ethics, as well as the broader social contexts we all operate
within. After reading through your survey, we were left with several questions
that are causing us to hesitate about participating, and we feel it is
important to bring these issues and questions to your attention.
Although we understand this call for information about our community views on
these matters as important, we were surprised that the questions first appear
broad but quickly honed in on select global conflicts; this left us with
uncertainty about the survey's intent and its ability to collect information
impartially. We are especially concerned about this because your survey is
seeking to garner potentially sensitive information from individuals who choose
to participate. Some of our more specific questions are:
Could you please share under what institutional affiliation this is being
conducted and whether any data scientists are involved in the study?
How will the data be kept, analyzed, and retained?
If the information will be shared outside the AIC-CAC 2026 Annual Meeting
presentation, how will you protect anonymity & confidentiality?
Since you refer to "Professional Member Organizations" (PMO's) in your
questions, could you please disclose if you intend to broadcast this survey to
other groups, and if so, under what aegis? And what time frame do you propose?
Could you please explain if this is part of a broader effort to collect
information from other types of professionals and institutions within the
cultural heritage fields? For example, why are cultural heritage institutions
left out of your definition in question 3.2? What about other organizations
that feature collections care professionals, such as AAM, PACCIN, AALSLH, the
SAA, and so many others? And why does the definition of "PMOs" only extend to
the largest "Western" conservation organizations?
Will your AIC presentation only address responses from AIC members, or will
participants from Canada be asked to participate?
Could you please clarify how you decided to frame the survey's content? The
survey speaks to specific global conflicts and the language of genocide and
cultural erasure; what is the purpose of calling out specific conflicts rather
than framing the inquiry more broadly across geopolitical contexts?
Specifically, why are Ukraine and Sudan grouped together with Palestine
separated out? For example, in questions 3.10 and 3.14, you specifically call
out Palestine, but not the other issues the survey previously focused on. If
this is because the survey is tied to your paper abstract, then transparency
about collecting information specifically about the Palestinian conflict would
be helpful.
Why does the survey not ask about political and current events happening now in
the U.S. and how these issues with their attendant political and financial
pressures are affecting cultural institutions?
We wondered why you were asking for religious affiliations as part of your
demographic information. Why and how is this important to understanding our
field's current stance on social justice, politics, and censorship?
Lastly, what is the longevity impact you are seeking and what future actions do
you want to see from fellow conservators? Is it to mobilize and create an
action plan for current/future conflicts? To help promote peace and pave a
pathway for our global community to address action to help restore the harm to
cultural heritage caused by war? Or to add/expand the discussion held in the
Netherlands in 2024? The UNESCO meeting Cultural Heritage and Peace outcome
document from the meeting can be found here:
https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2024/07/Outcome%20document%20EN%20-%20Cultural%20heritage%20and%20Peace%20UNESCO%20Conference%202024%20%282%29.pdf?hub=108040
<https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2024/07/Outcome%20document%20EN%20-%20Cultural%20heritage%20and%20Peace%20UNESCO%20Conference%202024%20%282%29.pdf?hub=108040>))
If this survey aims to provide information for the upcoming talk on loss of
cultural material among Palestinians, it is disingenuous in its approach and
conflates several very different themes: why ask about a broader range of
social justice issues when you plan to focus your talk on a specific one? If
the goal IS to talk about social justice and censorship within our profession
in general, the survey and the abstract do not seem to be focused on the same
goals.
We are looking forward to hearing from you, and we hope to participate in your
survey once we receive clarification about the issues we have questioned here.
We are all dedicated to this field with the intent of connecting people through
cultural property, to understand the past with the purpose of becoming better
as humans; to evolve and learn from past progress and mistakes. Lastly, we wish
you success in gathering the information you seek and trust that you will use
the information to improve and heal this very broken world we live in.
Listed alphabetically: Lisa Goldberg, Paul Himmelstein, Jane Klinger, Shelley
Paine, Rachael Perkins Arenstein, Steven Pickman, Marilen Pool, Rebecca
Rushfield, Martha Singer, …and other AIC members who contributed to this post
but did not feel comfortable publicly signing their names…
------------------------------
[Lisa] [Goldberg]
[Conservator]
[Goldberg Preservation Services LLC]
[Corning] [NY]
[607 368 3963]
------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-25-2026 00:00
From: Samantha Emmanuel
Subject: Survey on Social Justice, Politics, and Censorship in the Cultural
Heritage Profession
Dear Members of the Global Forum and AIC Community,
We invite you to participate in an important survey
<https://stanforduniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3reoGcyplMVVJCC> on the
impact of censorship on conservation and allied professions. This survey was
developed by the authors of the upcoming presentation: "Conservators Fighting
Back Against Censorship and Inaction: Ethical Responses to Genocide and
Cultural Erasure." Your insights will help us understand how censorship affects
our work and community, particularly in relation to social justice struggles,
academic freedom, and professional ethics.
The survey is mostly multiple choice and takes approximately 15-20 minutes to
complete. Participation is voluntary and is structured to protect your
anonymity. This survey includes questions on social and political issues that
may be sensitive or contentious, and we are grateful for your time,
consideration, and willingness to engage with these important subjects. Results
of this survey will be presented in our talk at the American Institute for
Conservation 2026 Annual Meeting in Montreal on Thursday, April 30th.
Please complete this survey by Friday, March 27th, 2026.
Survey link:
https://stanforduniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3reoGcyplMVVJCC
<https://stanforduniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3reoGcyplMVVJCC>
Sincerely,
Samantha Emmanuel, adrian hernandez, Gillian Marcus, and Aisha Wahab
Please email [email protected] <[email protected]> for any technical issues
or questions about the survey.
------------------------------
Samantha Emmanuel
Wall Painting Conservator
Freelance/Private Practice/Self-employed/Independent
San Jose
United States
------------------------------
5.From: Rosie Grayburn
Posted: Wednesday March 4, 2026 4:46 PM
Subject: CALL FOR POSTERS: Colloids and Art Conservation - ACS Colloid and
Surface Science Symposium 2026
Message:
Mina Porell and I are co-chairing an invited session on colloids and art
conservation at the 100th ACS Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, to be held
June 21–24, 2026 at the University of Delaware, Newark, DE. This special
session will take place at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, and will bring
together researchers from the colloid/surface science and art conservation
communities to discuss shared challenges and emerging solutions at this unique
interface. Posters will be presented on campus at the University of Delaware as
part of the symposium's main poster and networking session.
We invite poster submissions from researchers working on topics including, but
not limited to:
• Colloidal systems for cleaning, consolidation, or stabilization of artworks
• Surface and interface characterization of heritage materials
• Gels, emulsions, and nanoparticles in conservation practice
• Coatings and protective films for cultural heritage objects
Abstract submission is open now through March 27, 2026. Abstracts should be
submitted through the symposium website at www.colloids2026.org.
<https://www.colloids2026.org.>
Program and registration information will be available shortly.
Please feel free to share this call with colleagues who may be interested. We
look forward to an engaging and interdisciplinary session!
------------------------------
Rosie Grayburn
Head of Scientific Research and Analysis Lab
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Winterthur
United States
------------------------------
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