IIC is delighted to present its next training programme in collaboration with the Palace Museum from 14 to 22 November 2017 in Beijing. This 9-day workshop is designed to give emerging conservation professionals who take care of textile collections a deeper insight into this fascinating field, which requires multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills to contribute to the well-being and long-term interest of the textile heritage.

Delivered by specialists with diverse experiences in the field, the workshop will begin with lectures presenting current approaches to preventive conservation and non-destructive analysis of textiles. This will be followed by lectures, practical session, case studies and group discussions focused on enabling participants to develop an understanding of the key principles and themes in the practice of textile conservation which are required to formulate and execute appropriate conservation treatments for textile objects at their institutions.

The workshop will draw on the comprehensive textile collections of Palace Museum, an institution with a longstanding reputation for the care of, and research into imperial textiles in China. It will also give participants the exceptional opportunity to explore the museum’s current exhibitions as well as its newly opened conservation studios equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

The workshop is also a precursor to the IIC-Palace Museum 2017 Hong Kong Symposium, an international forum themed on ‘Unroll and Unfold: Preserving Textiles and Thangkas to Last’ that will take place in Hong Kong immediately after the workshop. Participants are encouraged to attend the symposium, which will enable them to develop a valuable professional network in the field for advice and resource, aside from sharing knowledge and experience with hundreds of textile conservation specialists worldwide. Please click here to visit the event website for more details.

Topics covered

–           Preventive conservation for textile collections

–           Non-destructive analysis of textiles

–           Materials identification

–           Mechanisms of ageing and deterioration in textile

–           Principles and themes in the practice of textile conservation

–           Best approaches to the storage, handling, transporting and mounting of textile

–           Considerations of ethical issues

Lecturers

1. Sarah Staniforth CBE, IIC (UK)
2. Dr Dinah Eastop, UCL Institute of Archaeology (UK)
3. Dr Mary Brooks, Durham University (UK)
4. Dr Austin Nevin, National Research Council (Italy)
5. Others to be announced soon

Participants

The course is open to a maximum of 24 participants who:

1. have a tertiary education or training background related to conservation of cultural heritage;
2. are conservators, conservation scientists and related professionals with 3-5 years of work experience directly related to preservation/conservation of textile collections
3. have a good command of English*

*Proficiency in spoken English is expected as participants are required to play an active role in the group discussions which will be conducted in English. Course materials and readings in English will be provided.

Costs

1. There is no tuition fee for this workshop, but note that full time presence during the training period is required.
2. Participants residing outside mainland China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao) will have their return flights to/from Beijing and hotel accommodation covered by IIC-ITCC; participants from mainland China should seek institutional funding to support their attendance costs.
3. Expenses for visa application/travel insurance shall be borne by the participants.

Enrolment

For international applicants, please download the application form from the attachment at the bottom of this IIC webpage: https://www.iiconservation.org/node/7028 . Candidates should demonstrate in the personal statement the relevance of the workshop to their day-to-day work and the potential benefits of this training opportunity to his/her professional development.

Completed application form and any enquiries regarding the IIC-ITCC 2017 Programme should be sent to the secretariat at cpcliu@lcsd.gov.hk  by the application deadline on Sunday 2 July 2017. All candidates will be informed by end July of the application results.

For applicants residing in China, please follow the application guidelines on the website of the Palace Museum site here: http://www.dpm.org.cn/classify_detail/238027.html  and submit your application form to iicitcc@126.com  by Tuesday 20 June 2017.”