Society of Winterthur Fellows

CALL FOR SPEAKERS
Symposium: Reaching and Teaching Through Material Culture
September 28-29, 2012
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library

On September 28-29, 2012, a symposium at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library will mark the 60th anniversary of Winterthur/University of Delaware graduate education. Speakers are not limited to Winterthur graduates and will address the following topics:

• What to Collect & How to Maintain: Availability, Acquisition, Responsibility
• Technology and Accessing Collections
• Balancing Intellectual Relevance with Popular Interest
• The Role of Cultural Heritage Professionals in World Events

The symposium will present subjects relevant to material culture and conservation. Speakers may be alumni of the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (est. 1974), and from other institutions and programs.

The symposium structure will explore the topics through five-minute lightning rounds, twenty- to thirty-minute presentations, and discussion with speaker panels. Please review the more detailed information on each topic at the end of this announcement.

Scholars and independent consultants, museum and allied professionals, and conservators are invited to submit a 100- to 200-word abstract for their proposed topic. Proposals are due February 27th for review by the Winterthur Fellows board; announcements will be made by March 19th. Please send abstracts via email to info@sowf.org.

In addition, to highlight a broad spectrum of accomplishments in the related fields, a silent “slide show” will present relevant institutional and individual projects either underway or completed. All are invited to apply by providing one digital image of yourself or your institution/project/publication, etc., with up to five bullet points outlining the goals/successes. Topics can relate to various aspects of cultural management, including fundraising, institutional expansion, actual or virtual exhibitions and public programs, art conservation, advocacy, publication, and more. Please send submissions to the contact information above by August 3rd, 2012.

The symposium is sponsored by the Society of Winterthur Fellows.

Thank you,
Society of Winterthur Fellows Board

CALL FOR SPEAKERS

I. What to Collect & How to Maintain: Availability, Acquisition, Responsibility
Format: 20-minute presentations

Call for Speaker:
Shifts in Audience Interests and Determining What to Keep or Acquire

Section topics already filled:
o The Influence of Collectors & the Marketplace
o Challenges in Preserving and Presenting Modern Materials

II. Technology and Accessing Collections
Format: 5-minute lightning round presentations

Call for Speakers:
How is information being disseminated?
Role of teaching through collections and exhibitions using technology
Limits of technology and importance of objects as teaching tools
Balancing preservation and access – can technology help?

III. Attracting Your Audience: Balancing Intellectual Relevance with Popular Interest
Format: 20 minute presentations

Call for Speakers:
Audience-Driven Approach: Crowd Sourcing Pros & Cons
The Public Face of Conservation: Art Meets Science

Section topic already filled:
o The Curatorial Approach: Curating in the 21st Century and Rethinking Interpretation

IV. Role of Cultural Heritage Professionals in World Events
Format: Panel of 4 with moderator

Call for Speakers:

Topics to be discussed can include but are not restricted to the following:
o What is “our” collective responsibility?
o How is such an initiative started?
o Support system within institution(s) (resources, time off, programming)
o Relevance to related work and institutions in general
o Threatened collections; limited resources; expertise; opportunity
o War/art loss/training
o Reclamation of material
o What lessons can be learned: Applications to other disasters