Meet the Board:
Lauren Fair
Lauren is Head of Objects Conservation at Winterthur and Affiliated Assistant Professor for WUDPAC.
Acknowledgements
My workplace sits on the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people who inhabited what is today Delaware, southern New York, eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey for over 10,000 years. Despite broken promises of statehood, forced removal, and cultural dominance by the US government, the Lenape still reside in parts of the Delaware Valley today and have made innumerable contributions to our region. I honor them as the original stewards of this land. I acknowledge that the visitor experience at Winterthur centers around the legacy of a wealthy white collector and his vision, and largely ignores connections to slavery, indigenous histories, or class struggles. As a conservator of material culture, I recognize my responsibility in helping share these untold stories and amplify the voices that have been silenced.
My workplace sits on the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people who inhabited what is today Delaware, southern New York, eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey for over 10,000 years. Despite broken promises of statehood, forced removal, and cultural dominance by the US government, the Lenape still reside in parts of the Delaware Valley today and have made innumerable contributions to our region. I honor them as the original stewards of this land. I acknowledge that the visitor experience at Winterthur centers around the legacy of a wealthy white collector and his vision, and largely ignores connections to slavery, indigenous histories, or class struggles. As a conservator of material culture, I recognize my responsibility in helping share these untold stories and amplify the voices that have been silenced.
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Give me a memorable moment from your days as a Fellow.
I was lucky to have (what I consider to be, of course) the best classmates – the WUDPAC class of 2010. I have many wonderful memories of my days as a fellow, but one of the ones that stands out for me happened early on in our first year. In October, our class participated in Portfolio Day, where we brought all the items we submitted to get into graduate school (our portfolio of conservation work and art works) and set them up to talk to prospective students. This day happened to fall on Halloween, so there we all were – every one of us – in full costume talking to those interested in attending our program! Not only this, but earlier in the day during Textile Block we all wet-cleaned a rug. What is your favorite object at Winterthur? One of my favorite objects at Winterthur is its 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I with Ascot Tourer body. I feel so honored every time I get to drive it as part of its upkeep and maintenance and that I am one of a great team of stewards who help make decisions for its use, interpretation, and care. What words of advice do you have for current Fellows? Take advantage of this time to the best of your abilities. This means, cherish the friendships you are making and soak up as much information as you can from everyone you encounter. It also means to have FUN! And the other piece of my advice is to try to protect your work-life balance. While being a student will certainly tip the scales a bit more heavily toward the “work” side of things, once you graduate, remember to keep that in check. We all do our best work when we have a clear mind, are well rested, and are fostering those things in our life (outside of work) that give us joy. So be good to yourselves! |
Members of the class of 2010 preparing for wet-cleaning a Winterthur rug.
From left: Sharra Grow, Laura Kubick, Gretchen Guidess, and Beth Holford.
"The Empress": Winterthur's 1927 Springfield-made Rolls-Royce Phantom I, with a 1929 Ascot Tourer body by Brewster & Co.
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