How can we grasp cultural heritage in its context and materiality? Where does this heritage come from? How and with what materials was it made? How does it age and how can it be preserved in its materiality and meaning? There is no doubt that the more we study and understand our cultural heritage in all of its dimensions, the better it can be conserved. For this reason, the first session of the conference will focus on the research-related side of conservation. This path often manifests in the form of academic research or museum or laboratory research. As one of the available career options open to us, it has its very own unique particularities which we will discuss during the session.

The panel of this session will reflect on the value of research and science in conservation-restoration and consider its growing importance in our field. In other words, this panel will focus on the main drivers of scientific development in conservation theory and practice. This session aims to cover more subjective topics such as what it is that makes a conservator want to pursue the path of scientific research, as well as more objective topics such as how this path can be pursued, and which characteristics are indispensable for a conservator to become a conservation scientist. This panel will address the different institutions in which a conservation scientist can work and will consider the main differences between research development in contexts such as the museum, the university, the independent or the public laboratory. Besides these main themes, we aim to discuss other relevant topics such as the search for job opportunities, grants and research projects and the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a PhD to develop a career in conservation science and research.

Panel of this session:

Joana Lia Ferreira 
(Moderator)