Alumni Professional Venture Fund awardees

​Please join us in congratulating the first recipients of the Alumni Professional Venture Fund​, grants established to support the work of graduates from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and the UD Preservation Studies Doctoral Program. ​Awardees and their projects are lis​​​ted below. We look forward to the results of these exciting initiatives!

Jennifer Myers – WUDPAC Class of 2020​

Initial Conservation Assessment and Consultation for Building Long-Term Collections Care Programs for the National Art Gallery in Sri Lanka

​The National Art Gallery, located in the capital city of Columbo and managed by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Cultural Affairs, is currently undergoing renovations of its building and its staff are preparing to address storage, display, and treatment needs of its art collection. This culturally significant collection consists of mostly late-19th through 21st-century canvas paintings, but also a number of watercolors and prints on paper and sculpture - many of these by prominent Sri Lankan artists. This exciting project will require future fundraising, supported through information produced in a condition, preventive, and environmental assessment survey, as well as through consultation with current staff to develop training for future collections care practices. ​

Samantha Springer – WUDPAC Class of 2008​

Nine-Week Online Continuing Education Class Hosted by the University of Washington

For almost ten years, Samantha Springer has developed the Materials Testing Results on​ the AIC-Wiki, an online resource widely used by the collections care and conservation community. The results have since outgrown their current platform, a sortable wiki table. By attending Foundations of Databases and SQL, Samantha aims to learn applicable skills towards migrating the testing information to a platform that will improve its functionality and usability so we may better understand trends in collections care.​

Natalya Swanson - WUDPAC Class of 2020​

The Ethics of Caring: A New Podcast for Heritage Professionals

Taking the form of a podcast with scheduled listener participation, The Ethics of Caring will explore moral issues fundamental to working in the heritage sector. The Alumni Professional Venture Fund will partially compensate the creative team for Season One, expected to be released in Summer 2022. Season One will act as a pilot season to test the format and establish listenership; in it, hosts will delve into what it means to begin social justice work by acknowledging our participation in upholding complex and compromised social systems (like colonialism and capitalism). Questions to be considered will include: How this awareness may affect our work in the heritage sector, as members of many types of communities, and as social activists?​

Laura Wahl – WUDPAC Class of 2004​

Video and Microscope Cameras and Lighting Equipment for Sharing Conservation Work

Laura Wahl, Library Conservator at Hagley Museum and Library, is pleased to accept an award from the WUDPAC Alumni Professional Venture Fund. A portion of these funds will be used to purchase video equipment to document conservation activities, that will be pivotal in expanding the ability to publicly share this work on the web and social media platforms. The remainder of the award will cover the costs of ultraviolet lighting equipment and a microscope camera to enhance examination and documentation of archival and library collections.​