BodyText3
Through TIP-C, competitively selected students from HBCUs are provided with a comprehensive introduction to the field of art conservation, allowing them to work on all legs of the conservation "three-legged stool": art history, hand skills, and chemistry. Students work with University of Delaware faculty and Winterthur staff to learn about the history of materials and techniques associated with paper marbling, early photography, fiber and fluorescence microscopy, tempera paint making, and preventive care, among other topics. The students' experience is augmented with museum and conservation studio visits. TIP-C engages STEM students who have an interest in art or art students with an interest in science and provides them with an opportunity to combine their STEM and art interests. A preparatory program, typically including mentoring, readings, and engagement in their campus museums, is led by diversity consultant Dr. Caryl McFarlane. These projects are "public-facing," introducing visitors to these interesting works, their preservation concerns, and the field of art conservation more generally. These dioramas and their preservation were featured on CBS Sunday Morning. The past four years have seen a variety of formats and course offerings ably led by Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner for three years and Professor Nina Owczarek in summer 2020. (A Winterthur Museum and Library blog post on the dioramas is available here.) Owing to the pandemic, our 2020 session was offered to six students over six weeks, entirely online. This revised training program centered on our successful past curricula and our department's longstanding experience with student mentoring, retention, and placement.