TIP-C/DIP-C/SIP-C Program for HBCU Students

This summer program of study was first developed in collaboration with the HBCU Alliance of Museums and Galleries and Yale University and hosted its initial cohort in 2017, generously supported with financial contributions from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, University of Delaware, and private donors.

​Initially, the program was named the Two-week Introduction to Practical Conservation (TIP-C) and focused on the examination and preservation of four dioramas from the Legacy Museum, Tuskegee University. These mixed-media (largely plaster and painted wood) fragile dioramas were part of a series of 33 made in 1940 under the supervision of African American artist Charles Dawson. Seventy artists and craftspeople participated over a period of only three months to mount the landmark 1940 "American Negro Exposition" in Chicago. Dawson transported 20 of the original 33 to Tuskegee by 1945 and carried out early attempts at restoration. Many dioramas have deteriorated, requiring in-depth examination, stabilization treatment, and preventive care. One project goal is to conserve all of twenty dioramas so that they may be exhibited together again while involving professional and aspiring African American art conservators as much as possible. To date, eight of the dioramas have been treated: four by UD, two at Buffalo State University, and one each by Fisk University and the Lunder Center of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.​

The Covid-19 pandemic forced the transition from an in-person program to one that could be carried out on-line. In 2020, the program was renamed DIP-C and became the Distance-Learning Introduction to Practical Conservation. We also welcomed a new partner in the Conservation Center at New York University Institute for Fine Arts. The program retained its rigor and leaned on contextualizing the role of conservation in communities while teaching preventive measures, conservation philosophy, and ethics. Hands-on activities were retained through a combination of student-supplied artifacts and shipped materials. ​​

After two years of distance instruction, the program is undergoing another transformation. Building on the five-year foundation of teaching and engaging HBCU students, year six will offer a longer six-week internship practical for those who have previously participated in an introductory conservation program and are interested in exploring the career path further. For this version of the program, it is now named the Six-Week Introduction to Practical Conservation(SIP-C), trimmed to be more flexible in adapting the program to the changing needs of the world around us.

Through TIP-C/DIP-C/SIP-C in all its renditions, 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 of a variety of media, for example paper marbling, early photography, fiber and fluorescence microscopy, tempera paint making, and preventive care, among other topics. When held in person, the students' experience is augmented with museum and conservation studio visits. In an on-line format, guest speakers from other museums share their personal stories and experiences. TIP-C/DIP-C/SIP-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. The dioramas featured in TIP-C and their preservation were featured on CBS Sunday Morning. (A Winterthur Museum and Library blog post on the dioramas is available online.) The conservation instruction was ably led by UD Professors Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner for the initial three years and Nina Owczarek in summers 2020 and 2021. The internship program for summer 2022 will be again led by Stoner at Winterthur, by NYU's Professor Michele Marincola, and our new partners at the Brooklyn Museum led by Lisa Bruno, Carol Lee Shen Chief Conservator.​

​While this program of study and practice centers on practical conservation, students are also introduced to additional aspects of conservation and collections care. This internship has allowed selected HBCU students to work with many conservation professionals and to apply scientific and artistic knowledge and skills to the preservation of cultural artifacts. Peer-support networks have been created between the students and professional to further foster the students' interest in the care of collections of African American cultural heritage at their own institutions and to help them prepare for graduate study.

The workshop organizers are pleased with the success of the TIP-C/DIP-C/SIP-C diversity initiative. Of the more than 26 students who participated during the summers of 2017-2021, nearly 45% have demonstrated interest in pursuing advanced study in art conservation or a closely related field. Students who express a desire to pursue art conservation or closely related field are connected with professionals in their area of interest to help them secure internships and apply to graduate schools.

Winterthur, UD, and the Alliance have worked closely together to develop an exciting vision and to deliver programs of study that have introduced the art conservation profession to wonderfully talented and engaged cohorts of students, while also assisting with the preservation of the rich, cultural treasures of HBCU museum and galleries. ​​​​​