Institute of Conservator – Restorers in Ireland

Annual Report 2015

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The Board would like to thank the following ICRI members for generously providing

images for this publication: Sven Habermann, Susannah Kelly,

Damien Lizun, Mariam Marco-Navarro, Audrey McGinley, Julia Poirier and Zoë Reid

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Table of Contents Report of the Chair 2015 ................................................................................................. 4

Directors of ICRI ............................................................................................................. 5

Mission ............................................................................................................................. 6

Meetings ........................................................................................................................... 6

Membership & Accreditation .......................................................................................... 6

Continued Professional Development (CPD) .................................................................. 6

Education and training ..................................................................................................... 8

Postprints Conservation Activities in Ireland 2012 & 2014 ............................................. 9

E-newsletter & Website ................................................................................................... 9

Visit to Clare Island and Westport ................................................................................... 9

Good Housekeeping Seminar .......................................................................................... 9

The Heritage Council ....................................................................................................... 9

Culture 2025 .................................................................................................................... 9

European Confederation of Conservation Organisations (E.C.C.O.) ........................... 10

International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) ............................................................... 10

Institute for Conservation (ICON)/Conservation Register ........................................... 10

Financial Statement ........................................................................................................ 11

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Report of the Chair 2015 At the Annual General Meeting in June, Grellan D. Rourke stepped down as Chair of ICRI. It was with some trepidation that I took on the role, as Grellan’s contribution to the Institute and the conservation profession in Ireland cannot be overstated. Grellan was a founding member of the Institute in 1991 and was elected Chair in 2006. As we look forward to celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary next year I must take this opportunity to thank him for his tireless work on the behalf of the Board and the members, without which the Institute would not find itself in such a strong position today. His impact on the profession is inextricably linked to the national and international organisations to which he has given time, energy, and above all expertise for many years and the Board is delighted and relieved that he has agreed to remain a Director.

Membership has continued to grow over the year and the Institute was pleased to welcome new members across all categories and the first member to be accredited following the revised accreditation and mentoring guidelines. It is extremely heartening to end 2015 with five members registering their intent to complete the accreditation process and a further five members planning to submit their completed application forms before the end of next year. Thanks are extended to Karen Wilson (Membership Secretary) and the Accreditation Committee, including the mentors and assessors for all their hard work.

In 2015, ICRI organised a total of six training workshops, which was a huge undertaking and only made possible by the hard work of to the training committee, especially Zoë Reid, who managed to organise three workshops at very short notice. The Institute is extremely grateful to the Heritage Council (HC) and the Council of National Cultural Institutions (CNCI) for their financial support, which enabled participants to attend four of the workshops free of charge.

The financial situation remains challenging and demands forward planning, however the Institute was pleased to be in a financial position to offer two education bursaries this year. Thanks must be extended to Noureen Qureshi for her dedication as Treasurer and for ensuring that the Board is fully aware of the financial situation on a month by month basis.

The Directors invited Tony Mealy to join the Board in February, Tony has worked as a consultant for many years in financial strategy and his business and fundraising expertise has proved an incredible asset. With his guidance and the full consultation of the Board a five-year Strategic Plan: 2016-2020 has been drafted for the Institute. The aim of the plan is to summarise ICRI’s current position and outline key objectives with respect to achieving its aims, the plan will be submitted for approval by the members at the AGM next year.

There were further changes to the Board at the AGM in June, when Niamh McGuinne, Sven Habermann and Fergus Purdy stepped down as Directors. They have all made a significant contribution to the Institute, especially in their respective additional roles as company secretary, accreditation mentors/assessors and chair of the CPD review committee and are thanked for their continuous support. Susie Bioletti, Louise O’Connor and Claire Magill were welcomed to the Board and have already taken on a number of new roles.

The conference post prints for Conservation Activities in Ireland 2012 & 2014 were brought together by an editorial and design team which included Angelika Rauch, Roisin Miles, Niamh McGuinne, and Felix McGinley and chaired by Zoë Reid. Thanks are extended to all involved for their hard work. ICRI is very grateful to the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht for sponsoring the publication and we look forward to launching the post prints in 2016.

The Institute had to unexpectedly move offices due to redevelopment plans and is extremely grateful to Samir Eldin and the Office of Public Works (OPW) for finding us a centrally located office space at very short notice. Clodagh Neligan (Company Secretary) provided essential support to the Board and members throughout the year and special thanks are due to her, as the workload is considerable. Finally I’d like to thank the members for their continued support and enthusiasm for the work of ICRI

Jessica Baldwin, ICRI Chair

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Directors of ICRI

Grellan D. Rourke Chair (until June)Jessica Baldwin Vice-Chair (until June) Chair (from June)Zoë Reid Vice-Chair (from June)Noureen Qureshi TreasurerClodagh Neligan Company SecretaryKaren Wilson Membership SecretaryRachel PhelanFergus Purdy (until June)Sven Habermann (until June)Niamh McGuinne (until June)Tony Mealy (from February)Louise O’Connor (from June)Claire Magill (from June)Susie Bioletti (from June)

Committees and Contact Details

Accreditation: Niamh McGuinne, Clodagh Neligan, Noureen Qureshi, Grellan D. Rourke (Chair)

CPD Review Claire Magill, Simone Mancini, Fergus Purdy (Chair)Education & Training Jessica Baldwin, Susie Bioletti, Zoë Reid (Chair), Louise O’ConnorMarketing and Maria Canavan, Claire Magill, Louise O’Connor, Rachel Phelan,Communication Julia Poirier, Zoë ReidPatron Michael D. Higgins, President of IrelandSolicitors Eugene F. Collins, Solicitors

Temple Chambers, 3 Burlington Road, Dublin 4Auditors Martin Judge & Co. Certified Accountants

114 Terenure Road North, Terenure, Dublin 6WBankers Bank of Ireland, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2Registered office The Greenhouse, 17 St Andrews Street, Dublin 2 (until May)

15 Harcourt Terrace, Dublin 2 (from May)Email conservationireland@gmail.comWebsite www.conservationireland.orgThe Institute has Charitable Status in Ireland (CHY 10652) and is registered as a Limited Company (No. 178248)

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Mission The mission of ICRI is to promote the conservation and restoration of Ireland’s cultural heritage. ICRI does this by setting standards of professional practice relating to conservation and restoration, by operating a process of professional accreditation and training for its members as well as by being an active and informed voice in the development of cultural heritage policy in Ireland.

Meetings The Board met nine times in 2015. Meetings were held on 14 January, 24 February, 27 April, 18 May, 11 June, 9 July, 8 September, 3 November and 8 December.

The 23rd Annual General Meeting was held on 11 June in the National Gallery of Ireland.

Membership & Accreditation By the end of 2015 the total membership of the Institute numbered 124.

The following is a breakdown of the membership categories:

38 Accredited Conservator-Restorer 61 Conservator-Restorer 12 Student 11 Associate 2 Institutional

In 2015 Monika Nowocinska was professionally accredited as a frames and gilded objects conservator following the revised accreditation and mentoring guidelines and a further five members were mentored through the process.

Continued Professional Development (CPD) CPD Reviews Continued professional development of accredited members is monitored on a cyclical basis by a dedicated review committee comprised of Claire Magill, Simone Mancini and chaired by Fergus Purdy. Five accredited members were contacted to supply CPD records and the review panel met at the National Gallery of Ireland to consider them (10 June). The panel was very impressed by the high standard of CPD activities recorded and all candidates more than met the required standard.

CPD Grants awarded in 2015 There were sixteen CPD grants awarded to members during 2015, these were funded by the Heritage Council and ICRI membership subscriptions::

Sofia Vargas Costa Adhesives in Paper Conservation International Academic Projects workshop, Tate Britain, London, England 23 March 2015

Julia Poirier Traditions of Papermaking in the Islamic World British Library, London, England 23-27 March 2015

Corrie Tubman Issues of Modern Oil Paints: Use and Conservation: Master Class ICON Paintings Group, Glasgow University, Scotland 26-27 March 2015

Amandine Camp Understanding of Asian Papers and their Applications in Paper Conservation ICON, London, England 7-8 April 2015

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Charlotte Anstis Adapt and Evolve, ICON, London, England 8-10 April 2015

Puneeta Sharma Adapt and Evolve ICON, London, England 8-10 April 2015

Audrey McGinley Conservation of Tracing Paper International Academic Projects at Tate Britain, London, England 12-13 April 2015

Liz D’Arcy AICRI Making a Karibari Board, National Library of Ireland, Dublin 20-22 April 2015

Pat McBride Making a Karibari Board, National Library of Ireland, Dublin 20-22 April 2015

Susannah Kelly AICRI Conservation of Leather, West Dean College, Sussex, England 5-8 May 2015

Daniela Fanego History of Paper in Spain, XIth National Congress, Seville, Spain 17-19 June 2015

Mariam Marco-Navarro Building a repertoire of basic book conservation techniques London Metropolitan Archives, England 25-26 June 2015

Damien Lizun Multidisciplinary Research on Works of Art Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland 28 September-2 October 2015

Julia Poirier International Course on Japanese Paper Conservation ICCROM: National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, Japan - 31 August-18 September 2015

Stefan Emmelmann Chemistry for Conservators International Academic Projects (IAP) Note: Correspondence course commencing 1st January - 30th April 2016

Siobhan Conyngham AICRI Multi-Spectral Imaging Analysis of works of art 3 day course – Sicily, Italy Note: bursary awarded 2015 attendance at course postponed until January 2016

All recipients are asked for an acknowledgement of funding and a short report. These reports were collated by Zoë Reid and submitted to the Heritage Council at the end of the year. The Institute is very grateful to the Heritage Council for their continued financial support of the CPD grant scheme.

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Education and training

Education Bursaries There are currently no formal training courses in Ireland for the conservation of objects. Consequently students have to travel abroad for specialised training. In 2015, two education bursaries were awarded to students enrolled in full-time conservation courses:

Bevan O’Daly MA course in Textile Conservation (1st year), Glasgow, Scotland

Lorna Rowley MA course in Textile Conservation (1st year), Glasgow, Scotland

Workshops and CoursesA key objective of the Institute is to promote best practice by the provision of CPD courses for conservator-restorers and museum professionals. The training committee ( Jessica Baldwin, Zoë Reid and Louise O’Connor) organised six workshops in 2015. The Institute would like to thank both the Heritage Council and the Council of National Cultural Institutions (CNCI) for their continued and significant financial support this year. Thanks are also extended to the host institutions and ICRI members who generously gave up their time to organise each course.

Three-day workshop on Making a Karibari Board (The Japanese Drying Board) Key Speaker: Namiko Tagawa Venue: National Library of Ireland, Dublin Dates: 20-22 April 2015 Participants: 6 CPD training for conservator-restorers

One-day workshop on Disaster Planning and Emergency Response Key Speaker: Emma Dadson, Harwell Document Restoration Services Venue: Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Date: 26 May 2015 Participants: 28 Commissioned by the Heritage Council for MSPI participants

One-day workshop Intermediate Project Management Workshop Key Speakers: Paul Heffernan and Andor Vince Venue: Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin Date: 14 July 2015 Participants: 24 Commissioned by the CNCI

One-day workshop on Integrated Pest Management Key Speaker: Dr Martyn Linnie Venue: Trinity College Dublin Date: 24 September 2015 Participants: 29 Commissioned by the CNCI

Two-day workshop on Caring for Digital Prints Key Speaker: Ryan Boatright Venue: Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin Dates: 29-30 October 2015 Participants: 12 Commissioned by the CNCI

One-day symposium on Understanding Parchment - from Beast to Book Key Speakers: Dan Bradley, Matthew Collins, Sarah Fiddyment and Jiri Vnoucek Venue: National Museum of Ireland, Dublin Date: 24 November 2015 Participants: 27 Commissioned by the CNCI

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Postprints Conservation Activities in Ireland 2012 & 2014 Fourteen conference papers from the biennial conferences Conservation Activities in Ireland III (2012) and IV (2014) were joined together for this publication. They reflect the diversity of excellent projects undertaken by ICRI members and the incredibly high standard of conservation carried out in Ireland. The Institute received funding from the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht for the production of this publication, which will be formally launched in 2016.

E-newsletter & Website The Institute kept the membership up-to-date with relevant national and international news using bi-monthly e-newletters, which were complemented by notices circulated on facebook and twitter. Louise O’Connor developed and circulated an on-line survey designed to collect feedback on the ICRI website from members including suggested improvements and requirements for the future. The results have been collated and will be used to inform the planned design of a new website for the Institute.

Visit to Clare Island and Westport The first ICRI excursion was organised by Sven Habermann over the weekend of the 12-13 September. Members traveled to Clare Island and were treated to a guided tour of the Abbey to view the 15th century wall paintings conserved by members Karena Morton and Christoph Oldenburg. The following day members had a behind the scenes tour of Westport House. It proved a great opportunity for members to informally meet and socialise.

Good Housekeeping Seminar The Institute partnered with the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) to help organise a one-day training seminar on good housekeeping aimed at owners of historic houses. It was held at Russborough House on 26 November and was well attended. The majority of the talks were presented by Accredited members of ICRI and the project significantly strengthened the partnership between the two organisations.

The Heritage Council The Institute successfully applied for a grant from the Heritage Council in 2015. The funding provided by the Heritage Council enabled sixteen conservator-restorers to attend professional training courses in Ireland and abroad and the professional accreditation of one conservator-restorer. The funding also enabled ICRI to organise one highly specialised workshop for paper conservators on the construction of a Japanese Drying (Karibari) Board. ICRI was also separately commissioned to organise a one-day workshop on Disaster Planning and Emergency Response for participants of the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland. The Heritage Council’s financial support ensures that the practice of conservation in Ireland continues to adhere to internationally accepted standards.

Culture 2025 On behalf of ICRI, Zoë Reid attended the Dublin public open consultation meeting on the government policy for Culture 2025. ICRI formally responded to the Culture 2025 discussion document and submitted comments to the Cultural Institutions Unit of the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht at the end of October.

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European Confederation of Conservation Organisations (ECCO) Mutual recognition amongst member organisations and the recognition of the strategic importance of conservation-restoration in the field of cultural heritage remain key imperatives to the work of E.C.C.O. An on-line legal Questionnaire, which ICRI completed, was issued in May to help identify the different legal frameworks in each country as an initial step towards building a European law for the profession. E.C.C.O was invited as an expert group to the 6th Conference of Ministers for Heritage in Namur following the General Assembly in April giving E.C.C.O. the opportunity to make an intervention on behalf of conservation-restoration. Formal observer status to the Steering Committee of Landscape, Cultural and Heritage (CDCPP) was granted in June. Subsequent to this E.C.C.O. contributed to a consultative paper identifying strategic priorities arising out of the Namur Declaration on the Strategic importance of cultural heritage to Europe. Ongoing contact with the European Commission has also been developing.

An MoU with ICCROM was signed in March and the President (Susan Corr AICRI) attended the bi-annual General Assembly of ICCROM in November where an invitation was extended to the Director (Stefano de Caro) to address the E.C.C.O. Presidents’ meeting as key-note speaker in June 2016. An MoU has also been agreed between ICOMOS and E.C.C.O. and is to be signed as soon as can be arranged.

International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) Ireland continues to be a full member of ICCROM. Board member, Zoë Reid (Head of Conservation at National Archives of Ireland) was appointed by the Minister of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, as the delegate from Ireland to attend the 29th General Assembly, Rome (18-20 November 2015). Zoë was elected to ICCROM Council (2015-2019) at the General Assembly.

Professionals in Irish Institutions can benefit by attending post-graduate mid-career courses offered in a wide range of conservation expertise. Two professionals from Ireland attended training courses run by ICCROM in 2015:

Julia Poirier (Book and Paper Conservator at Chester Beatty Library, Dublin) attended the three-week International Course on Japanese Paper Conservation held in Tokyo, Japan (31 August -18 September 2015)

Anna Meehan (Project Manager at The Heritage Council, Kilkenny) attended People Centred Approaches: Engaging Communities in the Conservation of Nature and Culture, held in Rome and Naples (6-15 October 2015)

Reports on their experiences were submitted to the Cultural Institutions Unit, DAHG highlighting how those working in the cultural heritage sector are benefiting directly from Ireland’s membership to ICCROM.

Institute for Conservation (ICON)/ Conservation Register ICRI’s accredited members are eligible to be listed on the UK Conservation Register. The ICRI representative is Rachel Phelan and she attended one meeting of the Conservation Register Advisory Board (CRAB) in London on 14 May.

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Financial Statement

THE INSTITUTE OF CONSERVATOR- RESTORERS IN IRELAND(Company Limited by Guarantee Without a Share Capital) Supplementary information relating to financial statements

Detailed Income and Expenditure account for year ended 31st December 2015

2015 2014€ €

INCOME

Grant (DAHG) - 5,000IPCRA Funds - 2,416Consultancy Fees - 800Deposit Interest 1 1Membership 7,023 6,730Courses and ICRI Biennial Conference 3,652 6,415Bursaries/CPD Reimbursements 18,298 11,147Total Income 28,974 32,509

EXPENDITURE

ECCO Membership & Expenses 266 780Meetings and Secretarial 200 936Insurance 293 310Postage, Stationery and Printing 5,505 659Office Cost 458 630Utilities 363 -Bank Fees 167 209General Administration 20 1,275Bursaries /CPD 8,926 2,750Courses and ICRI Conference 12,364 8,519Accreditation / Membership Expenses (2,243) (200)Audit Fee 1,230 1,020Depreciation - 66Legal Fee - -Website 56 619

27,605 17,573

NET INCOME 1,369 3,423