Overall Steps to Becoming a Conservation Artist

This section will briefly go over the whole process of becoming a conservation artist. If you would like to dig deeper into each steps, check out the over posts which includes details for each steps, as well as useful tips!

Step 1: Discover Conservation

The field of artwork conservation isn’t usually known but it is a career you can have! It’s not a career path that is known as being a teacher or doctor or lawyer.

So ways that you can discover conservation is:

1. You might know a conservator personally

   1. You might have read about them or seen them in media or on social media

   2. You can see live conservation treatments (on Youtube for instance) which is happening more and more within institutions

   3. You come across a video on what is a conservator or what is conservation like

Step 2: Experience Conservation

You need to work out whether this is the right career path for you, and there are a lot of easy ways you can do that.

1. Look at the online resources by international and national conservation bodies, like the ones that I have linked in my List of Forums

2. There are also more informal discussion groups especially on Facebook where emerging conservators or people aspiring to be conservators can ask questions.

3. Watch behind the scenes videos, or even get a behind the scenes tour

4. Meet and talk to conservators, conservation scientists, collection managers, people that will be able to give you more information about what it’s like day to day to work as a conservator

5. The most important way to work out whether a career is right for you is to gain hands-on experience. If you can have an opportunity to intern or volunteer, do so! In the US before you even study you have to do pre-program internships as a requirement.

Step 3: Choose Specialisation

Sometimes you can decide this later down the track, but quite a few courses require you to choose your specialisation before studying. The main thing is that you are aware of the different specialisations, and you think about which ones would work with your strengths, your background, and your knowledge. So you can choose to specialise in a material type or a function. If you need help check out Terminologies/Definitions.

Step 4: Conservation Training

Train to be a conservator! There is no way you can step out into the world and be a conservator without a lot of training! There are different forms that this training can take. For example in Japan, it is more of an apprentice and master style training, whereas in other parts of the world it is a formalised degree at a university, usually at a post-graduate level, and these vary so much! It differs in the duration, specialisations, and constraints of geography.

In France, you can study for 5 years, whereas in Australia it goes for two. The type of conservatory you want to become might depend on where you might study. You also just might be constrained geographically.

Step 5: Internship or Fellowship

Do an internship or a fellowship. This might be inbuilt into your studying, or it might happen after and it is optional. You do not have to do it, but if you can, I strongly advise it. It also could be paid or unpaid. Check Terminologies/Definitions for the description of what they are.

Step 6: Get a Conservation Job

I am not going to lie, it is very tough to get a job in the conservation world. They are notoriously hard to get; there is a lot of competition and a lot of conservators for not many jobs. Conservators can work in private practice - alone or in a group - where they work with people’s treasures, private collections, or they help out with institutions' collections. Or you could also be a conservator at a gallery, library, archive, or museum. Most state and national museums will have a conservator or conservators. You also could work in the smaller, regional gallery, and this means that your job might be broader than conservation. You might also be doing registration, and collection management.

Step 7: Ensure Lifelong Learning!

It is really important in any career that has, but especially in conservation. The field has changed so much as a profession since the 60s and 70s and the conservators and working with cultural heritage. So there are a lot of ways that you can keep abreast of the new technologies, new tools, techniques, and new philosophies. You can attend workshops, or have online training, or go to a conservation conference. You could become a member of a professional body and try to reach accredited status.