Category: Grimwade Centre
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Reuniting Artist Reggie Uluru with his Restored Ngintaka Sculpture
When Aṉangu artist Reggie Uluru’s sculpture was damaged, conservators from the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation repaired the work, ready for repainting, as Dr Jonathan Kemp explains in this article, originally published in Pursuit. Reggie Uluru has been painting in Australia’s Red Centre for over 15 years. A Senior Aṉangu artist, Reggie Uluru and his people […] -
Conserving our cultural record is more important than ever
Any loss of our historical record – accidental or intentional – leaves us less able to understand the past or make informed decisions about our future. In this article, republished here from Pursuit, Professor Robyn Sloggett sets out the urgency of the current moment when it comes to preserving and ensuring access to cultural records. […] -
Introducing Lucilla Ronai, Assistant Lecturer in Paper Conservation
We are excited to welcome Lucilla Ronai as the Grimwade Centre’s new Assistant Lecturer in Paper Conservation. Luci has worked at prestigious institutions including the National Library of Australia, the Australian National Maritime Museum, and the Library of Trinity College Dublin. Passionate about sharing conservation knowledge, she runs the YouTube channel The Conservation Starter. Her […] -
Preserving Precious Ukrainian Heritage in Melbourne
The Ukrainian Museum of Australia is an entirely volunteer-run community organisation housed at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in North Melbourne. The Museum holds a remarkable collection of objects, including rare books, folk and religious art, craft and textiles. The Museum’s large collection of traditional embroidered items poses special challenges when it comes to preservation and […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2024/05/24/preserving-precious-ukrainian-heritage-in-melbourne
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What Remains of a Performance When the Curtain Goes Down?
Archives are an incomplete but important record of dance and theatre, and the history and artistry of University of Melbourne students is being revisited through these ‘remains’. Arabella Frahn-Starkie, student in the Masters of Cultural Conservation, explores these questions in this new article, republished from Pursuit. My journey to working with archives has been an […] -
Ancestral Ties to the Kabayan ‘Fire’ Mummies is Driving Research to Save Them
An unexpected family link to the Philippines’ Kabayan mummies inspired research into environmental changes in the mountain caves that house them. Grimwade Centre students Fen Reyes, Sarah Soltis, and Camille Calanno explore their research on the mummies and their conservation in this article, republished from Pursuit. Tucked away in rock shelters in the secluded northern […] -
Grimwade Centre Students Launch Scroll Vol. 3
In December 2023, Student Conservators @ Melbourne (SC@M) hosted an intimate celebration at the Grimwade Centre’s nearby watering hole, The Clyde Hotel, to congratulate the new Master of Cultural Materials Conservation graduates and officially launch Scroll Vol. 3. The student-led journal celebrates its third successful release in three years. Founded by the Grimwade Centre’s Master […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2024/02/19/grimwade-centre-students-launch-scroll-vol-3
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Eliza O’Donnell
Eliza O'Donnell (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2024), The Painting is Broken: Understanding Issues of Authenticity and Art Attribution in Contemporary Indonesiablogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2024/02/17/eliza-odonnell
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Creative Solutions for Conservation Challenges in Thailand
The University of Melbourne has been collaborating with Silpakorn University, Thailand, since 1995. Most recently, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts and Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Science and Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts. In March 2023 the University of Melbourne hosted an Incoming Research and Training Visit for residents of Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Science. During the visit, Assistant Professor Sutinee Girdthep and Dr Nattawan Worawannotai presented their work on the conservation of Thai heritage. Recent Master of Cultural Materials Conservation graduate Gen Schiesser reflects on the presentations below. -
Cancy Chu
Cancy Chu (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2023) ‘Preserving Plastics in Paper-Based Collections’ Plastics, referring to semi- or fully synthetic mouldable polymeric materials, are now found in a wide range of cultural heritage materials. Ongoing research focused on plastics in museum collections show that the chemical stability of certain plastics are short-lived. These unstable plastics […] -
Marles Medal for Professor Robyn Sloggett
Professor Robyn Sloggett was awarded the 2021 Marles Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Melbourne in recognition of her extraordinary achievements as a scholar and practitioner of cultural materials conservation whose work has had far-reaching impact both within and beyond the academy. Robyn is both a pioneer and a revolutionary force: […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2023/10/18/marles-medal-for-professor-robyn-sloggett
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Celebrating Twenty Years of the Grimwade Centre
The year 2023 marks the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. In June, to mark this milestone, the Grimwade Centre hosted a special Family and Friends Event. In collaboration with Student Conservators at Melbourne (SC@M), the Centre transformed its multi-purpose lab into an event space. Staff, students, and […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2023/08/01/20-years-grimwade-centre
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New Perspectives on Filipino Textile Weaving
There is a long and rich tradition of textile weaving in the Philippines. In October 2022 Dr Ana Labrador, currently Honorary Senior Fellow at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, gave a talk exploring different approaches to Filipino weaving practices and the challenges that they pose for conservators and for craft researchers. Her wideranging […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2023/03/06/new-perspectives-on-filipino-textile-weaving
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Diana Tay
Diana Tay (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2023) ‘Building a Conservation Material Record: A Study of Paintings by Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen’ Despite the growing visibility of prominent figures in modern Singaporean art history, there is limited material knowledge of the art practices of paintings from Nanyang artists such as Georgette Chen (1906–1993) […] -
Conserving the World’s Oldest Processional Dragon
For the last year, Grimwade Conservation Services has been conserving Loong 龍, the oldest intact Imperial processional dragon in the world. Dr Holly Jones-Amin, Senior Conservator at Grimwade Conservation Services, and Leigh McKinnon from Bendigo’s Golden Dragon Museum tell us more in this article, republished from Pursuit. Loong is a 40-metre long, five-clawed (or imperial) […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/11/25/conserving-the-worlds-oldest-processional-dragon
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The Technical Study of Bernini’s Bronzes
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) is famous for his contribution to Baroque Roman architecture and sculpture. Less well known is the fact that multiple bronze duplicates of his work were cast from his models. These have been generally neglected by art historians and conservators, partly under the influence of enduring myths about artistic genius and authorship. […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/09/26/the-technical-study-of-berninis-bronzes
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Yackandandah Museum Fire Project
In 2006, the small country town of Yackandandah in north-eastern Victoria lost precious cultural heritage when its museum was damaged by fire. In 2021, Grimwade Masters students Maddy Fraser, Joshua Loke and Samantha Rogers won a Willem Snoek Conservation Award to support a project aimed at assisting the local community and Yackandandah & District Historical […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/06/27/yackandandah-museum-fire-project
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Sophie Lewincamp
Sophie Lewincamp (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2022) ‘Tiered Contact Zones: A New Engagement Model for Cultural Materials Conservation’ Over recent decades, there has been increasing recognition of the need for conservators to engage and collaborate with the communities associated with the origin, ownership, and use of cultural objects. Such collaboration has developed more detailed […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/05/02/sophie-lewincamp
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Miniature Qur’ans and Travelling Manuscripts
Didar: Stories of Middle Eastern Manuscripts, curated by the Grimwade Centre’s Sophie Lewincamp and Leila Alhagh, has just opened in the Arts West Gallery space. Featuring works from the Grimwade’s Middle Eastern Manuscripts Collection and the work of conservators and researchers, including Grimwade’s Sadra Zekrgoo, the exhibition was recently discussed in this article by Ruby […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/13/miniature-qurans-and-travelling-manuscripts
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Scroll: A Journal by Student Conservators
Scroll is a student-led publication for conversations about cultural material, its study and preservation, based at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation and backed by SC@M (Student Conservators at Melbourne). Founded in 2020, the Scroll story is a tale of turning lemons into lemonade. In this blog post, founding editors, Joshua Loke, Rachel Davis […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/11/scroll-a-journal-by-student-conservators
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Paintings Conservation Fellowship at Harvard Art Museums
After completing a Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne, Ruby Awburn spent two years in the United States as the Richard I Shader Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the Straus Centre for Conservation and Technical Studies at Harvard Art Museums. Ruby recently returned to Australia to take up a new role […] -
Book Conservation in the Twenty-First Century
Camielle Fitzmaurice was recently awarded a George Alexander Foundation Fellowship through the International Specialised Skills Institute. Camielle is a paper and book conservator and graduate of the Master of Cultural Materials Conservation. In this interview by Samantha Rogers, Camielle discusses her role as book and paper conservator and how her work with Karen Hamner, an […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/12/06/book-conservation-in-the-twenty-first-century
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Leila Alhagh
Leila Alhagh, ‘Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Distanciated Islamic Manuscripts: ‘Sad Kalamih [Kalima] Shah Vilayat (One Hundred Sayings by Ali): Manzumih [Manzuma] dar Hajj (Futuh al-Haramayn)’ – A Case Study (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2021) This research addresses challenges posed by the study of distanciated Oriental manuscripts in research collections. Such challenges include […] -
Celebrating Our Students’ Achievements
Looking back on last year’s note of congratulations to our student award recipients, I noted then the extraordinary (pandemic-driven) conditions during which the students were working. This year the point is doubly true and needs to be acknowledged explicitly. Most of the work that is being awarded by these prizes was done remotely, often independently, […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/11/15/shaps-student-prizes-scholarships-2020
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Introduction to Textile Conservation
In October 2021, Student Conservators @ Melbourne, the student group for the Master of Cultural Materials Conservation program at the Grimwade Centre, held a webinar, ‘Introduction to Textile Conservation’. Hosted by Victoria Thomas of Artlab (a graduate of the Masters and former Grimwade Conservation Services employee), the program introduced the types of objects commonly cared […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/11/11/introduction-to-textile-conservation
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Ainslee Meredith
Ainslee Meredith (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2021) ‘The Public Value of Conservation in Australia: A Social Justice Framework’ Access to conservation, and thus to cultural heritage, has economic, social and cultural benefits; lack of access can lead to loss, both of cultural materials and of the opportunity to enjoy the benefits stemming from conservation. […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/11/03/ainslee-meredith
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Bali Art & Heritage Conservation Internship Program #BAHCIP
In mid-2021 a group of alumni of the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation co-organised the Bali Art & Heritage Conservation Internship Program (#BAHCIP). Developed by Saiful Bakhri, Masters of Cultural Conservation 2018 and winner of a Rising Star Alumni Award in 2020, together with Gadis Fitriana Putri, Lia Sumichan and Laila Nurul Fitrani, the […] -
New Media Conservation Fellowship
In early 2021 Jesse Dyer was the recipient of the first Time-Based Media Conservation Fellowship, offered in partnership by the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). This new fellowship supports graduate research in the dynamic field of Time-Based Media Conservation. Samantha Rogers spoke with Jesse about […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/08/09/new-media-conservation-fellowship
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The PolyMuse Project: Part II
PolyMuse is one of the major research projects underway at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. The primary goal of the project is to develop methods for conserving plastics (polymers) in collections across museums, galleries, and archives. Of particular concern are the five most volatile plastics, cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, PVC, polyurethane, and rubber, […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/06/14/polymuse-project-2
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The PolyMuse Project
PolyMuse is one of the major research projects currently underway at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. The aim of the project is to develop suitable methods for conserving plastics (polymers) in collections across museums, galleries and even university archives. Of particular concern are the rapidly degrading and highly damaging plastics known as ‘malignant […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/05/26/polymuse-project
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Music, Physics, and Conservation: An Interview with Dr Gea Parikesit
Music and physics are interconnected in ways that are not only fascinating but also crucial for how we go about conserving musical instruments. Grimwade Centre Visiting Scholar Dr Gea Parikesit applies his scientific expertise to enhance our understanding of musicality and how to care for musical instruments. Ashley Hayes spoke with him about his ongoing […] -
Indigenous Culture Collections
In November 2020, the Grimwade Centre – in partnership with Humanities 21 – hosted an online event showcasing Indigenous Collections at the University of Melbourne. The program featured a fascinating cross-section of stories about Indigenous artefacts and the people who create, collect and conserve them, as well as those who draw on them for their […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/03/15/indigenous-culture-collections
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Reflections on the VCA Digital Archive of Student Film
Donna Lyon is impressive. Not only is she a film producer and lecturer at the VCA film school, Donna is also finishing up her PhD on creating the VCA Digital Archive – a growing, online repository of over 1,800 student short films tracing back to the 1960s. This mammoth project required input from a range […] -
Empowering Communities through Shared Learning
For the last nine years, conservator and Grimwade Centre PhD candidate, Sophie Lewincamp, has been investigating how conservators can better engage with community knowledge in a productive and equal way. Combining extensive on-the-ground experience with academic research and critical reflection, Sophie has developed a new community engagement framework called the Tiered Contact Zones Model. In […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2020/12/22/empowering-communities
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Cataloguing the University’s School of Chemistry Collection
Grimwade Centre student Lia Sumichan worked in the University of Melbourne’s School of Chemistry Collection as part of the University’s Museums and Collections Projects Program. She told Isabella Walker how unique collection items and inspiring colleagues encouraged a newfound passion for chemistry. -
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Internship
Grimwade Centre student Lisa Mansfield completed an internship at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Working alongside some of the world's leading time-based media conservators, Lisa was immersed in the fascinating and rapidly-evolving world of media art conservation. Here she talks to Isabella Walker about what she learned and observed over the course of her internship, and how her studies at the Grimwade prepared her for this experience.blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2020/11/13/san-francisco-museum-of-modern-art-internship
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Restoring and Conserving the Parish Church at Guiuan, Eastern Samar
In the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, National Museum of the Philippines conservators, heritage professionals, architects and anthropologists, have been working with parishioners and local craftspeople and artists to restore and conserve the historic church of La Inmaculada Concepción at Guiuan, in the province of Eastern Samar. The Grimwade Centre for Cultural […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2020/09/30/restoring-and-conserving-the-parish-church-at-guiuan
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WFH as a Textile Conservator
Victoria Thomas is a textile conservator at Grimwade Conservation Services, the commercial arm of the Grimwade Centre. In this recent article, republished here from Gabberish, she explores what it’s like to be a conservator working from home during Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdown. She looks at how one can still carry out some of the complexities of […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2020/09/15/wfh-as-a-textile-conservator
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Documenting Margel Hinder’s Contribution to Australian Modern Art
Earlier this year, Grimwade Centre Masters of Cultural Material Conservation students had the chance to work with Denise Mimmocchi, Senior Curator at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, in connection with a retrospective on the works of pioneering Australian-American artist Margel Hinder (1905–1985). The upcoming exhibition Margel Hinder: Modern in Motion at the Art […] -
Australia’s Earliest European-built Boat?
The Barangaroo Boat, as it has come to be known, was discovered in November 2018 during development works conducted by Sydney Metro. After completing her MA in Cultural Materials Conservation in 2019, Heather Berry took up a job as a maritime conservator, working with Silentworld Foundation to conserve and preserve the Barangaroo Boat. In this […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2020/07/10/australias-earliest-european-built-boat
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Evan Tindal
Evan Tindal, ‘Evaluating the Photooxidative Ageing Properties of 3D Printed Plastics: Strategies for Their Use and Conservation in Cultural Heritage Contexts’ (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation, 2020) 3D printing is a fairly ubiquitous term today, due in part to the dissemination of the manufacturing technique to a wide variety of applications. While initially developed as […] -
Location, Relationships & Practice: The Con/servare Melbourne Forum 2019
In October 2019 the Grimwade Centre hosted a forum run by Con/servare, an international network for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation, material culture and attribution studies, co-founded in 2018 by Grimwade PhD candidates Ainslee Meredith, Julianne Bell and Eliza O’Donnell. In this blog post, Eliza O’Donnell introduces the Con/servare network, and reports […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2020/01/21/location-relationships-practice
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How to Care for and Recover Personal Items after Bushfire
The devastation wrought by the Australian bushfires has been immense and, as the fires continue to burn, the final loss won’t be known for many months. While the impact on the environment, human and animal life is overwhelming, for many individuals the loss of personal items such as photographs, documents, artwork and personal treasures is […] -
Three Months at the Rijksmuseum
Grimwade Centre student Laura Daenke is currently completing an internship in the Paper and Photo Department at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Here she talks to Isabella Walker about what she has learnt and observed over the course of her internship, and how her studies at the Grimwade prepared her for this experience. Tell us a […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2019/11/22/three-months-at-the-rijksmuseum
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The Woman Who Stitched Her Way into Art History
Known for her bold and bright work, artist Mirka Mora was a trailblazer for women artists in the 1970s, bringing ‘feminine techniques’ to the forefront of art. Grimwade Centre Honorary Fellow Sabine Cotte discusses Mirka’s life, work, and legacy in this article, originally published in the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit. Mirka Mora was one of […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2019/10/14/the-woman-who-stitched-her-way-into-art-history
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Conserving Australia’s Cultural Record
At the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, Western disciplines like chemistry, physics, art history and archaeology help us to analyse, understand, preserve and restore Australia’s cultural heritage. It’s part of a history of conservation that stretches back centuries; emerging from the Western intellectual tradition of universities, museums, libraries, archives and galleries throughout the eighteenth […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2019/09/26/conserving-australias-cultural-record
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Conservators at Work on Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel Project
Emma Hayles, one of our recent graduates, is now working as an archaeological conservator, looking after items uncovered during the Metro Tunnel Project excavations. After doing an undergraduate degree in Archaeology, Emma Hayles went on to complete a Master of Cultural Materials Conservation in 2017. Since 2018, she has been working on the Metro Tunnel […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2019/08/09/conservators-at-work
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Time-based Media Conservation: Masterclass with Patricia Falcão from Tate
What happens when an artwork is produced using technologies that later become obsolete? What special skills are needed by conservators working with old media? Tate conservator Patricia Falcão recently delivered a masterclass on this subject for Master of Cultural Materials Conservation students at the Grimwade Centre. Ashley Hayes, one of the postgraduate students who organised […]blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2019/06/18/time-based-media-conservation
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Partnering with Regional Museums and Galleries: Grimwade Graduates in Bathurst
Graduate students from the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation have been helping the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery (BRAG) to do the difficult but crucial work involved in reorganising their collection.blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2019/05/30/grimwade-graduates-in-bathurst
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Reconstructing Knowledge: Sadra Zekrgoo’s Persian Ink PhD Project
In 2018 Sadra completed a PhD at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. He talked to Georgia Garvey-Hawke from the SHAPS Engagement team about how his passion for conservation has taken him around the world...
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