<a href="https://www.analitika.ba/people/aida-kalender">Aida Kalender</a> founded <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/akcija-sarajevo">AKCIJA Sarajevo</a> with some friends in 1998. Akcija means “action” in Bosnian, and they began by organising large cultural music events for young people after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This article is a result of an interview made in March 2023. I hope you enjoy reading Aida's fascinating tale as much as I enjoyed hearing it.
<h2 id="on-financial-sustainability-of-non-profits-and-government-support-for-museums">On financial sustainability of non-profits and government support for museums</h2>
The large cultural institutions in Bosnia had collapsed during the war, and smaller and more flexible independent initiatives seemed to work well in the late 90s. There were many non-profits in the cultural sector in Bosnia during those early years after the war and there was significant international aid and donations as culture was recognised as a strong vehicle for youth reconciliation, peace building, and democracy.
However, international funding never lasts forever and around the year 2000, there were other fresher conflict zones around the world and international foundations withdrew their financial aid.
<blockquote>
 Once these international actors were gone, the funding dried up. The withdrawal of international foundations created a huge funding gap which many non-profit organisations could not survive.
</blockquote>
<h2 id="professionalisation-of-non-profits-and-leverage-of-civic-support">Professionalisation of non-profits and leverage of civic support</h2>
In this context, AKCIJA Sarajevo began to look to find its new place in this new social context through the profesionalization of the sector by bringing in new skills in communications, management, cultural management, and policy.
The group identified laws in Bosnia and tried to engage with them through stakeholders from the cultural sector and mobilisation of citizens. They started organising a network of cultural staff and independent operators. This provided a platform for discussion about problems such as arts funding and gave them a collective voice.
<blockquote>
 “We did some initial research in the form of interviews with the people from the cultural sector, both from the institutional sector and from non-profits, to see what the biggest problems were, the obstacles and needs of the sector at that moment. Based on these interviews, we created a list of crucial issues in the cultural sector.”
</blockquote>
One of the biggest issues was the lack of a Ministry of Culture at the state level. The lack of top-tier organisation created problems even for the largest national cultural institutions, among them <a href="https://www.zemaljskimuzej.ba/">The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina</a>, which was closed from 2012-2015 due to lack of structural funding. You may see some of the international coverage of this event from October 3rd, 2012 in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/03/bosnia-national-museum-funding-crisis">The Guardian</a>.
<blockquote>
 The Museum had attempted to make a symbolic stand by locking the doors and placing bars on it thinking it would encourage a reaction from political bodies or society, but no one reacted.
</blockquote>
<h2 id="the-importance-of-cultural-policies-and-media-exposure-communication-is-everything">The importance of cultural policies and media exposure - communication is everything</h2>
In 2015, AKCIJA visited the Museum by invitation of one of the employees. The general media had reported that the employees were unprofessional and lazy and did not know how to run the organisation. What Aida found in the Museum was shocking.
<blockquote>
 There were about 45 employees coming to work every day and guarding the collections. The Museum didn’t have electricity or alarm systems anymore. The staff realised they were alone. They organised themselves into 8-hour shifts to guard the Museum. They had been doing this for 3 years with no salary, health insurance or any kind of benefit.
</blockquote>
AKCIJA realised this story needed to be shared publicly. They called in a friend who was a professional photographer to create portraits of the museum’s employees and Aida ran a series of small interviews.
AKCIJA used this material as the basis for a public campaign/exhibition with video clips and photos of the staff called <a href="https://jasam.zemaljskimuzej.ba/">I am Museum</a>. They invited citizens and cultural organisations to the opening of their exhibition and to participate in the guarding shifts as an act of solidarity with the employees.
The success was unprecedented. Citizens and personalities of the cultural sector showed up, hundreds of them every day to support the Museum. Some of them brought equipment to donate. Professors from the universities gave free lectures. Cultural organisations organised programs free of charge such as film nights, concerts and debates. Then the celebrities showed up, and with them, the media. The pressure on the political elites increased.
<blockquote>
 After 45 days of strong media coverage and social media marketing with images of citizens coming to support the Museum, politicians agreed to find the money to backpay the employee wages and re-open the Museum in September 2015.
</blockquote>
Several months later, AKCIJA won the <a href="https://www.europeanheritageawards.eu/winners/employees-activists-national-museum-bosnia-herzegovina-sarajevo/">Europa Nostra award</a>, and the Museum expanded its international connections with large European and American museums abroad.
<h2 id="culture-as-a-medium-for-activation-and-integration">Culture as a medium for Activation and Integration</h2>
You would think this is the happy ending to the story. The non-profit organised civil society and saved the big Museum. Unfortunately, this is not the end.
The small AKCIJA team worked for over a year to make this project happen, but once the battle had been won, a new gap appeared. The work and power dynamic in the official public sector for culture was not the same as the non-profit sector.
<blockquote>
 The old balance of power relationships were re-established. You’re not part of the institution? Then you’re not part of the team. Thank you. We don’t really need you now. Goodbye. Business as usual now.
</blockquote>
What had seemed the beginning of a seed for public and civic collaboration, a partnership between State and non-profit art organisations, a model for sustainability, was gone.
<blockquote>
 “I saw this as a kind of public-civic collaboration, partnership, which could also be a model for sustainability for the non-profit sector because we basically share the same mission. We see culture as a public good. The state cultural institutions such as the Museum are also non-profit. They are a public organisation, and we are an independent organisation, but we are not commercial. I was thinking, okay, maybe we have the same mission. We can work together. We can share some resources. Maybe they have space we don’t have. We have other skills that can be of help. For example, the Museum didn’t have a website. We found the money to build them the website. Somehow, this collaboration didn’t work long after the Museum's opening, unfortunately…”
</blockquote>
Aida feels there was a kind of prejudice on the side of the public cultural sector that people who work in non-profits are not professional and are nonconventional. It opened up a lot of new questions.
<blockquote>
 How do you work in a country with no core funding for non-profit organisations in the arts? Basically, you live project to project. You find things that are interesting and worth pursuing, but it means you have to switch gears every two or five years.
</blockquote>
“Once you are in this sector, it really becomes a part of your life. In countries like the Netherlands, <a href="https://business.gov.nl/financing-your-business/subsidies/arts-and-culture/">you have four years of funding for non-profit art organisations</a>. This doesn’t exist in Bosnia, but it would be very important to start changing the cultural policies systematically. It means introducing new policy models of funding. To do that, we’d need a strong coalition again, a very good campaign, a lot of media support. I’m still trying to recharge and generate some energy to maybe return and start some projects again.”
<h2 id="the-sysyphus-challenge">The Sysyphus challenge</h2>
<blockquote>
 “It’s really like ups and downs. You have some ups, you get some funding, you create great results, great amazing things. You get some awards, but then everything goes down.”
</blockquote>
There is no ending to this story. Yet. Aida is recharging and hopes to begin again in the future.
But how are you supposed to build upon previous results? Aida feels like the current model’s problem is that, in many ways, you are always at the beginning. As soon as one project finishes, you are at the beginning again. There is no recognition or evaluation of your work. It matters little if your non-profit was founded yesterday or if it’s been around for 25 years, like AKCIJA - everyone is in the same pool competing for the same funding.
<blockquote>
 “Maybe we need a non-profit sector for culture with wider recognition by the cultural sector in general. We need to recognise that you can be independent, non-governmental and still be professional and talented. You don’t need to work within the framework of the public institutions - which can limit you in many ways.”
</blockquote>
<h2 id="final-thoughts-on-cultural-non-profits-outside-the-public-institution">Final thoughts on cultural non-profits outside the public institution</h2>
Personally, I found some interesting differences with my experience in Latin America. Although both Peru and Bosnia had come out of more controlling political histories in the past years, the role of the State in both and the perceptions of the public are completely different.
While Bosnian society seems to expect strong services from its civil servants and is more likely to judge professionals in the private non-profit sector as less capable, the opposite has always struck me to be true in Peru. State institutions there are organisationally weak and the general impression of civil servants is that they are either lazy or mediocre or both - the kind of people who wouldn’t be able to get a job in the private sector because they’re not competent or hard-working enough.
Both of these views are generalisations, of course, but it was interesting to note that they were seemingly born from the local political structure. I would expect neither is quite the case for other countries, so I can’t speak for them - so please do share your thoughts and impressions on how cultural non-profits fit in the cultural sector of your area of the world.
Can we draw more parallels? Are we more similar than we thought at first glance? Or are we very different still? Are there any strategies we could share across borders to try to change cultural policies or are we all doomed to push the Sysyphus rock forever?
<h2 id="acknowledgements">Acknowledgements</h2>
I would like to thank Aida Kalender for her time and her honest insights into the world of cultural non-profits in Bosnia during the early turn of this new century. I write this article in the hopes that Aida’s shared experience will help us in some way or another. Are you interested in collaborating with her? Let me know!
This article is part of the Founders in Heritage series. Read about the experiences of other founders and entrepreneurs in the heritage world through the links in the <a href="https://angelicaisa.com/blog">main blog</a>. 
If you liked this post, you can follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama">Twitter</a>, check out my newest <a href="https://www.instagram.com/a.isa140/">Instagram experiments</a> or connect with me on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelicaisaadaniya/">Linkedin</a>. You can also sign up for the newsletter below to get my latest articles straight in your inbox.

What happens when a non-profit civil organisation decides to save a floundering museum?

AKCIJA Sarajevo - A non-profit art organisation's story

<h2 id="life-changes-and-career-moves">Life Changes and Career Moves</h2>
November 6th 2022 marked my first full week of official unemployment in the heritage sector after 7 years of permanent employment at a conservation job in a museum.
This is not because it was a terrible job, or because I got laid off because times are tough in heritage. It’s because I recently got married and am now planning a move to Canada at the end of January 2023. Talk about starting from scratch for the chance of a new life (and right before a recession too)!
Anyone in heritage will be able to tell you that finding a permanent job in the field with an acceptable salary is extremely difficult – even more so in conservation, so these are challenging times for me!
Just visit any of the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) communities on Reddit (e.g. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumPros/">r/MuseumPros</a>), and you will see what I mean.
Still, I consider it an opportunity to grow and learn and apply everything I have learned in Peru to a wonderful new job in Canada (or maybe a remote one elsewhere?).
Do you think it's possible? How does one even go about this?
<h2 id="how-to-get-a-job-in-conservation-when-things-look-bad">How to get a job in conservation when things look bad</h2>
As it is, I can’t apply for a work permit until I apply first for my Permanent Residence in Canada after I arrive at the end of January (while at the same time looking for a place to live).
The work permit takes around two months to be issued. This means that I will not be allowed to work in Canada until at least mid-April or May.
This means I have a number of barriers to overcome:
<ul>
 <li>No Permanent Resident paperwork yet because I will apply for it after I arrive</li>
 <li>No working permit</li>
 <li>No valid driver's license until I get through the paperwork</li>
 <li>No local network in the field (not 100% true, but I will elaborate why further down)</li>
 <li>No full awareness of where the jobs are</li>
 <li>No place to live</li>
 <li>No income or credit score</li>
 <li>No car</li>
 <li>No fellow student conservators who just graduated with me from a Canadian program</li>
 <li>No local paperwork for my degrees</li>
 <li>No recent object portfolio because I've spent most of my past 7 years doing preventive conservation, research, education projects, grant writing and area management</li>
 <li>Jobs in conservation are few and far between</li>
 <li>Did I mention I'm from PERU and moving to CANADA in JANUARY?!</li>
</ul>
How many of the above list would you tick for yourself when looking for a job in art conservation?
<h2 id="its-difficult-to-get-a-job-in-conservation">It's difficult to get a job in conservation</h2>
At this point, you really could be thinking, if this lady gets something, anyone can. The point I'm trying to make is that when you look at how difficult things can be, it is easy to become discouraged. However, this will be an exercise in tenacity and perseverance - nevermind a challenge to my mental health over a period of time.
You are welcome to make your own list of why finding a job in conservation or heritage will be hard. This is not so that you can feel terrible, but so that you can look at your challenges in the eye and so that you can address them one by one.
<h2 id="but-its-not-impossible-to-get-a-job-in-heritage-other-people-do-it-somehow">But it's not impossible to get a job in heritage - other people do it somehow</h2>
Now that we've looked at the negatives, let's look at the positives. In other words, the things that are actually in my/your control. Which of the things in the above list can I try to resolve?
In my particular case, I am currently:
<ul>
 <li>Improving my French so I can apply for jobs in French-speaking Canada as well. I got a C1 grade on the TEF Canada last year, but I could probably improve that, if not on paper, at least in practice. Do you have a language you can work on?</li>
 <li>Working towards the <a href="https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/facebook-social-media-marketing">Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate</a> through Coursera and reading voraciously about social media marketing because I want to grow my own personal brand and website to continue to cater to the heritage community and those interested in our field. What alternate skills can you grow while you look?</li>
 <li>Growing my social media presence through my regular <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama">Twitter</a> and an updated <a href="https://www.instagram.com/a.isa140/">Instagram account</a> aimed at people outside the heritage field with an interest in museums and heritage conservation. I literally had 88 followers on my Instagram last week because it used to be private. I have 115 now. Do you think I can get it to 1000 before December 31st? We'll see! Are you leveraging your existing network?</li>
 <li>Writing new blog posts like this one and helping out at the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtConservation/">Reddit community for people interested in conservation</a> whenever I have some free time. Are you volunteering somewhere in a related post or creating content?</li>
 <li>Making events and courses starting with a French-style salon through <a href="https://interintellect.com">Interintellect</a> on Thursday, December 1st called <a href="https://interintellect.com/salon/the-other-conservation-the-role-of-heritage-in-the-21st-century/">The Other Conservation: The Role Of Heritage In The 21st Century</a> Are you looking for like/minded people?</li>
 <li>Helping out as a Community Member at <a href="http://conserv.io/">Conserv</a> by coordinating social media efforts to communicate the values of this exciting brand for collections environmental monitoring. Have you identified any companies you'd like to work with?</li>
 <li>Presenting at conferences related to conservation such as the <a href="https://survey.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de/en/node/912">Facing Climate Change Focus on Conservation</a> on November 29th. How many free online conferences or webinars have you signed up for?</li>
 <li>Volunteering with The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) as a Vice Chair for the <a href="https://www.iiconservation.org/content/talent-and-participation-tp-committee">Talent &#x26; Participation Committee</a> and with CECA-Peru, the education branch of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).</li>
 <li>Networking like crazy. I am joining Linkedin groups, Facebook groups, conferences, webinars, Reddit conversations, everything and anything I can find to meet colleagues who work in the field in Canada (and elsewhere because a good network is invaluable wherever it may be located). I am offering courses when possible and meeting people in real life when they are in my area - you'd be absolutely surprised at how many people I've actually managed to meet in person just in the past few weeks and how many meet-ups I am lining up for the next few weeks.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
 I encourage you to try this exercise. How many terrible things have you identified that challenge your path in having a career in heritage and what could you do, even if it's small, to address them? I can tell you that out of the list I just made for myself up there, nothing (except for the French) is actually difficult.
</blockquote>
It has all just taken tons of time and outright effort. Yes, I've worked evenings and weekends for several years now to make it all happen up to now. I am sure you are perfectly capable of achieving this and more too.
You just have to want to do it enough to sacrifice the little free time you might have. And you know what? If you don't want to, there's nothing to feel bad about either. The whole point is to find something that makes you happy.
<h2 id="how-can-we-help-each-other">How can we help each other?</h2>
Here are some things that I intend to do right now and which you could do yourself if you are in a similar boat as me:
<ul>
 <li>
 If you are in the Greater Toronto Area and need a volunteer or a remote aid for anything in your conservation or museum-related endeavours, let me know! I would love to meet and am willing to do what it takes as a new arrival. I can treat objects (although I'll need to brush up a bit) and have experience setting up preventive conservation programs from scratch. I do social media and blogging. I love conservation and heritage outreach.
 </li>
 <li>
 If you are outside of Canada and need a content creator and writer with +7 years in the museum and heritage field and an international network in conservation who could work for you remotely, I am free now and looking!
 </li>
 <li>
 Do you need blog posts with Search Engine Optimisation to drive traffic to your heritage-related organisation? I have a 100% organic top-ranking Google result for <a href="/blog/understanding-dewpoint">my dew point article</a>.
 </li>
 <li>
 Are you looking for heritage funding? I have successfully applied before for $30,000 and $1 million for projects in museum outreach and heritage research and would love to help you achieve your goals.
 </li>
 <li>
 Do you just want to network with me? I would love to hear from you! I don't care if you're a student, pre-program, collections care manager, museum director, curator, freelance conservator, history buff, etc. I don't just want to talk to you if you can help me find a job. I want to talk to you anyway. If you'd like to have a chat with me, ask me stuff about conservation, do a collab on your podcast or social media platform, I would love to see what's up! Do you want to do an interview or talk or rant about conservation? Do you want to know more about SEO and content marketing? Reach out to me on any of my social media accounts. Linkedin connections are okay too!
 </li>
</ul>
The above list applies for me. What would apply for you? What can you offer others before you ask what they can offer you?
<h2 id="will-this-even-work">Will this even work?</h2>
Well, I guess I can't really tell you right now, can I? I won't know until I either get something in heritage in Canada or finally decide to move on - whenever that may be.
<blockquote>
 All I can do right now is create opportunities for myself and see where they go. If the day comes when I decide it's time to stop, I will do so gladly knowing that I looked at every possible path I could think of and that my happy job must lie somewhere else. I talked to as many people as I found. I volunteered in as many places as I could. I wrote everything I wanted to write. Essentially, I will make sure it is a "That'll do, pig" moment and not a "cry myself to sleep because I failed" moment.
</blockquote>
<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/f50TuQCGUAYH6" width="480" height="319" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/f50TuQCGUAYH6">via GIPHY</a>
I do intend to keep track of how this new adventure goes because if it all works out, then I fully intend to use it as inspiration to help others overcome the barriers they are finding to joining the heritage field. If I can make a strong community and network work for me as a brand new immigrant in a new country, then I can try to make it work for you.
<h2 id="always-say-thank-you">Always say thank you</h2>
I want to thank all of you who have supported me in my previous and current roles as a museum conservator, communicator, and volunteer.
Whether you are/were/will be a colleague, boss, fellow volunteer, community member, aspiring conservation student, Twitter friend, or Linkedin connection, I am grateful for the things you have taught me and the opportunities you have given me. Thank you for following me on my various social platforms, for engaging with my content, sharing and leaving me comments. Thank you for reaching out to me and building new connections. I look forward to being able to support you in whatever way I can now and in the future regardless of whether I stay in the field or not.
Whether I met you years ago or this week, (you know who you are!) thank you for your words of encouragement and your support. Thank you for letting me work with you, for pointing me to job boards, for flagging out job opportunitites that you saw somewhere, for giving me advice on how to stay warm in January in Canada and for sending me useful links. You are invaluable and I appreciate you. Thank you for thinking of me. I am thinking of you.
<h2 id="some-final-advice-for-conservation-job-seekers-from-a-fellow-seeker">Some final advice for conservation job seekers from a fellow seeker</h2>
I have received some amazing advice lately, so here it is for you (and me!), distilled:
<ul>
 <li>Don't stop learning, keep moving, keep meeting people. Make your CV the best you can make it with the resources available to you. Use your time wisely and keep your eyes on the prize.</li>
 <li>Know what you want, not just "I know I want to work in conservation/heritage/museums" but know when to want to rest, when to pivot, when to stop and when to recognise situations that are too toxic or negative to be worth it. Know when to walk away. I will tell you if/when I reach this point and I will be honest about it. I have seen many sad experiences being shared on heritage communities online and we should all know that we are more valuable than a job.</li>
 <li>If you are sad or discouraged, lie down and relax. Think of all the positive things that hold you up. Remember your past achievements as proof that you are capable.</li>
 <li>Be grateful. Even if this doesn't work out, I will be thankful to everyone who looked out for me during the job seeking.</li>
 <li>Be kind. Many of us are competing with each other for the same jobs. This doesn't mean we should be mean to each other. Maybe you get the job today, but it might be me tomorrow - and heritage is a small world. The last thing we want is to be making enemies when what we need is supportive colleagues.</li>
 <li>You don't have to work in heritage to be involved with heritage. If you/we "fail" to get a job in the field, no one said we can't continue to be involved in other capacities. No one said you can't go to museums anymore or write blogs or make podcasts or be a member of the professional organisations or attend conferences. You/We still can. And it's not a failure if you find another job that pays your rent. A job is just a job. It does not define who we are - although it can certainly feel that way. If I end up not working in heritage, I can assure you this website will still be here.</li>
 <li>Network like that song by Roberto Carlos that says he wants to have a million friends. Create meaningful relationships with your colleagues and peers. They will help and support you. If you've never heard this 70s gem from Brazil, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO2NkQ9ws-Q">here's the song</a>!</li>
</ul>
Thank you for reading! I'll keep you posted on the international journey of this conservator! 
If you liked this post, you can follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama">Twitter</a>, check out my newest <a href="https://www.instagram.com/a.isa140/">Instagram experiments</a> or connect with me on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelicaisaadaniya/">Linkedin</a>. You can also sign up for the newsletter below to get my latest articles straight in your inbox.

As a new immigrant to Canada, how does one go about getting a job in art conservation or heritage?

How to get a job in art conservation

Have you head the IIC is having council elections? Find out more today!

Council elections - Open positions at the IIC

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@usinglight?utm_source=unsplash&#x26;utm_medium=referral&#x26;utm_content=creditCopyText">Stefan Steinbauer</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&#x26;utm_medium=referral&#x26;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>
Contents
<ul>
 <li><a href="#the-10-agents-of-deterioration">The 10 Agents of deterioration</a></li>
 <li><a href="#an-11th-culprit-obscurity">An 11th culprit: Obscurity</a></li>
 <li><a href="#how-do-you-know-you-are-suffering-from-obscurity">How do you know you are suffering from Obscurity?</a></li>
 <li><a href="#why-we-need-to-highlight-obscurity">Why we need to highlight Obscurity</a></li>
 <li><a href="#how-do-you-feel-about-obscurity">How do you feel about Obscurity?</a></li>
 <li><a href="#read-more-about-public-conservation">Read more about public conservation</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="the-10-agents-of-deterioration">The 10 Agents of deterioration</h2>
Let's begin with the basic ten agents of deterioration. If you've never heard of them, here are a couple super quick and fun resources to get you up to speed:
<ul>
 <li><a href="/blog/preventive-conservation/">Basic preventive conservation</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama/status/1473313407130644484?s=20&#x26;t=WOPGIFWDcEnIEmw0joy68A">The 10 agents of deterioration in GIF form</a></li>
</ul>
If you are looking for more legit sources, here are a couple more:
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Ten_Agents_of_Deterioration#The_Ten_Agents_of_Deterioration">Wiki by the American Institute of Conservation</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/agents-deterioration.html">Canadian Conservation Institute</a></li>
</ul>
The main point about the 10 agents of deterioration is that they are different ways in which collections are damaged either by natural or human forces/dynamics, accidental or intentional. As conservators or professionals who, in one way or another, work to care for various types of cultural heritage, we come to think of preventive conservation as all the measures we take to make sure these ten agents don't wreak havoc in our collections and sites.
So we take measures.
We put in leak detection systems, fire alarms, sprinklers, security cameras, nylon strings to stop earthquakes from breaking things, acid-free packaging, insect monitoring traps, UV filters, fancy databases and barcodes, digitisation programmes, 3D scanning projects, you name it! We do all this amazing work to make sure nothing happens to our collections, or at least to make sure that whatever happens happens very, very, very slowly.
<blockquote>
 And yet, I had a feeling we were forgetting a very important and all-encompassing one... What happens if all the work we do is useless because no one knows about it?
</blockquote>

 <img src="/ObscurityMeme.jpg" alt="Pablo Escobar waiting meme. It says &#x22;Amazing preventive conservation programme&#x22; while lonely Pablo is &#x22;waiting for museum visitors.&#x22;"> Do you feel like this sometimes?

<h2 id="an-11-th-culprit-obscurity">An 11th culprit: Obscurity</h2>
The closest agent to the one I am proposing to add would be <a href="https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Ten_Agents_of_Deterioration#Custodial_Neglect_.26_Dissociation">Dissociation or Custodial neglect</a>. However, this agent focuses on internal documentation, follow-up of processes during staff turnover and database or record-keeping problems. This is not what I mean.
A few months ago, I was asked how come, if I was a conservator, I knew stuff about social media marketing, basic design, SEO and Google analytics? So I had to put into words something that I had been thinking since I began working in 2016.
<blockquote>
 Public outreach and social media management is an integral part of preventive conservation. I consider it part of my job to make sure all the work I do means something to someone out there who would otherwise know nothing about my museum, our collections, our conservation work. I don't care if it's not in my job profile or description because, sometimes, I think it should be.
</blockquote>
The thing is, even if you have the most amazing budget in the world for perfect, stable, carbon-neutral, insect-free storage spaces...
<blockquote>
 It won't count for much if nobody cares, and what happens when nobody cares? Your amazing budget will go away.
</blockquote>
A lot of us, if not all of us, do magic and make do to have the best, creative, innovative solutions for all the things we need to do to keep our collections safe - but we don't always take that extra step to make sure that everyone knows about it.
<blockquote>
 It's like a vicious cycle. You don't have a budget, so you can't hire social media people or do super fancy things (or sometimes even basic things). People outside your institution, or even inside your institution, don't know what you're up to or why. A lot of outside people don't even know your building is there. So your budget (and your team) gets smaller and smaller and smaller - until you're gone.
</blockquote>
And this brings us back to the 10 agents of deterioration. If you and your team are gone, what will happen to the collections then? Well, the main 10 agents of deterioration will make sure to destroy them - and then everyone will be all shock-horror and complain about why nothing was ever done before it got this bad and we will be cranky, old, jaded people saying it was a terrible deal and we couldn't save it, and it's everyone else's fault for not listening to us and cutting our budgets and/or firing us.
It's just a bad deal all around for everyone involved and it happens all over the world regardless of your kind or size of institution.

 <img src="/ObscurityMeme2.jpg" alt="Statler and Waldorm meme asking, &#x22;Our collections are not on social media? &#x22;We have collections?&#x22;"> Let's avoid becoming like Statler and Waldorf.

<h2 id="how-do-you-know-you-are-suffering-from-obscurity">How do you know you are suffering from Obscurity?</h2>
When talking about your collections and/or institution, visitors say things like:
<ul>
 <li>I didn't know you were here!</li>
 <li>I live very close by and I had no idea!</li>
 <li>How long have you been here?</li>
 <li>Why have I never heard of you before?</li>
 <li>Are you on social media? Where is it?</li>
</ul>
Well-meaninged colleagues might still say things like:
<ul>
 <li>Oh? Why do you need to do that?</li>
 <li>Why can't x take care of it?</li>
 <li>I didn't know we had that in our collections!</li>
 <li>That doesn't sound like a priority.</li>
 <li>We could probably outsource conservation services just fine.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
 The thing with Agent 11: Obscurity, is that it does not only apply to the collections themselves (objects get forgotten all the time), but to the people who care for them - and affecting the people will inevitably affect the collections.
</blockquote>
<h2 id="why-we-need-to-highlight-obscurity">Why we need to highlight Obscurity</h2>
<blockquote>
 We must fight against being forgotten. Our collections don't deserve to be forgotten. Those of us who work to keep them should not be invisible.
</blockquote>
Obscurity, as its name implies, is an agent that works furtively, clandestinely. It is similar to Neglect and Dissociation in that the effects of its damage on collections cannot be openly observed. Water damage, fire damage, fading, theft, insect attack - these are all things we can see and quantify.
Not so with Obscurity. How do you quantify how visible or invisible you are?
<blockquote>
 Obscurity is quietly chipping away at your collection's limelight, at your job security, at your institution's position within its community.
</blockquote>
I'm not sure if adding an Agent that addresses both collections and collection caretakers would go in line with the original 10 agents. It is the odd one out. What do you think? I like to think adding the people into the agents would help us argue professionally for the importance of sharing collections care work even at the smallest institutions. What are collections anyway if there are no people? I also like to think outreach-oriented themes should be included - or at least mentioned explicitly - in our training programmes, but that's not for me to decide.
<h2 id="how-do-you-feel-about-obscurity">How do you feel about Obscurity?</h2>
I'll be honest, now that I've given it a name, I find Obscurity to be terrifying. It's even scarier than fires and floods and clothes moths - but in a different sort of way.
Is there any point in fighting the 10 agents of deterioration if we allow Obscurity to take over slowly?
How many of us are concerned about the wellbeing of our collections because we don't know if we'll be here to care for them next quarter?
How many of us are worried because the people in our community don't even know our museum is here?
How many of us have lost hope completely that our voices will be heard to the point where we have stopped trying and just get on with our work, heads down, crossing fingers that it will be okay?
<blockquote>
 I know communications may not be our strong suit sometimes, but neither was Integrated Pest Management before you learned to do it, was it? Maybe if we start thinking that lack of communication is a preventive conservation issue, then we can start tackling Obscurity properly.
</blockquote>
What do you think? Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama">Twitter</a> to help me share conservation topics with everyone and share your thoughts on this blog post! Let's continue the conversation and fight Obscurity with communication! :)
<h2 id="read-more-about-public-conservation">Read more about public conservation</h2>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://archetype.co.uk/our-titles/the-public-face-of-conservation/?id=186">The Public Face of Conservation</a> edited by Emily Williams</li>
</ul>
Let me know what other sources I can add here!

We know the 10 agents of deterioration, but let's add one more - Obscurity

The 11th agent of deterioration

Photo by Cottonbro on <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/food-people-woman-banner-6484513/">Pexels</a>.
<h2 id="background">Background</h2>
I began this year with a small post about why I want to try to make conservation public. If you haven't read it and feel like having a look, you can do so <a href="/blog/public-conservation">here</a>.
If you don't feel like reading it, which is totally legit, the gist of the article is that nobody knows who we are. Conservation is not a job, it's not something that ought to be paid for, conservators are referred to as conservationists (like Greta and David Attenborough) or, if they go by the word restorers, people think they work in restaurants. In other words, it's a bit of a PR disaster.
Turns out I'm not the only one who seems to feel this way, as I got a ton of unexpected engagement from various colleagues around the world. If you'd like to read something more official, you can look at the Institute of Conservation (UK) Chief Executive's blog <a href="https://www.icon.org.uk/resource/conservators-in-the-spotlight.html">here</a> where she touches upon the same topic as she talks about the ICON strategy for the next 2o years.
So it's a thing. Maybe conservators (we) don't get out much, and we apparently don't talk as much as others about our jobs. Or at least not enough to make it into public knowledge beyond our friends and families.
Since then, I began running a <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama">Twitter</a> and a new project called <a href="https://altminster.com">Altminster</a>. What next?
<h2 id="the-facebook-page-group">The Facebook Page/Group</h2>
For a good while, and given the positive feedback encountered, I considered running a Facebook page aimed at the general public. I even had the offer of a very kind and generous colleague in the States who said they would be happy to help me run the page, but that given their experiences, it would be very important to have page rules about what the page was and was not for. So I started writing those down too in a fancy Google doc.
<blockquote>
 One of the big rules for what the Facebook page would not be for was answering questions about DIY conservation.
</blockquote>
Yeah, I thought - obviously! All trained conservators know (or at least are expected to know) it's considered unethical to give that kind of information or encouragement to amateur individuals because of the obvious potential for insane damage that can entail.
Then real life got busy, and I had to leave the Facebook idea in the backburner for a bit because Facebook is a big commitment for someone with no personal Facebook presence and a considerable social media platform to maintain as a fifth side gig.
So then, I decided to pause the big Facebook monster for a bit and make a little incursion into Reddit and see what is going on over there. It sounded like it would be Twitter-style level commitment, so why not? Facebook could wait a bit for now.
<h2 id="reddit">Reddit</h2>
I opened an account by the same name as my Twitter one, and started trying to figure out what was going on. Reddit mystifies me. I read a bunch of blogs and articles and rules and found out Reddit is nothing like Twitter. If I have understood correctly, where Twitter can encourage people to be troll-y and mean and spammy and do intense marketing for personal projects, Reddit is the complete opposite.
<ul>
 <li>If you're mean, you're out.</li>
 <li>If you self promote or attempt to market beyond the absolute minimum and only contextually-appropriate scenarios, you're out.</li>
 <li>If your content is not verifiable or solid, you can be out.</li>
 <li>If you don't follow the subreddit specific rules, you can be out.</li>
 <li>If the moderators in the subreddit (like a Fb group) you hang out in and post on thinks you're being any of these things, you're out.</li>
</ul>
Okaaaaay! That wasn't scary at all. I thought I'd continue taking a look and do my best not to break any rules. All subreddits will have different rules, you know? It's important to read them too or you might get banned.
<h2 id="what-i-found">What I found</h2>
I looked for subreddits (think of them as group forums) that involved conservation. Not very many, but they were there, and they seemed to have a fair number of trained conservators in them - not thousands (when are we ever in the thousands, eh?), but a few hundred here or there.
And one of the debates/complaints revolved around this:
<blockquote>
 This subreddit is full of random people asking for advice on how to fix their things. Bother.
</blockquote>
And of course this doesn't happen just on the internet. I remember conferences where this topic was talked about for a while with passionate arguments on both sides.
<h3 id="some-arguments-i-have-heard-for-and-against-in-and-out-of-reddit">Some arguments I have heard for and against, in and out of Reddit</h3>
<ul>
 <li>
 We should give them basic information so they don't mess it up too bad.
 </li>
 <li>
 If we don't tell them stuff, they'll go to someone else who will tell them something worse. This also applies to the "If I don't do the job, someone else will botch it up" version.
 </li>
 <li>
 We are being extremely negative and just frustrating people who will ignore us anyway.
 </li>
 <li>
 Not all objects are a big deal. You can probably tell them how to fix their Disney-bought Mickey Mouse mug from 1995 they broke because they love it. Why can't they do that? Why are we trying to control all home fixes at all levels?
 </li>
 <li>
 This is absurd and unethical. You tell them to get a conservator and be done with it. They're not prepared. This is not a hobby. It's a complicated career. They can't and shouldn't intervene.
 </li>
 <li>
 These people should stop coming here (Reddit/Facebook/etc.) to ask for this kind of advice. You don't ask for advice on surgical procedures on Google so you can do them yourself, do you?
 </li>
</ul>
<h2 id="can-i-we-find-a-positive-solution">Can I/we find a positive solution?</h2>
Generally speaking, I can agree with literally all of the above, both for and against. I am not criticising the above points. I do think there are very valid points on both sides of the argument, so I would like to consider a middle ground. Here are some points I am making for myself. Let me be absolutely clear that I am not targetting anyone else but me in these constructive criticisms.
<ul>
 <li>
 Patience is a virtue. Breathe a lot. Avoid shutting people down. There is a reason why conservators have a "reputation" for being the nay sayers in the museum world. We have gone through the training and seen or read or heard about so much stuff go wrong that we like to err on the side of caution (which makes sense), and this bleeds into our advice - which, when it comes to amateurs can turn into a jaded:
 <blockquote>
 Don't even try. Take it to a professional. Stop asking. Go away. It's complicated. You are annoying me, and I bet you can tell too by how I worded my response.
 </blockquote>
 </li>
 <li>
 Don't just tell people that the reason of my denial is because #chemistry. That probably doesn't mean anything to most of them. It's just an abstract concept about how the world works, just like "science". As we ourselves constantly point out, they are not trained in the subject, so why do we expect a basic gloss-over explanation to convince them of anything?
 </li>
 <li>
 Go beyond the medical analogy. Yes, we like the medical analogy. Guilty as charged. It makes sense a lot of the time, but objects are not people and not all objects were created the same - would you treat an object that is about to be deaccessioned the same way as the Picasso in your collection? No. So why do you expect a person with a home collection to be as caring about something as we are about a general museum object? Would you allow your conservation intern to practice on the Picasso or the about-to-be-deaccessioned object? Also, you know when we say "Oh you wouldn't take Google medical advice for a disease cure, would you?" - Yes, well, maaaaaybe we could say that before 2020, but COVID has proven a lot of people literally would. Awkward. And guess what? The same thing happened with chloride injecting people as when people mess up their objects: Doctors and "other smart people" told them they were being stupid and cut it out and go find a professional, while randos were telling them it totally worked for them and try it. So they tried it because being told you're (legitimately) inadequate doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Is that cool? No. Were the Dr. and "smart people" correct? Absolutely. Did their advice stop the testers from dying or at least ending up in the hospital? Sadly, no. So am I going to whinge and keep being the person who knows what they're talking about without actual regard to the success of my delivery? Hopefully not, although I'll be honest with you, I might still slip and do it some days if it's a bad day because it's not an easy thing to do when the same questions never stop.
 </li>
</ul>

 <img src="/ConservationNoTracheo.png" alt="Google search for a DIY tracheotomy"> I wish I were joking. We said people wouldn't look for DIY surgical procedures online, would they?! Well, apparently they would... and they would find a WikiHow AND a YouTube video - which is animated, but as terrifying as you can imagine because you do NOT want to go trekking with someone who has watched that and thinks they will save your life by stabbing you in the neck with a pen if you choke on your trail mix.

<ul>
 <li>Maybe try a legal analogy? If you get into a serious legal matter where you will have to appear in court or something, it would be a terrible idea to go on social media and ask a lawyer or "someone who's done this before" to tell you what to do so you can do it yourself to avoid paying someone's fees. If you attempted to pull this off on your own with Google advice, you'd most likely really regret it (maybe from jail). While I'm quite sure no lawyer ought to be giving you step-by-step instructions on what to do, and the natural advice would be "find a lawyer who specialises in this and get them to sort it out for you," that does not mean they could not point out some of the potential issues with your case and try to lead you towards the advice you need so you don't end up listening to the wrong kind of advice. If you're a lawyer and you think this doesn't work at all bc of legal liabilities, please let me know because this analogy breaks down haha.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="in-defense-of-the-asker">In defense of the asker</h2>
I know DIY conservation questions may have started to feel like some sort of offensive comment for some conservators. Not all, of course. There are plenty of us who are lovely and friendly regardless of what anyone throws at us. But sometimes, it just puts us on edge, and it's understandable. We've all been there and after the 100th time, it's easy to get snappy. Let me address this the following way:
We have a phrase in Spanish that says: "La vaca no se acuerda cuando fue ternera." It literally means "The cow doesn't remember [the time when] she used to be a calf." It refers to those situations when someone who is now in a different position in life seems to forget how they used to be before they reached their current position. So here's a question for us, as professional conservators:
<blockquote>
 Remember the past - it could be recent or a looong time ago. Before you became a conservator, maybe even before you knew the profession existed, did you know non-conservators were "not supposed" to try to fix things? Did you know that there was a nuanced border of potential ethical malpractice if conservators gave you advice?
</blockquote>
I will be honest with you. Not me! It never once, not in my wildest dreams, occur to me. Until I did my training, I had never considered that I should not try to fix something that broke in my house. Or that I should not try to clean something that was dirty. (Remember the first time they told you all dirt was not dirt?) And let's remember again, conservation has a communication problem. A lot of people don't know we are here. They don't necessarily know this is a legit job with university degrees that goes beyond being the local knick-knacker repairer person thing.
So what right do we have to be angry at them when they ask about how to fix something? Why do we expect them to know how things work? Is this common knowledge? Of course it isn't, and it's unreasonable to expect them to just know this. If anything, it's our own fault they don't know this - because we haven't communicated properly.
Let's consider this... Doesn't their question imply care? Would they even ask for advice if they didn't care how their results turned out?
How do you feel about askers now? I certainly had a rethink.
<h2 id="on-the-amateur-condition">On the "amateur" condition</h2>
I was watching a documentary on fungi the other day. Never thought I'd say that, but there it is. I didn't have time to finish it, so I can't give you an overall score on it, but there was one thing someone said that stuck with me: All those 19th century men and women who went out and became the founders of every other academic discipline today? Guess what? They were amateurs. Yes, they were remarkable amateurs, but amateurs still. And many of them were shot down by the academics of their time. I'm not implying that doglover1234 asking you about the mould spots on their grandfather's painting on Reddit is the next Plenderleith in the making, but let's try to exploit an educational opportunity instead of just saying no. What if they really could have become the next Plenderleith and you just smote down their interest? Unlikely, but we can't know, I guess.
<h2 id="do-you-want-to-be-involved">Do you want to be involved?</h2>
Basically, I'm going to try a little experiment. Maybe you will decide to join me, in which case, let me know! It'll be great if we can make a little conservation team that does not, in fact, run away from "How do I..." questions!
I will go on Reddit every now and then and look at these questions about "Oh there's a stain in this stone bust thing that my grandmother left me. Can I use stone cleaner on it?"
Whenever possible, I will respond and try to stick to the following rules:
<ul>
 <li>Avoid just saying "No. It's complicated" and "go find a professional." - Although, let's face it, that will probably be the conclusion of the post - just not phrased like that.</li>
 <li>Explain why it's complicated. No need to start drawing benzene rings at them, just try to do it in a friendly Magic Schoolbus manner that is educational and, above all, not condescending. This can be hard because things can be read in oh so many ways and imparting information can always come off condescending.</li>
 <li>Give DIY preventive conservation advice and explain it.</li>
 <li>Explain what could go wrong, how and why if they proceed with their suggestion.</li>
 <li>Clarify that, as a conservator following the ethical guidelines of my professional bodies, I am not in any way endorsing the treatment of a valued object by a non professional.</li>
 <li>Give people reputable links they can use in their research such as the CCI Notes or the various conservation YouTube channels for ICON, ICOM, Getty, etc. while at the same time telling them to avoid general DIY or homemade recipe solutions.</li>
 <li>Don't go on social media to respond to people if I'm in an irritable mood or having a bad day.</li>
</ul>
I guess the points I will be trying to make will have to do with clarifying why we think something is complicated instead of repeatedly stating the fact that it is - which only weakens the argument over time. If I'm lucky, the person considering the DIY will re-think their choices, take some preventive measures, learn something new from a reputable source and potentially take the object to a professional - thus supporting the freelance conservation industry. If I'm not lucky, I'm not any worse off for trying - except maybe for my time, but it's a fee I'm willing to pay in this journey.
<h2 id="final-thoughts">Final thoughts</h2>
<blockquote>
 The Reddit or Facebook group or wherever answers you send are not a blog or an article or a paper that someone has to go and find. The person you are answering will read you if only because you are directly replying to them. You are 100% getting their attention - regardless of whether they decide to agree or not, do as you say or not.
</blockquote>
That person's ultimate choice will be their own and beyond our control, but we can take each question as a little "Ask a Conservator" opportunity that someone is actively giving us without having to run a Zoom event which we then have to attempt to promote to like the ultimately 30 people who will sign up, half of whom won't even show. You know how that works.
<blockquote>
 We can't control the questions, but we can certainly improve on our answers.
</blockquote>
May the Force be with me and with all of you who choose to join me in this endeavour. If you liked this post, you can follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama) where I'll be posting more content on conservation tidbits and how to improve your collections at home.

Why haven't we succeeded with conservation outreach yet?

Ask a Conservator - No Zoom required

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@berlinboudoir?utm_source=unsplash&#x26;utm_medium=referral&#x26;utm_content=creditCopyText">Monika Kozub</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/museum-education?utm_source=unsplash&#x26;utm_medium=referral&#x26;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>
<h2 id="my-invisible-career">My invisible career</h2>
I can't speak for conservators all over the world, but at least where I live, everyone thinks or assumes I must be an archaeologist. I work with collections? I stick things together? Ah. Archaeologist. Obviously.
If I don't talk about collections at all but just say I'm a conservator when asked about what I do, the next question I generally receive tends to relate to plastics, oceans, the Amazon jungle and recycling.
One colleague once told me she said she did restoration work and was then asked what part of the restaurant she liked best: front desk, kitchen or the bar? Something along those lines. To be fair, the word "restauración" in Spanish, can be used for both, but it makes for a good story where we lost out to a more famous line of work.
But perhaps the most common response to "I'm a conservator" generally tends to be an initial OH! followed by sudden frozen face of either confusion or blankness and then:
<blockquote>
 ........... what's that?
</blockquote>
The great thing is that when I finally explain or clarify, the responses tends to be very encouraging.
<ul>
 <li>That's so interesting! I didn't know that existed! (Yes! I exist!)</li>
 <li>Your work must be fascinating. (Yes, it is!)</li>
 <li>That sounds really difficult. You must be very smart (Yes, it can be. Shucks, how kind of you!)</li>
</ul>
While this general experience is common and I'm used to people having no idea what I'm talking about, it underscores a serious problem.
<div style="margin: 1.66667rem; font-size: larger;">What if people didn't know engineers existed and just assumed everyone was an architect? Or... if nobody knew programmers existed and assumed everyone is an IT support person? What would that mean for the profession? What would that mean for the professional? What would that mean for the job that requires that professional? And by extension, what would that mean for the results obtained?</div>
If almost nobody knows you exist, what you do, why you're important, why they should pay you to do anything, then why should anyone believe that someone else can't just do what you do as a side gig? I'm sure some of you will be able to relate to this.
Your job is not a real job. It's something someone else with another career can do just as well, right? The results should be the same, right? I'm not going to answer these hypothetical questions but leave you with the following anecdote (one among many):
A few days ago, I went onto a much-loved museum website. I know their website. I've looked at it several times over the years as I return for various things. And I noticed something new and terribly sad. Their page about the Museum team is now composed exclusively of senior management, curators, trustees. The conservation team is gone. The mounting technicians are gone. Collections and registration teams are not there either. The little blog posts about conservation treatment of objects are no more. It makes me worry that the actual people are gone. Are the jobs gone away too? Who takes care of the collections now? Do we care? Are we even aware that there's something to care about?
<h2 id="museums-during-a-pandemic">Museums during a pandemic</h2>
During the earlier months of the pandemic, the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) ran a survey with nearly 1,000 survey responses collected between 24 March and 30 April 2020 from museums in 48 countries, the majority from Europe. The final results were presented in early May 2020.
<blockquote>
 The big museums, such as the Rijksmuseum, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, the Stedelijk Museum lose between 100.000 Euro and 600.000 Euro per week. Museums in touristic regions are looking at an exceptional income loss of 75-80% due to the complete halt of tourism and the potential continuation of restrictions into the summer period. (NEMO survey, p.7)
</blockquote>
A bigger report was conducted by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). It analysed almost 1,600 responses from museums and museum professionals in 107 countries, across five continents, which were collected between 7 April and 7 May. They report that:
<blockquote>
 ...almost all museums around the world will reduce their activities because of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly one third of them will reduce staff, and more than one tenth may be forced to close permanently. 82,6 % of the respondents anticipate that museum programmes will have to be reduced and 29,8 % expect that the number of staff will have to be reduced. 12,8 % of participants fear that their museum might close. (ICOM survey, p.2)
</blockquote>

 <img src="/Blog-ICOMReportConservationMeasures.p.14.jpg" alt="Artifact conservation during the pandemic"> Extracted from ICOM survey, p.14

<blockquote>
 In relation to the conservation of museum collections, responses are slightly more varied. The maintenance of stable environmental conditions is a greater source of concern than other factors, with more than 18% of respondents reporting that their systems are not adequate to guarantee object conservation. The structural integrity of buildings and other systems (electrical, fire-fighting, etc.) are perceived as a smaller risk, with 14% and 12% of participants respectively worrying that the systems may not be adequate. (ICOM survey, p.15)
</blockquote>
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) did not fall behind and also ran a survey on the impact of the pandemic in American museums in October 2020. Here are two of the more salient points for US museums as reported in November 2020:
<blockquote>
 Over half (52%) of museums have six months or less of operating reserves; 82% have twelve months or less of operating reserves. (AAM survey)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
 On average, respondents anticipated losing approximately 35% of the museum’s budgeted operating income in 2020 and are anticipating losing an additional 28% of normal operating income in 2021. (AAM survey)
</blockquote>
More specifically, the Institute of Conservation (ICON, UK) ran a small survey for conservators, where
<blockquote>
 Over 90% of respondents reported loss or postponement of work and 70% of respondents said that their monthly income had decreased. (ICON survey, p.7)
</blockquote>
<h2 id="looks-grim-how-will-this-help">Looks grim, how will this help?</h2>
Specifically, I can't say I know for sure how me having an occasional blog and running conservation courses for non-professionals in my free time is going to help such a huge issue. I'm not (yet?) expecting to become a conservation crusader.
However, I understand that there is a problem and I intend to address it slowly and steadily.

 Conservation is not an island.
 Or rather... it is now.
 But it shouldn't be. Do you agree?

I get the feeling that regardless of where we live, cultural heritage, and often education, tend to be found at the lower end of budget lists. Imagine that on top of that, within cultural heritage itself, conservation is pretty low as well.
Perhaps that is our own fault. We conservators are not famous for being into outreach. In true introvert fashion, some of us even seem to prefer objects over people.
BUT... if we can slowly bring conservation into the light, trickle it into general knowledge, diffuse it into people's homes and insert it into everyday language, then... well! Who knows what could happen? Maybe we can go from invisible, through a hazy glitter state, to a solid, visible form.
After all, the internet is a powerful tool. It has proven many times over since its inception that it can change the world. So maybe we can change the world in our own way, for the sake of our global and personal heritages.
Will you join me in this journey? Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConservaLlama">Twitter</a> to help me share conservation topics with everyone.
<h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2>
<ul>
 <li>Full <a href="https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AAMCOVID-19SnapshotSurvey-1.pdf">AAM survey</a></li>
 <li>Full <a href="https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Report-Museums-and-COVID-19.pdf">ICOM survey</a>.</li>
 <li>Full <a href="https://www.icon.org.uk/resource/icon-coronavirus-survey-loss-of-work-for-conservators.html">ICON survey</a></li>
 <li>Full <a href="https://www.ne-mo.org/fileadmin/Dateien/NEMO_documents/NEMO_Corona_Survey_Results_6_4_20.pdf">NEMO survey</a>.</li>
</ul>

Why conservation needs to go public

Articles on the topic of networking and communication in art conservation. Part of any professional career is the ability to network with your peers, encourage their work, collaborate with them in their endeavours and learn from each other. The following articles are related to volunteering, networking, research collaboration and other similar topics. You can never go wrong if you build a strong network of your peers who may support you during your journey.
Similarly, communicating our work to others outside our own field is essential for our survival and the care of the collections we steward. Some of the articles here are on the topic of outreach.

Articles on the topic of networking and communication in art conservation.

Networking and communication for conservation

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