Virtual Annual Symposium
Friday October 17, 2025
Symposium | Virtual Sessions
9:15AM EST / 8:15AM CT - Early Login
9:30AM EST / 8:30AM CT - Opening Session
9:45AM EST / 8:45AM CT - Presentation Session
Threads Through Time: A Library Conservator’s Journey to Provide Archaeological Textiles with Custom Storage
Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer
Being the Change We Wish to See in our Field
Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
10:45AM - 11:15AM EST / 10:15AM CT - Break
Tip Session
With and For the Community: A Collaborative Approach to Cultural Heritage Preservation
Thomas Crain • Kylie Barkley
Indiana University
11:15AM - 12:15PM / 10:15AM - 11:15AM - Business Meeting
Threads Through Time: A Library Conservator’s Journey to Provide Archaeological Textiles with Custom Storage
Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer
When a small group of textile fragments surfaced during a routine collections review, they set a book and paper conservator on an unexpected path —one that intertwined ancient Egyptian history and textile conservation. This presentation traces that journey from discovery to long-term preservation, drawing on collaborative research findings that led to sufficient storage. Materials and inscriptions will be highlighted that shed light on the fragments’ cultural origins. It will explore treatment decisions shaped by both material examination and historical context and showcase a storage design that facilitates handling and display while keeping them accessible on standard library shelving.
Being the Change We Wish to See in our Field
Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
I joined the conservation labs at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) at Newfields in what was to be the second of a three year departmental project on restructuring mentorship in our field to incorporate cultural equity and anti-racist frameworks from the foundation. This project, Learning and Unlearning, began in 2023 with the conservation and conservation science departments participating in workshops developed by Be The Change Consulting. In addition to these, the department held monthly meetings facilitated by the project's Lead Consultant, Sarah Kleiner, on antiracism and mentorship training. The first year of Learning and Unlearning was spent in preparation for supporting the graduate fellow, me, with culturally responsive supervision and three-tier support structure. During my fellowship, I participated in continued monthly discussions which fostered explicit and implicit departmental changes to support equity and inclusion. Because of this support I have grown as a person and as a conservator; discovering my own voice, becoming more confident in communication, and understanding what I want from my career.
This presentation is an opportunity to share my experience as a fellow at the IMA and demonstrate how powerful large, and small, pivots in our field can be. I hope that reflecting on my time with Learning and Unlearning is a catalyst for others to seek or develop similar training and to offer guidance on how to do so in the museum, institution, or private practice setting.
With and For the Community: A Collaborative Approach to Cultural Heritage Preservation
Thomas Crain • Kylie Barkley
Indiana University
The charge to protect and preserve our shared cultural heritage is enhanced when we educate and empower communities. Fostering an exchange of knowledge with community stakeholders means listening and being responsive to community needs and priorities. This approach to preservation is critical in creating equitable and welcoming museums. This case study highlights a multi-year collaborative approach to cultural heritage preservation between the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan’s Ziibiwing Center of Anishinaabe Culture and Lifeways and the Museum Studies program at Indiana University Indianapolis.
Through a series of preventive conservation measures and community-based preservation activities chosen by the Ziibiwing Center staff, students in the IUI Community Collaboration and Curation course took a team-based approach to cleaning and monitoring collections items on exhibit in the Diba Jimooyung permanent exhibition. Students learned to properly clean a variety of material types in the collection, including intricate beadwork and fur pelts made by local artisans over several centuries. The teams also helped maintain an integrated pest management system for the tribal museum staff. Moving beyond the walls of the Ziibiwing Center, they cleaned and stabilized the Anishinaabe artwork on public display in the Tribe’s Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. This multi-year collaboration supports the mission of the Ziibiwing Center to provide cultural education for Native and non-Native visitors while ensuring long-term preservation of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe’s unique, shared history and culture for future generations.