Preservation Training Initiative

FAIN: PE-277140-21

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, VA 23220-4007)
Debbie Linn (Project Director: June 2020 to present)

A three-year Preservation Training Initiative in conservation and archives, offered to students at different levels (nine undergraduate interns, one master’s intern, and three post-graduate fellows in conservation), as well as four continuing education workshops, for 30 participants each, for museum professionals from across the state of Virginia focusing on collections care and archival management.

VMFA requests funding for a 36-month program, Preservation Training Initiative, which will provide training and professional development across the continuum, from college students considering careers in heritage preservation to emerging professionals in the fields of preservation, conservation, and archives to established museum and library professionals throughout Virginia. The project will support paid training for students at key touch points in their academic careers: 1) three postgraduate students to serve as advanced fellows in conservation (one per year); 2) one part-time, nine-month master’s-level intern in Library Sciences to gain practical experience in the museum’s archives; and, 3) nine pre-program undergraduate students to serve as 10-week, paid summer interns in the museum’s conservation labs (three per year). In addition, the initiative will allow for the development of two statewide preservation workshops.