PACCIN - PACIN Preparators Conference - Williamstown, MA August 14

The first PACIN Preparators Conference held on August 14th and 15th at The Clark Institute of Art has been agreed by all attending to be a huge success. For all the delegates, presenters and sponsors attending the conference proved to be an excellent opportunity to gain knowledge and meet new colleagues. The presentations and workshops perpetuated further conversations which continued at the Q & A’s, Roundtable Forum, coffee breaks, lunches and all evening events, planed or free formed.

The need for such a conference has proven since the conception, that as colleagues we have little opportunity for specific professional development opportunities within the museum industry. We do not often have an opportunity to meet other colleagues and to learn from and share our experiences with. This first conference was intended and has now proven to be a successful building block for taking this conference “on the road” in the future so other colleagues will be able to attend and meet their colleagues.

Photo Courtesy of Mark Wamaling of the rigging workshop

The conference was attended by 102 delegates and sponsors. Approximately 80 % of the delegates bore the professional titles of preparator, specialist or technician from their institution or company. This was the target audience we had hoped to reach and as colleagues together in mass, proved to be a lively as well as animated group at all times. The majority of the attendees were from regional museums and commercial companies of varying size. It was also well represented by numerous attendees traveling from other parts of the country as well representatives from Australia, Canada and England.

A survey was handed out to all attendees and encouraged to submit honest constructive feedback to all of the overall organization of the conference and specifics related to the presentations and workshops. Please read the "Survey Summary" which is providing us with supportive as well as constructive criticism to build upon as future conferences evolve.

The energy created since this “first” conference was announced, the enthusiasm of all whom attended and the positive follow up emails I have received since thanking PACIN for organizing this conference has been tremendous. As Chair of PACIN this is the reward and sense of achievement that makes it all worth while for me. The PACIN Board, Advisory Panels and I look forward to building this conference in the future and reaching out to our other colleagues within the museum profession,

I would like to give special thanks to Bruce Bundock of Vassar College and Paul Dion of The Clark Institute of Art for assisting me with the organizational structure as well as all the logistical needs of this conference. An extra special thanks goes to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute for donating their spectacular facilities and technical staff. Also thanks goes to the Williamstown Art Conservation Center for staff presentations and lab facilities for conducting our workshops.

Gracious thanks goes to our financial sponsors Artex Fine Arts Services, Cooke’s Crating Inc., Gander & White Shipping Inc., Surroundart, and US Art Fine Art Services. Last but not least, thanks to all the contributing speakers and their assistants for sharing their time and expertise and to all of the attendees for coming to Williamstown and making this first PACIN Preparators Conference the success that it was.

So now, we are back to our real jobs and we must keep the energy building. If at anytime, you want to make extra comments about this conference or ideas for future conferences, whether you attended this one or not, please email me or submit your ideas to the PACIN Listserv. As always, stay tuned as we update the PACIN Website and continue the communication on the PACIN ListServ.

Regards,

Brent Powell
PACIN Chair

Photos from the conference