The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) is pleased to announce Photomechanical Prints: History, Technology, Aesthetics, and Use. The meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. the week of October 30th – November 3rd, 2023, and will consist of a three-day symposium hosted by the National Gallery of Art flanked by two days of workshops and tours of local collections. Distinguished specialists will provide lectures focused on contemporary and historic photomechanical print production including aspects of invention, adaptation, materiality, cultural impact, market value, artistic significance, and preservation. Hands-on workshops will allow smaller groups to intensify their study of identification techniques or try their hand at printing processes with the instruction of world-renowned practitioners. Tours of prominent local collections will allow participants to see a wide range of examples of historic and contemporary prints. The program overall will provide an opportunity for conservators, curators, historians, scientists, collections managers, catalogers, archivists, librarians, educators, printmakers, artists, and collectors to convene and collaborate while studying all aspects of photomechanical printing. The resulting advancement of our collective understanding of these ubiquitous but under-researched materials will allow for new interpretations and improved approaches to their collection, interpretation, preservation, treatment, and display.
The planning committee will provide a detailed call for papers in the spring of 2022 with a planned submission deadline of October 2022. The full program will be announced, and registration will open in the spring of 2023. We invite you to please begin considering your proposals and we encourage you to save the date and plan to participate in this unique event. FAIC follows the health and safety guidelines put in place by local authorities and host institutions of in-person events. The dates and format of this program are subject to change.
This event is presented by FAIC's Collaborative Workshops in Photograph Conservation. Scholarship and sponsorship opportunities will be available. For more information about this program, contact learning@culturalheritage.org
Photomechanical Prints Symposium Planning Committee
Alisha Chipman, Senior Photograph Conservator, Library of Congress
Martin Jürgens, Conservator of Photographs, Rijksmuseum
Shannon Perich, Curator, History of Photography Collection, National Museum of American History
Rachel Mustalish, Paper Conservator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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