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The Local Look

Meet the Lab Host: The Conservation Center

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Meet the Lab Host gives you an inside look at the innovative, creative, forward-thinking Chicago organizations hosting CIW 2014 Labs.  To learn more about 2014 programming, consult our online schedule.  Tickets go on sale to the general public September 2, 2014.

Go Behind the Scenes at the Conservation Center Friday, October 17 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

One of the nation’s largest art conservation laboratories is in our own backyard: The Conservation Center.  A part of the Chicago art community for more than 30 years, The Conservation Center restores works of art from all media—from paintings to custom frames, sculptures to works on paper and beyond.  We got a peek into the studio that restores art from some of the nation’s most prominent private collectors, museums, galleries and corporations.

  
The Conservation Center’s open plan gives conservators the space
to bring new life to old works of art.

In three sentences or fewer, what is your organization’s manifesto or mission?
We are partners and stewards in the care of treasured collections. We take every measure to honor an artist’s original intent and characteristics. This is our role as conservators, and it is at the heart of what we do. 

Why Chicago?  Tell us why this idea or organization is based in Chicago, how you think the city has supported the project and how you think the project contributes to our city. 
Our home is Chicago and there is no other place we would like to be. This city’s art scene has always possessed an independent spirit. For example, in 1913, the Art Institute became the first art museum in the country to present works by Pablo Picasso. And, in its heyday, Art Chicago—the first international art fair in the US—was hailed as “the nation’s leading art fair of 20th-century art.” The Conservation Center has witnessed and participated in Chicago’s art community’s growth through the past 30 years. We are extremely proud to play such a crucial role in this city’s art community and are looking forward to the future.

Give us a sneak peek of what we should expect at your Lab.  What hands-on, interactive activities do you have planned for participants?  (But don’t tell us everything—keep some of your Lab a surprise!)  

You’ll learn about the labor-intensive process of art conservation in one of the nation’s largest art conservation laboratories and will engage in dialogue with The Center’s art conservators. The process to becoming a conservator will be discussed along with specific innovative, scientific techniques. Participants will have a rare glimpse into the inner workings of The Conservation Center.

Q&As are edited for clarity and length.
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Erin Robertson is managing editor at Chicago Ideas.

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