Specialized in Object and Library & Archive Conservation
Public Engagement
May 25,
2023
George Floyd Global Memorial
Rise and Remember Conference
Storytelling and Cultural Preservation
Event Description: Join change agents, thought leaders, and movement builders committed to racial justice and equity. Conference topics include racial healing, policy reform, storytelling and cultural preservation, and building power through large corporations and organizations. Attendee takeaways include exchanging racial equity and justice best practices, exploring themes of liberation and collective power in our lives and work, and expanding networks of change agents and high impact leaders. I participated in the Storytelling and Cultural Preservation panel.
Feb 2,
2023
Washington Conservation Guild
Black Art Conservators Panel Discussion
Event Description: Please join us online via Zoom for our sixth meeting of the 2022-23 season. We are excited to present a panel discussion with members of the Black Art Conservators Group featuring panelists Valinda Carroll, Anya Dani, Nylah Byrd, and Ariana Makau. The panelists will be discussing their experiences working in the field, the founding of the Black Art Conservators Group, and how we can help to change the field into a more equitable space. The discussion will be moderated by Nick Pedemonti, WCG Director, and Adrián Hernández, WCG IDEA Action Committee Member, with the opportunity to solicit additional questions from our online attendees. Read a summary of the panel in the IIC Newsletter Issue 95.
May 19, 2022
African American Museum in Philadelphia
Art Break
Art Break is a program the museum puts on regularly to promote their current exhibitions. I was invited to speak because I am heavily featured in their exhibition Taking Care: Recent Acquisitions & Conservation. Zindzi Harley, Assistant Curator at AAMP, lead the discussion on conservation work, hot topics in conservation (repatriation, equity and inclusion), and took questions from the audience as well. The audience members were really engaged and asked great questions. I was grateful to participate and potentially inspire more conservation advocates.
April 23,
2022
Heritage West
Archiving Workshop
The website describes Heritage West: The West Philadelphia Community Archaeology Project as "a collaboration between community organizations the People’s Emergency Center CDC and the Black Bottom Tribe Association, University City Arts League and Penn Anthropologists". During my involvement I participated in two workshops hosted at the Community Education Center. One of which involved advising community member on how to care for family treasures.
Image courtesy of the Heritage West Instagram.
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July 29,
2021
#DismantlePreservation Unconference
Applying Systems Thinking to Special Collections
Event Description: #DismantlePreservation was hosted July 26-30, 2021! The unconference worked to continue pushing cultural resource conversations in a range of directions and featured current students/recent graduates from around the world!
Presentation Description: Through the process of interviewing employees at the UD Manuscript and Special Collections I was able to map the system in which objects flow through the collections and identify strengths and weaknesses at each point in the system. This research is in its initial stages but the overarching goal is to apply systems thinking to communication in cultural heritage institutions in order to identify strengths and weaknesses in communication and improve the communication system overall.
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March 4,
2021
Washington Conservation Guild (WCG)
Intern and Fellow Talks
Event Description: The Washington Conservation Guild's Intern and Fellows talk consisted of the following presentations:
"Watch Point: Rehousing Two Collections of Different Papers" with Nylah B. Byrd Graduate Fellow at the Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation.
"Treating a Taxidermy Flying Mascot at the National Air and Space Museum" with Meredith Sweeney and Karen Wilcox Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum
"Facing Our Past: Conservation Treatment of a Theatrical Wagon Panel" with Steph Guidera Graduate Fellow, M.A., C.A.S. candidate, Patricia H. & Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department, Buffalo State College
Oct 26, 2020
Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture
Arts Tune-Up: Preservation Tips for Artists
Helping You Pack: Storing, Handling, and Transporting Your Art
Event Description: Join us in conversation with professional art conservators from across the field as they share their knowledge about how to plan for the long-term care of your artwork in a variety of contexts. Over seven different sessions, presenters will cover both general and medium specific information, and best practices that will help you mitigate risks while maintaining your original artistic intent.
Helping You Pack Session Description: This session will aim to prepare artists with information about safe practices for packing, handling, transportation, and storage of paintings, objects, textiles, prints, and drawings. Attendees will learn about ideal materials, suitable alternatives, and what to expect when displaying in a gallery or museum. The speakers will present examples and provide recommendations to prevent damage to your artwork.
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Oct 23,
2020
Foundation for Advancement of Conservation (FAIC)
Contested Monuments Panel
Event Description: The controversy surrounding Confederate statues and other contested monuments that celebrate slave owners, imperialism, and white settler colonialism have been highlighted in recent months. Although activists have advocated for the removal of these monuments for years, the racial unrest this summer has brought these issues to the forefront of the cultural heritage sector and greater society as community activists empower themselves to take down such monuments all over the world. This has caused conflicted feelings in some conservators who want to support racial justice in public spaces, but who have been traditionally taught to always prioritize the preservation of outdoor sculpture and monuments. Conservators may also be conflicted if their employers task them with the care of contested monuments, calling professional ethics into question. At the crux of the matter are questions surrounding who is valued in our society and who gets to make decisions in regard to public spaces and the interpretation of history. Competing values surrounding the removal of contested monuments will be explored with panelists including artists, historians, and preservation professionals.
Oct 14,
2020
WUDPAC Portfolio Day
What I Actually Did This Summer: Rehousing and Social Justice
Event Description: Join us for our annual Portfolio Day on October 14th--this year on Zoom! Portfolio Day will showcase the digital pre-program portfolios of current and former Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) students. Nylah Byrd and Annabelle Camp of the WUDPAC Class of 2022 will present about their summer internships.
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Aug 1,
2020
Death to Museums
Can Museums Change?
Combating Racism at Winterthur
Unconference Description: Death to Museums is an unconference created by emerging professionals who graduated from a museum studies master’s program amidst a global pandemic. It is a monthly dialogue series that promotes solidarity and exchange among museum workers through wide-ranging workshops, presentations, and social activities. We hope that Death to Museums can become a platform to share ideas and concerns while brainstorming ways to push the field forward.
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July 31, 2020
American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
A Failure Shared is not a Failure: Making Mistakes in Conservation
Incorrect Contexts
Event Description: Scheduled after the normal session time at "cocktail hour", your fellow AIC members from all disciplines will come together to share their mistakes, accidents, bad planning, and even disasters that they have experienced, regretted, and most importantly, learned from over their careers. To err is human, and now more than ever, we believe this is the time to empathize with and learn from one another to the benefit of our professional community. Join together with colleagues, with a drink in hand and some snacks from the fridge, to share their experiences. Although virtual, we plan to maintain a similarly relaxed and collegial atmosphere as in the live event, and hope that, as in the past, it will be fun, sobering, and possibly hilarious, all at the same time! Besides sheer commiseration, we aim to foster a healthier and more realistic attitude within our profession so that when things do go wrong, we can talk about it and "Fail Productively," as discussed in a New York Times article.