ICOM-CC Glass and Ceramics Working Group Interim Meeting and Forum of the International Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Stained Glass (Corpus-Vitrearum-ICOMOS)
Fig. 5. Delegates enjoying lunch in Schermerhorn, De Grote Kerk. © Nick Teed
For four days in October, the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam hosted the first joint working-group and scientific forum of two international conservation organisations that have much in common, and indeed a great deal to gain from sharing experiences with treatments, materials and new (and historic) scientific research. Over 200 delegates attended and enjoyed twenty-nine presentations and around twenty posters over the four day programme.
The conference was a celebration of current collaborative endeavours in the field; between scientists and conservators, professionals and students, Universities and private conservation practices, and many other combinations! The presentations were arranged into six sessions; cracks and fissures, bonding and filling, protection and installation, creation and degradation, degradation and treatment, and examination and analysis. The breadth of content enabled the engagement of a wide variety of participants and ensured a lively and productive discussion about the successes and limitations of recent approaches. There were many opportunities to reconnect with contemporaries working across the world on diverse and exciting projects. The atmosphere was relaxed and warm, and it was a great pleasure to meet with conservation professionals from all fields and stages of the career, and discuss the challenges faced in our work today.
Highlights included visits to the Rijksmuseum and the neighbouring conservation studios at the Ateliergebouw, and an excursion at the end of the week to see three churches in the region with exceptional glass of the seventeenth century.
Elizabeth Hippisley-Cox, York Glaziers Trust
