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Conservation of Paintings
March
l, 2006
AIC Board of Directors
Dear
I am sending you Art-Care.com’s Artifact Recovery proposal at
the suggestion of our President Nancy Odegaard. Since the Katrina disaster, I
have worked hard with the assistance of Susan Blakney, to developed a way for
my web site to make a significant contribution to recovery efforts.
This is an invitation for AIC to expand its Katrina Volunteer
Recovery program by using Art-Care’s developed on line capabilities as a tool
to enable Conservation Angels to donate treatments to storm damaged art and
artifacts and answer preservation questions first hand on line.
In concept, this idea offers, an adjunct, to the
current AIC referral service and volunteers, which will allow owners of storm damaged
treasures to present the work in question in a virtual examination room, and thus, to begin on line
consultations with AIC members leading to donated and subsidized
treatments. It will also become a visual platform to educate the public
that professional conservation treatments may save treasures they deemed lost
and enable more AIC members to contribute in the recovery from their labs.
Art-Care is expanding its present programming to include a
virtual examination room for Angels to view storm-damaged treasures seeking
financial assistance for treatment. The existing professional
membership required for entry to the site will be expanded to include all AIC
PAs and Fellows and even Associates and Students if they are mentored by one of
these recognized conservators. The membership fee for professionals and
owners partaking in this Art & Artifact Recovery Program, will become free
to encourage use and more volunteers.
Art-Care will assist the AIC in raising money for a Preservation
Fund necessary to subsidized conservators who cannot provide volunteer work and
supplies indefinitely. The Preservation Fund will be managed by the
AIC/FAIC. AIC will receive full credit
for this joint Artifact Recovery Program on the Art-Care web site.
In short, we propose that Art-Care becomes the vehicle by which
the AIC’s referral list and volunteer AIC Angel list extends directly into the
public arena. The details of how this might work are spelled out in
length in the attached document.
We look forward to your comments, questions and support. We have
a great opportunity before us. Let's join forces, so that our profession can
make a truly grand contribution.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Tartt, AIC PA
Susan Blakney, AIC, IIC Fellow