During the summer break, students on our Conservation programmes have the opportunity to put their Conservation skills and knowledge into practice on an exciting range of work placements and internships within the conservation and heritage sector. Here’s what some students got up to during Summer 2022.
Sicily’s catacombs – Ethan Gallesio
Third year student on our BA Conservation: Stone, Wood & Decorative Surfaces, Ethan Gallesio, carried out an observational internship at the paleochristian catacombs of Villagria di Carini, the largest catacombs in western Sicily, dating from 4th to 8th century A.D. The conservation project focused on analysing the painted frescoes depicting passages from the Old and New Testament, in the galleries and cubicles of the catacombs.
Knole House, Kent – Carla Learoyd
BA Conservation: Stone, Wood & Decorative Surfaces student, Carla Learoyd, is starting her final year on the course. Working at the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio, Carla has spent seven weeks over the summer at the National Trust’s Knole. Under the supervision of the Art School’s Frame Conservation tutor Gerry Alabone, Carla worked on the conservation of three frames, learning an array of new skills to take back to her final-year studies.
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds – Laura Goodman
Laura Goodman, currently starting her second year of BA Conservation: Books & Paper, undertook a summer placement with Museum Conservation Services, working at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, to carefully remove and conserve a collection of 1950s theatre posters that had adhered to a damp wall.
Conservation projects around the UK – Joshua Horsfall
Third year Stone, Wood and Decorative Surfaces student, Joshua Horsfall, has spent the summer working on a range of conservation projects in all corners of the country, with Skillingtons Conservation Workshops, Rupert Harris Conservation and Sally Strachey Historic Conservation.
Science Museum, London – Rhys Briggs
Second year BA Conservation: Books and Paper student, Rhys Briggs, has been working at the Science Museum under the supervision of the Museum’s Library & Archives Conservator, Jessica Crann ACR. This is the first work placement for a paper conservator the museum has hosted, so we are delighted that Rhys was chosen for the role. Rhys has been working to stabilise and rehouse two illustrations of the moon by James Nasmyth in the Science Museum’s collection of Nasmyth’s lunar artworks.
Photo credit: Jessica Crann, Science Museum