May 10, 2012
The AIA is an exhibitor at the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico this week. AIA representatives are staffing a booth in the exhibit hall to distribute information about the Institute’s programs and publications to the nearly 1,000 attendees at the meeting.
Our presence at the AIC meeting is the result of a conversation that started a few years ago between AIA and AIC members. Both groups felt the need to engage the other in more meaningful conversations and collaborations. As a first step in this cooperative effort, the AIA and AIC exchanged exhibit booths at each other’s annual meetings.
Through endeavors like this, the AIA hopes to make AIC members aware of our interest in increasing the mutual exchange between archaeologists and conservators. At this point, halfway through the conference, we have had many great conversations with conservators currently working at and interested in working at archaeological sites. Participation in this meeting also reflects the AIA Site Preservation Program’s goal to more fully integrate conservation and preservation practices into archaeological research design.
So far the AIA has handed out many membership brochures, magazines, fellowship flyers, and handouts related to the Site Preservation Program and spoken with many conservation professionals. We look forward to building on the relationships we have cultivated at this meeting in sunny Albuquerque!
