The 2017 Student of the Year awards are proudly supported by ADFAS.
GCCMC Student of the Year
Robyn Ho
The Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation is very pleased to nominate Robyn Ho as the 2017 AICCM conservator of the year for her outstanding contribution to the profession and extremely high academic achievement in the Masters by Coursework Cultural Materials Conservation. Robyn’s commitment and merit is clearly demonstrated in her academic grades, attention to detail and professionalisation in her current employment and enactment of conservation principles and ethics.
In particular, Robyn has made a major contribution to the AICCM Bulletin as part of the Editorial Assistant Committee. She is committed and detailed in her editorial standards and argument, and has supported the Chief Editor in maintaining high quality and standards of the AICCM Bulletin. Such credibility and professional skills, extends to Robyn’s contribution to the Grimwade Centre’s strategic partnerships with China. Robyn undertook an internship placement with the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology (SPIA) in 2015 on a significant Chinese mural painting, and a public lecture on the topic at the Grimwade Centre. In 2017 Robyn also supported the hosting of SPIA visitors and assisted with an Australian-China Council grant application with the development of info graphics. Robyn was part of the Trades Hall Old Council Chamber Project team in 2017 and previously the 2015 student group, and was instrumental in structuring the report and its content. In 2015, Robyn was also one of the co-authors who presented their trades Hall at the Hobart National Council Conference. Robyn’s minor thesis research was on ‘Seeing from ‘a thousand different angles’: Conservation of Inge King’s Wodonga Fountain, 1972 and outdoor painted sculpture’, and was just that, undertaking conservation research was many different angles and was most comprehensive in its approach. Robyn While working full time with 6 degrees architects, Robyn has also undertaking country work with the Robyn Boyd Foundation as a collections management volunteer and on the CUB archaeological site, and the NGV live conservation project in 2015. Robyn is a member of the AICCM, INCAA and the Architects Association, and will make a strong contribution to the AICCM and the conservation profession, and we wish her the very best upon graduation.
University of Canberra Student of the Year
Danica Auld
Danica completed her bachelor’s degree in Heritage, Museums and Conservation in 2016 
with exceptional academic results, and has continued on into Honours. Her Honours project explore the materiality, meaning and potential for community engagement of an unusual group of handmade textiles from the former Wiillow Court mental asylum in New Norfolk. Found deposited under a verandah in the Ladies Cottage on the site, the textiles, and in particular a group of embroidered aprons, appear to have been deliberately and secretly deposited for reasons which can only be imagined. Danica is using this project to push the boundaries of conservation, exploring the construction and decoration of the aprons through both technical examination and empathic recreation, and using information from these and other sources to build a story that may portray a gentler side of an institution with a chequered history.
Danica has been AICCM student representative and a regular participant in AICCM ACT activities and meetings throughout her studies, and has engaged with the conservation profession through both her AICCM activities and through internships completed as part of her studies. She is particularly interested in textiles conservation, and has developed a strong interest in modern textiles as a result of work at the National Museum of Australia on the cycling outfit belonging to Aboriginal cyclist Albert (Alby) Clarke.