In September, I had the opportunity to travel to Canada to attend and present a paper at the 15th North American Textile Conservation Conference (NATCC). NATCC provides a unique opportunity for textile conservators from around the world to get together, share ideas and reflect on our work and profession. This conference is held every two years in either Canada, Mexico or the United States of America. This NATCC was held at the Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, located on the side of Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain on Treaty 7 territory.
Around 100 delegates representing 14 countries gathered for a week to attend a range of workshops, tours and presentations held at various sites throughout Banff. Over the final two days, 28 presentations and 12 posters were presented around the theme of ‘Mending Threads, Filling Gaps: Conservation Narratives of Loss and Renewal’. Papers were divided into 7 sessions around the subthemes of institutional practice (gaps in the field), transformative education, loss compensation, technical skills, alterations, cleaning and community. Posters were on display at breaks for the duration of the conference, with opportunities to discuss posters with the authors.
The conference opened with a keynote from researcher Mary-Beth Laviolette, who examined the history of weaving and textile arts at the Banff Centre and the Centre’s impact on Canadian art in the 1970s and 1980s. It was fascinating to see weavings and archival materials from this time.
The first official day of presentations began with papers exploring institutional practice and transforming education. Jess Urick and Anna Rose Keefe from the Rhode Island School of Design Museum spoke to the benefits and challenges of their various programs working with art school students. They outlined the different ways textile conservation engages with students, from hosting work placements and holding hands-on workshops, to teaching conservation as part of art school curricula. They reflected that, overall, their programs have been mutually beneficial, and many students have become strong advocates for their own work. Katy Smith highlighted a recent two-year collaborative project between the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Palestinian Museum, Birzeit, Palestine. The project involved training textile conservators and establishing the first textile conservation studio in the Occupied West Bank. Smith highlighted the challenges and overall reciprocal positive outcomes for both institutions, with the result of over 100 textiles being documented, treated and digitised to ensure the future preservation of Palestinian textile heritage.
Several papers explored different instances in which textile conservators have used loss compensation in treating textiles. Renee Dancause and Janet Wagner from the Canadian Conservation Institute explored case studies and the different loss compensation methods employed, from no compensation to passive compensation. They reminded us that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and tailoring treatment outcome to individual needs of the textile and client is key. Luisa Mainou, Judith Gómez and Rocío Gaona presented a joint project focused on the conservation treatment of a large pre-Hispanic funerary bundle from 1100 BCE. A large part of this project involved reweaving missing areas. They highlighted the reweaving method, which included attaching new cotton threads using chitosan, and shared a time-lapse video of this large-scale project.
The first day ended with a session on technical skills, which examined ways analysis has been used to fill gaps in our understanding of textiles and their histories. Gennifer Majors presented work investigating the history, analysis and best ways to care for ‘Huangping green’ coloured textiles. Majors outlined the use of Multiband Imaging (MBI) and Transmittance Spectroscopy (TS) and pH testing as possible ways of identifying this colourant. Best practises for handling, storage, treatment and display of textiles coloured with this material were also explored. Margherita Barone highlighted an analytical project undertaken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of four late 18th-century yellow stain panels of an unfinished gown. Barone utilised digital overlays of the panels to determine the possible final style of the gown. Results indicated this gown might be a rare robe à la piémontaise produced in the 1770s or 1780s.
The final day of presentations began with a session exploring the ways textile conservators deal with alterations made to costume. Sonia Kata from the McCord Stewart Museum highlighted interventive conservation treatments undertaken on fancy dress costumes. The team utilised primary source archival materials such as photographs and illustrations to determine any missing or altered elements. Using several case studies, Kata explored their decision-making and treatment process with the outcome of presenting more complete and comprehensive costume ensembles for exhibition. Within the alteration session, I presented a paper highlighting alterations and reworkings disguising original artist intent within Ballets Russes’ performance costumes at the National Gallery of Australia. Using case studies, I explored the alterations and reworkings textile conservators found, the collaborative decision making in removing these alterations, and the results. It was a fantastic opportunity to share and showcase in an international forum the years of conservation work that have been undertaken on this collection.
The final afternoon featured sessions exploring the challenges textile conservators face with cleaning and how we can adopt new materials and processes within treatment. Emma Pattinson delivered a paper on the use of the non-woven fabric Paraprint OL60 in wet cleaning of fragile textiles. Pattinson discussed the benefits of this method from the reusability of the material to using less water. Pattinson also highlighted areas that require further study such as impacts on flow fate, slope angle, and the introduction of detergents. I am looking forward to hearing more about this cleaning technique in the future! Joanne Hackett presented on the combinations of flexible hydrogels of use in conservation treatments. Experimental testing was undertaken using combinations of xanthan gum, konjac glucomannan and agar, and their water retention, solute uptake and flexibility were explored. Hackett suggested an overall 2% gel with a combination of 30% xanthan, 50% konjac and 20% agar as a good starting point.
Overall, the conference was well organised, well catered, and ran perfectly on time. It is always inspiring to learn firsthand from other textile conservators and hear about situations and challenges they have faced and overcome. By sharing our experiences, we are filling the gaps in our collective knowledge and making our profession stronger and more resilient. Special thanks to the NATCC Board and to the local organising committee for such a fantastic NATCC.
The next NATCC will be held in 2027. The theme and location are still being determined.