Newsletter Issue Number:
Author:
Samantha Hamilton

Dear Members, 

It is with deep pride and a profound sense of momentum that I reflect on the 2025 AICCM National Conference, titled More Than Materials: Collaborative Approaches in Cultural Heritage Conservation. This event was far more than a professional convening; it was a transformative milestone for our sector and a bold shift in how we understand, practise and lead conservation across Australia and beyond. 

For the first time in AICCM’s 50-year history, the conference was co-curated with First Nations leadership at its centre. In partnership with Caroline Martin (Yalukit Marnang Consultancy) and a powerful cohort of First Nations collaborators, we shaped a program grounded in truth-telling, cultural authority, care and integrity. 

The program was built on the findings of our March 2025 member survey, with responses from 198 members who called for First Nations leadership, truth-telling, community-led practice, purposeful professional development, hybrid access, cross-disciplinary engagement, and a stronger national community. This conference delivered on all these priorities. It was also deliberately structured to activate actions from our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan and advance core commitments from our 2025–2030 AICCM Strategic Plan. Over three days, strategy became action and words became lived commitment. 

A National Conference with global reach and national sponsorship 

We welcomed 205 in-person plus 119 online delegates, making it one of our most well-attended, diverse and internationally connected conferences to date. Attendees and presenters joined us from across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore. Their contributions enriched the program through global standards, community-led approaches, and deeply grounded cultural practice. 

This conference was made possible through the generous support of institutional and corporate sponsors including AMaGA, the Office for the Arts, International Arts Services, Datacom IT, and individual donors such as Professor Emeritus Barbara van Ernst AM. Their investment enabled us to provide full travel support and speaker fees for First Nations collaborators and invited speakers, ensuring access, equity and cultural leadership. These partners and donors have already expressed strong interest in continuing to work with AICCM. 

We also benefited from a professionally designed campaign, faultless technical delivery, an outstanding venue at the State Library of Queensland, and an exceptional conference committee volunteer team who created a warm, safe and generous environment. Every person involved helped make this conference exceptional. 

AICCM 2025 National Conference sponsors.

The conference program 

Day One: First Nations Leadership & Relational Responsibility 

A landmark First Nations–curated program opened the conference. Keynotes from Dr Bianca Beetson and Caroline Martin centred truth-telling, cultural authority and decolonising practice. Sessions explored community-led care, returning petroglyphs to Country, and ICIP responsibilities, concluding with the powerful kith and kin panel and a warm welcome reception at GOMA. 

kith and kin panel: L–R: Elizabeth Thompson, Ellie Buttrose, Archie Moore and Shevaun Wright. Session Chair: Katie Russell.

Day Two: Connection, Collaboration & Global Perspectives 

The second day focused on connection across disciplines and communities. Highlights included First Nations approaches to collection care, conservation as activism, the Nanny Nellie project, video posters, and presentations from colleagues across the USA, Canada, Aotearoa and the Pacific. The AICCM Awards Night recognised excellence, innovation and leadership across the profession. 

Day Three: Future Directions & Inclusive Practice 

The final day explored digital stewardship, inclusive methodologies and sustainable practice. Lightning Talks showcased the diversity of the field, followed by a global panel on the future of conservation. The conference closed with a call to shape AICCM’s next five years, ending in celebration with the joyful Bring a Plate community dance. 

Pre and post conference insights 

This year we used Slido before, during and after the conference to understand how the program shifted us in real time, as individuals and as a profession. 

Delegates arrived with varied confidence levels in their understanding of cultural safety and First Nations protocols, with most feeling only slightly or somewhat confident. Almost all participants agreed that cultural competency is essential to their roles. When asked what they hoped to gain, most sought cultural learning (48%), followed by accountability for long-term change (17%). The pre-conference word cloud reflected a community arriving hopeful, curious, uncertain, determined and open.

Word cloud result from pre-conference Slido survey asking participants ‘What’s one word that describes how you currently feel about inclusive and culturally safe conservation?’

 

Post-conference feedback shows attendees left feeling notably more confident, energised and motivated about culturally safe and inclusive conservation, with most reporting increased understanding of First Nations protocols and a meaningful shift in how they see their professional responsibilities. The dominant emotions were inspired, hopeful, empowered, connected and committed, with only minimal expressions of uncertainty.  

Word cloud result from post-conference Slido survey asking participants ‘What’s one word that now describes how you feel about your role in inclusive conservation?’

 

Participants also signalled a strong readiness for action—committing to deeper collaboration, open conversations, stronger community relationships, knowledge-sharing, and embedding respectful, culturally informed practices in their organisations.

Word cloud result from post-conference Slido survey asking participants ‘What is one action you commit to exploring or implementing in your practice or workplace after this conference?’

 

Sharing conference learnings 

Across the three days, attendees offered remarkably consistent reflections. Many described the conference as one of the most meaningful and transformative they had ever attended. Delegates felt emotionally moved, professionally challenged and culturally grounded. The program’s structure, leadership and truth-telling created a safe environment for deep listening, reflection and growth. 

Participants highlighted how clearly sessions demonstrated ways to embed cultural safety and ICIP principles into daily practice. Many valued hearing from artists, curators, community leaders, legal experts, activists and non-conservators, perspectives that broadened and deepened their understanding of the profession. 

Delegates were also inspired by the strong presence and leadership of early-career professionals, signalling an inclusive and vibrant future for conservation. Technical delivery was described as flawless, the venue outstanding, and the hospitality warm and generous. 

Collectively, this feedback tells a clear story: this conference changed people, deeply, constructively and enduringly. 

Our strategy in action 

This conference embodied the 2025–2030 AICCM Strategic Plan. We delivered key outcomes by: 

  • Delivering commitments from our Reconciliation Action Plan as an embedded framework guiding our values, actions and relationships. 
  • Modelling First Nations leadership through curated content, session design and cultural authority – structural change, not symbolic inclusion. 
  • Championing equity, diversity and inclusion through hybrid participation, bursaries and inclusive programming. 
  • Advancing professional development and networking, supporting emerging professionals, volunteers, policy makers, sector colleagues and conservators. 
  • Deepening partnerships with AMaGA, universities, cultural institutions and communities. 
  • Welcoming international voices from the Pacific, Aotearoa, the US, Canada, Europe and the UK, enriching our work through global standards and shared knowledge systems.  
  • Growing public awareness of conservation as an ethical, relational and cultural responsibility. 

This conference made our strategy real. To carry this momentum forward, we cannot deliver the next phase of our plan alone. You can help by: 

  • Renewing your AICCM membership 
  • Encouraging others to join AICCM, including non-conservators 
  • Applying for ArtsNational scholarships or other grant opportunities 
  • Nominating a colleague for an AICCM Award 
  • Submitting a paper to the Bulletin or updates for the eNews  
  • Joining a SIG or working group  
  • Attending events and professional development activities 
  • Forming national and international partnerships  
  • Promoting conservation to raise public awareness. 

This is your organisation. Help shape its future. 

 

Final reflection  

Thank you to the conference committee, volunteers, technical and design teams, and particularly Caroline Martin, Anne Carter and Rachel Spano. Thank you to every presenter who shared their knowledge, generosity and professional wisdom. And thank you to every delegate who travelled, logged on, and contributed with openness, curiosity and care. You are what makes AICCM powerful. 

This conference was courageous, complex, joyful, challenging, connective and deeply human. It reflected the very best of our profession, collaborative, ethical, evolving and ready for the future. 

Members of the conference committee.

 

AICCM is not just a professional association, it is our professional home. It is where many of us find connection, mentorship and belonging, and where we return to grow, share knowledge and shape our practice together. We are a community of practice and care. Every one of you belongs here, whether you are early in your career, leading a department, consulting independently, working on Country or part of an allied field. 

In closing, this year has seen significant progress across AICCM: 

  • We farewelled our long-serving Secretariat, Michelle Berry, and welcomed Jessica O’Brien 
  • We surveyed our members and developed our 2025–2030 AICCM Strategic Plan 
  • We appointed our inaugural First Nations Strategic Advisor, Caroline Martin, embedding First Nations leadership across our work 
  • We contributed to national and international initiatives, including the proposed ARC Centre of Excellence on Born Digital Heritage and the Global Conservation Leaders Working Group 
  • We delivered a globally significant conference and our membership remained strong, with over 630 members and high engagement across all our communications 

And we celebrated the incredible achievements, dedication and innovation of this year’s AICCM Awards recipients including: 

  • AICCM Medal 2025 – Michelle Berry 
  • Conservator of the Year Award 2025 – Elizabeth McCartney 
  • Outstanding Service to the Profession Award 2025 – David Stein 
  • Outstanding Service to the Profession Award 2025 – Rosemary Goodall 
  • Outstanding Service to the Profession Award 2025 – Kim Morris 
  • Outstanding Conservation Volunteer Award 2025 – See Yup Temple Project  
  • Outstanding Conservation Treatment of the Year Award 2025 – Commandant’s Cottage, Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation, University of Melbourne 
  • The Colin Pearson Outstanding Research in the Field of Material Conservation Award 2025 – Alice Cannon 
  • Outstanding Conservation Project of the Year Award 2025 – Magna Carta Project, Department of Parliamentary Services & Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation, University of Melbourne 
  • Outstanding Conservation Project of the Year Award 2025 – Victorian Trades Hall Project, International Conservation Services 
  • ArtsNational Student Conservator of the Year Award 2025 (University of Melbourne) – Ameliah-Rose Tioriori 
  • ArtsNational Molonglo Plains Outstanding Student Award 2025 (University of Canberra) – Melanie Ioane-Warren 
  • ArtsNational Patricia Robertson Fund Mid-Career Conservator Scholarship 2025 – Cushla Hill 
  • ArtsNational Patricia Robertson Fund Mid-Career Conservator Scholarship 2025 – Catherine Nunn.

Some of the AICCM Awards recipients.

We sincerely thank ArtsNational and ArtsNational Molonglo Plains and the Patricia Robertson Fund for supporting our mid-career and student awards. 

AICCM is embracing renewal, listening deeply, collaborating widely and planning boldly. 

Let us carry the energy and insights of this year’s achievements into our workplaces, collaborations and communities. 

Wishing you all the best for the festive season, and I look forward to moving into an exciting new year with all of you. 

Best wishes, 

Sam 

Dr Samantha Hamilton
President, AICCM