Congratulations to our Student Bursary recipients for the 2025 AICCM National Conference! Thanks to the generous support of the University of Canberra and Archival Survival, these outstanding students joined delegates to connect and grow at this year’s conference.
Sarah Paul, University of Canberra:
Receiving the bursary enabled me to attend this year’s AICCM National Conference, which offered a comprehensive program featuring First Nations speakers, artists and leaders. Although my previous exposure to First Nations collections was limited, the event provided valuable knowledge regarding collaborative approaches to conservation strategy development.
Key moments included Nanny Nellie’s deeply compelling account, underscoring the significance of personal experience in conservation when historical narratives have neglected cultural perspectives. The case of William Crowther highlighted the repercussions and missed opportunities resulting from insufficient stakeholder engagement. Additionally, the successful relocation of the Tuku’aho Memorial Museum collection exemplified effective community partnership and resilience in overcoming logistical and resource constraints.
Maree Clark shared her inspiring work on regenerating cultural practices within communities, while Archie Moore’s epic ‘kith and kin’ emphasised both interconnection and the sobering reality of ongoing division. Overall, the conference promoted positive change and progress by recognising incorrect cultural care as a significant agent of deterioration in conservation.
I am grateful to the AICCM and the University of Canberra for making this opportunity possible.
Brigid Stapleton, University of Melbourne:
As a recipient of an AICCM Student Bursary sponsored by Archival Survival, I was fortunate to be able to attend my first AICCM National Conference to build upon what I have learnt about the conservation of First Nations cultural heritage during my Master of Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne. We heard from many strong voices illustrating the considered practice in cultural care already underway in our profession, while also highlighting where we can and must do better.
Many presentations have stayed with me and were unified by a common theme of connection. Bianca Beeston and others, such as Irene Ridgeway, spoke about their connection to cultural objects as a strong and beloved connection to ancestors. Many also spoke of a reconnection with this living heritage as an act of healing and a deepening of connection to culture. We heard from Colin Puruntatameri, Dora Griffiths and April Nulgit about how elder-led cultural teaching and conservation has been in action for over 60,000 years – an unbroken connection to ancestors – and how this continues today in many remote communities, supported by ANKA pathways to further conservation knowledge.
We also heard about horrifying colonial acts, theft, denial and the gatekeeping of culture by dominant Western systems. Tharron Bloomfield explained that denying access to cultural heritage ‘echoes generations of denial’ experienced by First Nations peoples, Zoe Rimmer shared the pain of a bureaucracy demanding a permit to ‘interfere’ with her own heritage, while Jillian Mundy retold the horrors perpetrated by William Crowther and why the toppling of his statue meant so much to Pakana people. These and other presentations highlighted why it is so crucial for our profession to move to a relational approach to conservation. Moreover, the onus is on institutions to find out who this living heritage belongs to, as Daniel King so eloquently stated: ‘these were taken from community and now it’s time to give back’.
Another important lesson was shared by Heather Bleechmore, who talked about working with the family of Nanny Nellie, Uncle Jimmy Clements and Uncle Harold: to be able to ‘read’ a situation and consider when it is appropriate to speak, when to lead and when to listen. I take from this experience that it is time to listen; that our role as conservators is not just about preserving the past, it is also about advocating, supporting and sustaining identity for the future.