One of the privileges of my previous job was that it provided me a perspective on the entire field, worldwide. I was constantly presented with requests that represented the needs of the profession. This gave me a view of the conservation community that I think very few jobs allow. It was a wonderful opportunity. Well, as an art historian coming from the museum field, I found that the experience certainly expanded my understanding of what conservation means.
Conservation is a word that has so many meanings for so many different people.
My years at the Grant Program helped me understand conservation in the broadest sense of the word. In my mind, it is not just caring for a collection or restoring an object. It's all the disciplines that contribute to enabling one to conserve that object. It's the work of curators and scholars who understand that object. It's the material scientists.