News

Assistant Conservator or Senior Conservation Technician Position Open at ACdR Conservation SF ~ Art Conservation de Rigueur in San Francisco.

By Elise Morin-Rousseau posted 09-16-2020 17:19

  

ACdR Conservation is currently hiring a part-time (2-3 days per week/ 14-21 hrs per week) position, with the future potential for an added fourth day. The March shelter in place orders for COVID-19 required our San Francisco studios to close and furlough our staff through June.  Our large multi-disciplinary studios re-opened in July, and we have been back on a four day work week schedule with our staff and interns here on somewhat alternating days, so that we can still practice safe physical distancing within our various specialty treatment rooms and spaces.

Our goal with extending this invitation and open position is to build our team and staff with a longterm perspective.  We are specifically looking for a person who would like to join us in this broad view—in being a part of a large practice, a team, a cohort, in a collaborative spirit, of academically engaged professionals, an emotionally supportive circle, with those of us who chose the fields of conservation for the greater good, and are making a difference in many large and small ways daily. 

We are progressive minded, support diversity, fairness, and opportunity for all interested and qualified candidates. 
We welcome LBTGQ and BIPOC applicants.

Our studios are quite lucky to actually be thriving in these strange times of concomitant catastrophes, we actually have an abundance of projects to put our attention to.  We are encouraged by the recent uptick in our work flow, and client outreach.  ACdR is grateful of our circumstances, and looking to make a small difference in someone’s life by offering employment in time when there appears to be fewer and fewer options out there in our ever shrinking and competitive field.  This position will be paid at an hourly rate, with a range between $22. - $25. Based on specific previous experience, practical knowledge and inter-disciplinary skills.  Secondarily, the regional rental and housing market in the San Francisco Bay Area has recently dropped between -10% to -15%, due to the tech industry jobs exodus, and their newly found freedom to work remotely in perpetuity from anywhere.  We hope that this will result in a positive arts and culture Renaissance, making the City and greater SF Bay Area once again affordable and desirable for people outside of the Tech sector.

ACdR currently has four longterm permanent staff members, and two pre-program and post graduate interns with us through June of 2021.  Additionally we hope to be welcoming several other interns to our team in the Winter/Spring semester of 2021.  Under normal circumstances we host 4-6 pre-program/post graduate interns annually—it remains to be seen what our new normal will look like, and what will be feasible.

ACdR is a successful Multi-Disciplinary conservation practice established in 1999, specializing in the treatment of  Textiles, Objects, Decorative Arts, Paintings—And Most Especially Emergency and Disaster Recovery from: Smoke, Ash and Soot contamination, cleaning and remediation of Fine Art Collections caused by wildfires, floods and other natural or man made incidents, including Mold and Pest Remediation/Abatement.

As an ACdR Assistant Conservator or Senior Technician, this new position will be sharing the responsibility of overseeing/mentoring small teams of pre-program interns at the studios with our other staff.  The primary focus would entail individual conservation treatment projects addressed separately from the larger disaster recovery projects, including multi-disciplinary in studio and on-site client projects that may address: paintings, objects, sculpture, textiles, decorative arts, works on paper, books, ethnographic arts, and other ephemera. Other disaster recovery projects will include: micro hepa-vacuuming of collections coming out of the CO2 Anoxia tent and other encapsulations, or freezer unit—followed up with surface cleaning protocols, frame materials refurbishing and custom framing, wrapping and preparing collections for return delivery to clients, installation, on-site projects, integrated pest management, organized archival rehousing, photo documentation, object research, critical analysis, and UV/infrared imaging.  Additionally, there will be some administrative assistance with updating collections management information and image data on the CatalogIt App, posting to the ACdR Instagram account, and general studio management tasks.

ACdR actively uses and implements The MCP methodology (Modular Cleaning Program) designed by Chris Stavroudis. We are looking for an applicant who is comfortable with basic organic and in-organic chemistry, as we produce much of our own custom cleaning solutions, adhesives, resins and varnishes et cetera.

ACdR Conservation LLC. adheres to and follows California Health and Safety regulations, OSHA and EPA laws, and the AIC, ICOM-CC, ICON,  and IIC professional standards of practice.

Qualified applicants should have a M.S./ M.A. or M.S.c in Art Conservation or related field of expertise, competency with lab chemistry, and a minimum of 3-5 years post graduate conservation practical experience in the field.  Please send CV, Portfolio, 2 Letters of Recommendation, and a Letter of Interest to Elise Rousseau at: ACdRConservation@icloud.com

Job posting will remain open until filled - no deadline at present.

Elise Yvonne Rousseau

Director and Principal Conservator

ACdR Conservation SF ~ Art Conservation de Rigueur

ACdRConservation@icloud.com

ACdRConservation.com

Studio tel. (415)751-2540

All work is photo documented from start to finish, we use only conservation safe materials and supplies, and all treatments are approached in a manner to be ethically responsible, to stabilize and preserve objects for our global cultural heritage and to be reversible and non-permanent for future study.
All work is performed according to the Code of Ethics, Guidelines, and Standards of Practice of the
American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
AIC Conservator in Private Practice ~ ICOM-CC ~ Western Association of Art Conservation ~ Board of Directors Bay Area Art Conservation Guild

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