ICOM-CC / Getty International Program

20th ICOM-CC TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE

Valencia, Spain, 18-22 September 2023

2023 GRANT MENTORS

For the occasion of the 2023 ICOM-CC Valencia Conference and the renewal of in-person gatherings, the ICOM-CC / Getty International Program is supporting four regionally-selected "past" Getty grant recipients as mentors who will contribute to a new generation through their individual expertise, experiences and professional paths. Since receiving their initial Getty grants, each mentor has continued to develop and excel in their regions and countries in the field of cultural heritage and beyond. Their presence at the Valencia Conference represents continuity, evolution and the positive development, since 1990, of the ICOM-CC / Getty grant initiative.

Achal PANDYA - New Delhi, India

Lisbon 2011 - Melbourne 2014

Head of Department Conservation - Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

ICOM-CC Directory Board 

Achal is working at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi. Achal is a trained conservator with education in conservation and chemistry. He is a Professor and heads the Conservation Division of the IGNCA. Additionally, Achal is also the overall head of the Collection Division (Cultural Archives) of the IGNCA. The team that Achal is heading specializes in the conservation of varied types of artifacts and is implementing conservation projects in different parts of the country besides the conservation of the collection of the IGNCA. In addition to the conservation of movable objects the Conservation Division specializes in Museum Services, Research and Development and Training and Capacity Building. Achal was instrumental in launching reorganization of Museum Storage (Re-org) campaign in India where he collaborated closely with ICCROM.

Further, Achal is also an expert member for one of the programmes of UNESCO called Disaster Risk Management for Library, Archives and Museums (DRM-LAM) under UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme on Documentary Heritage at Risk in Asia and the Pacific.

Achal has keen interest in metal conservation. Achal teaches conservation at the IGNCA and is visiting faculty at various National Institutions such as Aligarh Muslim University, National Museum Institute, Calcutta University, etc. Achal has also been instrumental in imparting conservation training to institutions in South East Asia (Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia).

Achal was member of the Directory Board of the ICOM-CC for two terms (2014-17 and 2017-2020). In addition to this Achal was the coordinator from the National Organizing Committee for the organization of the 15^th Triennial Conference of the ICOM-CC held in New Delhi on 2008.

Achal holds the following degress: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry; M.A. (Conservation); M.Sc. (Chemistry); Ph.D(Conservation); Post Graduate Diploma in Manuscriptology and Palaeography

Valeria SURUCEANU - Chisinau, Moldova

New Delhi 2008 - Lisbon 2011 - Melbourne 2014

Director Chisinau City History Museum

Project Manager ICOM Moldova National Committee

Manager international projects Cultural Heritage field

Valeria Suruceanu graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in history (1990); Master in Arts Management at the Ion Creanga Pedagogical State University (2020). She started her career in 1990 as a scientific researcher at the National Art Museum of Moldova, from 1993 up to 2019she is a manager of  Sculpture and Decorative Arts Collections in the same institution.

In 2008 awarded with Medal for an exemplary contribution to the conservation and promotion of museum collections in the framework of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra and European Commission/2008. Since 2010 she is a chair of Public Association National Committee ICOM Moldova, also as a manager of various international projects in the field of cultural and heritage, supported by ICOM, Prince Claus Foundation, European Commission, Council of Europe etc. The most important of which can be mentioned Platform CULTURE (2016-2021), within the program "Support to confidence-building measures", which is financed by the European Union and co-financed and implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Moldova.

Muthoni THANG'WA - Nairobi, Kenya 

Melbourne 2014

Spokesperson for the National Committees (125) of the International Council of Museums (ICOM)

Chair ICOM Nigeria

Cultural Heritage Consultant

Author

Muthoni is the Spokesperson for the National Committees of the International Council of Museums. She has also served as the Chairperson for ICOM-Kenya, National Committee from 2013 - 2019.

She is a consultant who worked with the National Museums of Kenya for over 20 years, in different capacities including as Curator of the house Museum Karen Blixen and as Development Manager.

She holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi and an MSC from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

An ardent writer, Muthoni writes for the Nation Media group on cultural, gender, and other social issues. She has also been a contributor to the East African Standard in the co-oped pages in previous years the magazine Kenya past & present. Her articles are also online on muck ruck among other platforms.

Muthoni is the published author of a children’s book – ABC on Safari.

Johanna Maria THEILE BRUHNS - Santiago, Chile  

Edinburgh 1996 - New Delhi 2008 - Melbourne 2014

Professor Univeristy of Chile, Facultad de Artes and Facultad de Ciencias

ICOM-CC Directory Board & ICOM Disaster Relief Task Force

Author

My purposes of the Valencia Conference

I would like to maintain ties with my contacts and friends during the Valencia Conference and discuss with them about different ways of conservation that have emerged in recent years. For example, I will be focused on listening to the presentations of sustainability in the museum. I am still learning about the various directions and implications of sustainability and I would like to improve and expand upon my personal information. Also, I would like to know more about vibrations in museum and their effects on objects; an interesting important current topic.

Also as a member and Assistant Coordinator of the ICOM-CC Education and Training in Conservation Working Group, I would like to see if there are new teaching techniques or topics that I can apply in my classes.

I have reviewed the titles and topics of the presentations. There are many interesting topics that I will be happy to hear, beautiful things will happen to me that I still don’t know about and I looking forward to the experience with great excitement.

2023 GRANT RECIPIENTS

Abdullahi ABDULKADIR - Kano, NIGERIA    

I work as a conservator at National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria. My main role is the protection, preservation and conservation of the rock paintings, objects at galleries and in storage, educational outreach, educational guide and management. I concentrate my efforts on fostering a community understanding and custodianship of our heritage sites. Presently, I am at special assignment in Gidan makama Museum, following up on preservation and restoration of the remaining Kano city wall site.

I work at national and international heritage sites across world as well as world heritage sites in Nigeria and Mexico.

I graduated from Bayero University Kano with BSc in Biochemistry in 2013 and went on to earn a Post Graduate Diploma in Chemistry in 2016 and obtained my master degree in (Organic Chemistry). I have published on both bio-chemical issues as well as on paper conservation.

I have been an active member of ICOM and ICOM-CC since 2018.

Ahmad N. ABU-BAKER - Irbid, Jordan

Ahmad N. Abu-Baker is the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. He is an associate professor of metals conservation at the Department of Conservation and Management of Cultural Resources. He is also a member of the Jordanian Museums Association (ICOM-Jordan). He has qualifications in applied chemistry (BSc), conservation and management of cultural resources (MA), and cultural materials conservation (PhD). In addition to the teaching and research responsibilities, Ahmad’s responsibilities and professional activities include conducting the work and tasks delegated by the Dean of the Faculty concerning the academic departments, teaching staff, administrative and technical staff, laboratories, museum, archaeological station, students, meetings and conferences.

Ahmad is participating in the ICOM-CC 20^th Triennial Conference to get informed on the latest developments in the field and make new connections with the attending conservation scholars. This will be very useful for his research work and teaching career. It will also open venues for future collaborations to apply more efficient and sustainable approaches to preserve the Jordanian cultural heritage.

Aida BICAKCIC - Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

My name is Aida Bicakcic and I obtained my degree in Art History from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Sarajevo in 2008. From 2009 to 2023 I have held the positions of Advisor for Movable Heritage, and later Advisor for Art History at the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina - being involved in numerous research project that resulted in designating cultural assets as National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Starting in April 2023 I have continued my career as the Head of the Collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art Ars Aevi, City Museums of Sarajevo. In 2012, I had the opportunity to intern at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) in Rome.

Throughout my work experience, I have served as a project coordinator and assistant coordinator for Restoration of the Wall Paintings of Mišcina Mosque, the Preventive Conservation of Collections of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, raising awareness campaign "My Bosnia and Herzegovina, My Heritage", and more.

I have participated in numerous international conferences and congresses, as well as certified training programs such as Branding New Thinking in Greece, the Heritage Management Initiative 2016 in Greece, Successful Fundraising for Heritage Managers in Greece, the Sarajevo Summer School of Conservation, Heritage without Borders in the UK in cooperation with Cultural Heritage without Borders in Sweden (2011), and Study Dutch Art Where It Was Made at Amsterdam-Maastricht Summer University in Holland (2006).

I am a member of ICOM Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mara Lúcia CARRETT DE VASCONCELOS - Florianópolis, Brazil

I am a conservator-restorer, with a Masters in Archaeology and a PhD in Museology and Heritage. I work at Victor Meirelles Museum, an unit of the Brazilian Institute of Museums (Ibram). I work on the conservation of drawings and paintings from the 19th to the 21st centuries, in addition to participating in research projects, guiding interns and supporting exhibitions. I also worked for nine years in the conservation of archaeological and ethnographical collections. Due to that experience, my work has been oriented on the perspective of collection management, understanding the conservation of collections in the context of musealization process, and on the decolonization and sustainability of conservation practices.

Davison CHIWARA -  Gweru, Zimbabwe

Davison Chiwara (PhD) is a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. He is also the coordinator of the African Museology Project for the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Additionally, he is a steering committee member for the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA. His research interests lie in the conservation of heritage and museums and gallery practice.

He has presented several research papers at ICOM-CC conference (Beijing 2020), ICOM Solidarity Project, Training the Trainers 2022; American Institute of Conservation (AIC) Annual Meetings; International Institute of Conservation (IIC) Congresses; Culture in Crisis Conference; Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) Living Matter Symposium and other regional conferences on cultural heritage management in Africa.

Ana Carolina DELGADO VIEIRA - São Paulo, Brazil

Ana Carolina Delgado Vieira holds a bachelor's and master's degree in history from the University of São Paulo and studied at the Yachaywasi Institute of Conservation in Lima, Peru. Since 2008, she has been a conservator at the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE) of the University of São Paulo (USP). She conducts condition surveys of collections and individual items, performs conservation treatments, and prepares collection items for exhibition, loan, move, and research. She has been head of conservation since 2013. She is interested in interdisciplinary collaboration, indigenous participation, and how conservators can help reframe ethnographical traditional museums by working collaboratively with indigenous collection originators or descendants. She is an Assistant Coordinator of the ICOM-CC Working Group Objects from Indigenous and World Cultures. She is developing her PhD research at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN–CNEN/SP) at the University of São Paulo on ionizing radiation for cultural heritage preservation.

Abdelaziz ELMARAZKY - Giza, Egypt

Abdelaziz Elmarazky obtained the Bachelor degree from the Faculty of Archaeology, Conservation and Restoration Department - Cairo University. He has worked as a conservator in the Grand Egyptian Museum – Conservation Centre (GEM– CC) since 2015. His interests include conservation of inorganic objects such as faience, glass and metals, revealing new secrets of manufacture technology, preventive conservation and identification of unusual corrosion products on silver and bronze objects. In 2017, he conducted a research project about gap fillers for brittle metal objects in the conservation laboratory of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology (JIAA) in Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey. He accomplished the UNESCO/ Poland Co-sponsored Fellowship Programme in Conservation and Archaeology. Recently, he has conducted a scientific research and conservation of the external trapping of Tutankhamun's mummy and the golden and faience collars prior to exhibition in the King's Hall.

Ogechukwu Elizabeth OKPALANOZIE - Lagos, Nigeria

Adriana Isabel Paez Cure - Bogotá, Colombia

Adriana is head of conservation and collections management of the arts and numismatics collections of the Central Bank of Colombia since 2009. Her main interest has been to monitor and control deterioration processes in affordable ways for different collections, as well as to document collections for conservation and museum uses in acquisition, exhibitions, loans and long-time preservation. Trained as professional conservator and MA of anthropology in Colombia, (U Externado and U Andes) and MSc in conservation for archaeology and museums in the University College London, in UK. Former experience includes collections care and environmental monitoring in the Museo del Oro (Colombia) in 2004-2009, and internships in Museo de Arte Reina Sofía (Spain) 2017, and Museum of London (UK) in 2018.

Deepakshi Sharma - New Delhi, India

Deepakshi Sharma is currently working at the National Rail Museum, New Delhi. Her major role is curatorial work and conservation of the Museum and Archival collections. She has been working actively in this field for last 14 years. She has acquired Doctorate degree from Department of Conservation, National Museum Institute, New Delhi in 2018.

Deepakshi has been awarded with various fellowships/grants for performing research and technical work and represented her work at various international conferences. Concurrently, 12 research papers and posters have been published at International as well as National journals/platforms. She even represented her museum by participating in a special course- International Course on “Rethinking Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage Collections,” (FAR-COLLASIA-2020-21) organized by ICCROM and its partners.

At the international forum, Deepakshi is serving as a Fellowship Committee member of IIC and also working actively as an Assistant Coordinator for the ICOM-CC (International Council of Museums- Conservation Committee) Theory and History of Conservation Working Group.

Vandana Singh - Udaipur, India

Vandana Singh is a metal conservator with a doctorate and master's degree in conservation, as well as an M.Sc in natural science (Chemistry) from India. She has received training from prestigious institutions such as IIC London, AIC Washington, IIC-ITCC Beijing, and The MET Museum, New York, to learn about the use and basics of operating different non-destructive (NDT) analytical techniques in the conservation of cultural heritage. In addition, she was a recipient of the international ICFP fellowship program funded by the Ministry of Culture, India & Andrew W. Mellon USA. She is an Assistant Coordinator of the Metasl Working Group of ICOM-CC. Currently, Dr. Singh serves as a Conservator in the Arms and Armour Conservation Laboratory in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, where she is responsible for making decisions regarding the implementation of the goals, corrective actions, storage and conservation strategies. She also teaches metal conservation as a guest faculty and conducts capacity building training programs for museum professionals in leading conservation programs in India. Prior to this, she worked on various conservation projects at the National Museum (Conservation laboratory), National Academy of Arts (Archives), and National Museum Institute (Dept. of Conservation) in New Delhi. Her current research focuses on merging conservation with traditional knowledge, skill, and advanced techniques, taking an interdisciplinary approach to protect and conserve the cultural heritage.

Margarita Villanueva - Pasig City, Philippines

Margarita completed a BA Art History and BSc Materials Chemistry from the University of British Columbia. While studying, she trained in private laboratories for paintings. She later completed an MSc Professional Conservation (science pathway) from Cardiff University as a Chevening Scholar of the UK government. 

Margarita has been affiliated with the Lopez Museum and Library since 2008, a Filipiniana institution with an important collection of fine art from the 19^th century onwards and rare books, periodicals, and maps from the 16^th century to present day, amongst others. As Manager of Conservation, Margarita oversees center operations and conservation policies, projects, and research. Her research interests are in technical studies of 19^th century Philippine paintings, managing collection environments in tropical climates, and integrating sustainability objectives in operations. Margarita will present a paper at the Valencia Conference in the Preventive Conservation working Group with co-grant recipient, Adriana Paez Cure, which examines the climate balancing act in loan conditions from tropical to temperate zones through the lens of sustainability.