Fifteen years ago, an internet search on “textile conservation” yielded very little practical information. Today, Google has over 9 million hits on the term! You will find technical information, list serves, resources, supplies, museum departments, private practitioners, and books to teach you more about this special field of art conservation. A great place to start is with the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) website.

Every textile conservator needs the same basic skills:

• Aptitude for working hands-on with delicate historic materials
• Excellent sewing skills and eyesight (or vision correction)
• Comprehensive understanding of textile structures and techniques
• Interest in textile history, costume history and art history
• At least a basic understanding of organic chemistry
• Clear, descriptive writing skills
• Patience, concentration and curiosity

The best way to begin learning about textile conservation is to work with historic clothing and textiles under the direction of a museum professional. Local historical societies are usually overflowing with clothing and textiles with few or no staff members to care for them. Volunteer to help catalog and photograph, or ask to be taught how to vacuum or do basic stabilization. Any collections-related museum experience will be beneficial and will give you a taste of what this work is like. You can also locate a conservator in private practice in your area who may need a volunteer. To locate a conservator in the US, use the Find a Conservator tool on the AIC website.
 

The classic approach to a career in art conservation was to volunteer, and if you showed the right skills you could work your way up to a steady job. With some continuing professional development, you could have a long satisfying career. This is still a viable route to take.

The more accepted route to acquiring the theory, philosophy, skills, and credentials to be a textile conservator (though not necessarily the experience) is through a graduate training program. An MA or MS is usually a requirement for a museum job or to advance within a museum department.

Some people become textile conservators after working in related fields such as fashion design, theater, textile science, archaeology or historic preservation. In this case, a certificate or advanced internship in textile conservation can be the best way to gain additional training—and increase your job possibilities. 

There are still relatively few places in the US to study conservation, and fewer still that have a strong emphasis on textiles. The AIC website lists several institutions in the US and Canada offering graduate training in art conservation. In reality there are more MA programs in that can prepare you for a career in textile conservation, including two that have been training textile conservators in the US since the 1980s:

Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC. MA in “Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice.”

University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI. MS in “Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design.” 

If you are contemplating a degree or certificate program to prepare you for a career in textile conservation, you should familiarize yourself with the following links. Conservation graduate programs are notoriously difficult to get in to and are costly, so gather as much information as you can before deciding the route that is best for you.

University of Delaware, Art Conservation  (Read the blog about their recent trip to Peru) http://www.artcons.udel.edu/news/2011/02/11/student-journal-peru-1

Texas A&M University, Department of Anthropology

Iowa State University, Apparel, Educational Studies and Hospitality Management

Scripps College, Art Conservation

New Mexico State University, Art Department

Fleming College, Collections Conservation and Management

Algonquin College, Applied Museum Studies

Smith College, Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies

University of Delaware, Art Conservation

UCLA, Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials

SUNY-Buffalo, Art Conservation

New York University, Art History (Conservation)

University of Texas-Austin, Textile and Apparel Technology

Abegg-Stiftung, Textile Conservation and Restoration

Queen's University, Art Conservation

University of Alberta, Textile and Apparel Science

Durham University, Conservation of Archeological and Museum Objects

University of Glasgow, Textile Conservation

UCL Institute of Archaeology, Principles of Conservation

Harvard University Extension School, Museum Studies

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Textiles, Clothing and Design

The George Washington University, Museum Studies

New York University, Museum Studies

University of Pennsylvania, Historic Preservation

The Cooperstown Graduate Program, Museum Studies

The University of Kansas, Museum Studies

Florida State University, Museum Studies

San Francisco State University, Museum Studies

University of New Hampshire, Museum Studies

The Campbell Center, Conservation of Cultural Objects

Northeast Document Conservation Center, Webinars and In-Person Workshops

Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Regional Workshops and Online Courses

Northern States Conservation Center, Online Museum Classes

National Park Service, Managing Archeological Collections

Tufts University, Museum Studies

The George Washington University, Museum Collections Management

West Dean College, England, Continuing Professional Development Courses

International Institute for Restoration and Conservation Studies, San Gemini Preservation Studies Summer Field School

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Public History Graduate Certificate

If you are not in the US, Canada or the UK, you should contact a major museum in your area and ask about careers in textile conservation. Some non-English-speaking training programs include:

Estonian Academy of Arts; University of Amsterdam; Artesis hogeschool Antwerpen Belgium; Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany; University of the Arts Bern, Switzerland; Technological Educational Institute, Greece; Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Universidade Católica Operto, and Instituto Politecnico de Tomar, Portugal; Department of Conservation Faculty of Archeology, Cairo University, Egypt; Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest; Metropolia University of Applied Science, Helsinki, Finland; Consevation Institute "Yachay Wasi," Lima, Peru; Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogota; National School of Conservation, Restoration, and Museology “Manuel Castillo Negrete,” Mexico City; Abegg-Stiftung, Berner Fachhochschule, Switzerland; University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Please contact Camille Breeze if you have something to add to one of these lists.