Conservation at
the Textile Museum
Awyn spent their third year in the Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) with the Textile Museum's conservation lab. Below you'll find an introduction to the museum, an overview of Awyn's third year internship, and highlights of their conservation activities.
The image to the left shows Textile Museum conservation team members. From left to right the image includes Cathleen Zaret, Callista Jerman, Awyn Rileybird, Maria Fusco, and Gennifer Majors. Photo by Cara Taylor, courtesy of the Textile Museum.
About the Textile Museum
The Textile Museum's collection includes over 21,000 handmade textiles representing five millenia of textile art history. The museum was established in 1925 by George Hewitt Myers and was originally located in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington DC.
In 2011 the Textile Museum became officially affiliated with the George Washington University, and exhibition spaces were relocated to a new, custom-designed museum space that opened in 2015 on the university's main campus in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC. The new space, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, features:
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Three floors of textile exhibition space
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The Cotsen Traces Study Center, home to a globally significant textile study collection
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The Textiles 101 Gallery, featuring interactive displays on elements of textile production
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Gallery space for the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection of national capital history
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The Arthur D. Jenkins Library, with resources on global textiles and traditional dress
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The Artisan Gallery, an educational gallery with handmade textiles for purchase
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Meeting areas, offices, a conservation lab, and other service spaces
Following the affiliation with the George Washington University, the Textile Museum collection was moved to a purpose-built space on the GW Virginia Science & Technology Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. This new facility, the Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center, was Awyn's primary work station during their internship. The center includes a large collection storage area, collection processing spaces, a photography studio, and well-equipped conservation and dye labs.
Textile Museum Internship Overview
Internship type:
Duration:
Work locations:
Primary supervisor:
Additional supervision:
Additional conservation
lab members:
Lateral connections:
WUDPAC
Research Days:
Third year graduate internship in textile conservation
11 months: September, 2022 - July, 2023
Avenir Foundation Conservation & Collections Resource Center, Ashburn, VA (~90%)
The George Washington Museum & the Textile Museum, Washington, DC (~10%)
Maria Fusco, Margaret Wing Dodge Chair in Conservation
Cathleen Zaret, Associate Conservator
Gennifer Majors, Associate Conservator
Callista Jerman, Megalli Conservation Research Fellow
Alexandra Boelhouwer, Preventive Conservation Technician
Emma Cieslik, Preventive Conservation Technician
Shirleen Selim, Preventive Conservation Technician
Collections Management, Curatorial, Exhibit Production, Development, Programs, Education, Library, IMLS Digitization Project, Retail Operations, Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection, and Marketing, Communications, and Visitor Experience
Twenty research days were employed for a variety of activities, including:
- Participation in a two-week course on weave analysis offered by the Early Textiles Study Group (10 days)
- Outreach activities with the Historic Costume Archive at Penn State University (5 days)
- Conducting scanning XRF analysis at the Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library (3 days)
- Visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum conservation lab (1 day)
- Attending the opening of the Center for Virtual/ Material Studies at the Penn State University (1 day)
Admin
Conservation
activities
Professional
activities
Time Audit of
Internship Activities
Conservation activities (~55%)
Rehousing and packing: ~15%
Mount making and install: ~15%
Treatment: ~10%
Preventive care: ~10%
Documentation: ~5%
Professional activities (~25%)
Research: ~10%
Learning, workshops, site visits: ~10%
Outreach and education: ~5%
Administrative activities (~20%)
Includes email, meetings, WUDPAC reports, etc
Professional Activities
Research
Textile Vacuuming Research
Photo: Gennifer Majors, Textile Museum
Photo: Awyn Rileybird, WUDPAC
Awyn continued textile vacuuming research that they began during their second year at WUDPAC. This research involved evaluating vacuuming efficacy on mock ups and on Textile Museum collection items during the course of interventive treatments. They continued to conduct scanning XRF analysis on soiled samples prepared at the Winterthur Museum and progressed drafts of a forthcoming publication with ICOM-CC.
Deionized Water System Research
Photo: Cara Taylor, Textile Museum
Photo: Cara Taylor, Textile Museum
During their time with the Textile Museum, Awyn evaluated the conservation lab's deionized water system. This research involved evaluating the current system configuration, testing water pH and conductivity along the line of filtration, and exploring possible modifications to the system. Research also involved reviewing how the system has been used historically, researching best practices for water measurements, and discussing deionized water systems with conservators and water technicians at other organizations.
Learning &
Professional Development
Conservation Site Visits
Photo: Awyn Rileybird
Four site visits were facilitated by Awyn's supervisor, Maria Fusco. Site visits allowed Awyn and Megalli Research Fellow Callista Jerman to connect with conservation professionals and tour work spaces at the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution's Museum Conservation Institute, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Awyn also had the opportunity to visit with the conservation lab at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Mannequin Building Mini-internship at NMAAHC
Photos: Maeve O'Shea, courtesy of the National Museum of African American History & Culture
Buffalo State third year textile conservation major Maeve O'Shea and Awyn had the opportunity to pursue a one week mini-internship in mannequin building at the National Museum of African American History & Culture under the supervision of Laura Mina, Conservator of Textiles. Maeve and Awyn collaborated on the construction of two mannequins, one for an Olympic track uniform and one for a Fruit of Islam uniform, to support a rotation of textiles on display at NMAAHC.
Kress Funded Participation in Historic Weave Analysis Workshop
Photos: Nina Ferrante. Left: Awyn with Hero Granger-Taylor. Right: Awyn with Ruth Gilbert.
With generous funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Awyn was able to participate in a two-week, hands-on weave analysis workshop offered by the Historic Textiles Study Group. The course was instructed by textile scholar Hero Granger-Taylor and professional weaver Ruth Gilbert. The course took place in Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire (UK) and involved the analysis of over one hundred historic and contemporary textile samples and local textile fieldtrips.
Outreach & Education
NEH Funded Outreach with Penn State Costume Archive
Photo: Catherine Adams, Penn State Univ.
Photo: Awyn Rileybird
With support from a Preservation and Access Education and Training Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Awyn was able to dedicate time and vacuuming expertise for an outreach project at the Pennsylvania State University. Working with the university's Historic Costume Archive, Awyn and textile conservation colleague Emma Schmitt assisted in a variety of tasks including: preservation storage assessment, moth remediation assistance, and preservation training and education.
Guest Lecture in Preventive Conservation at GW
Photo: Maria Fusco, Textile Museum
Photo: Maria Fusco, Textile Museum
Awyn presented a lecture and workshop, Understanding and Managing Dust in Preventive Collection Care, for a graduate course in preventive conservation led by Mary Coughlin at the George Washington University. The lecture covered the science of dust, mechanical cleaning theory, and practical dust management strategies. The workshop allowed students to compare a variety of cleaning materials and to use a variable speed, HEPA filtered vacuum to clean textile samples.
Preventive Conservation
During their time with the Textile Museum, Awyn contributed to a wide range of preventive conservation activities. Click the images below to read more about their work.
Integrated
Pest Management
Mechanical Cleaning and
Mold Inspections
Facilities Maintenance
Cleaning
Freezer and
Anoxic Treatments