Scotland

City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DE

Lecture followed by refreshments and a chance to catch up with colleagues old and new.

‘Even on a Mountain, there is still a road’: Reflections on Conservation in post-Conflict Afghanistan

Join Icon Scotland for our 25th annual lecture in memory of Dundonian Dr Harold Plenderleith (1898 – 1996) who is considered one of the key founders of modern conservation.

This year, our invited speaker is Dr Richard Mulholland, Senior Lecturer on the Conservation of Fine Art MA programme at Northumbria University. A Paper Conservator and Technical Art Historian, his research is primarily concerned with analysis of the materials, technique, and studio processes of artists from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, particularly focusing on artists’ use of modern synthetic materials in drawings.

For a number of years, Richard has also been engaged in research on the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage collections at risk in conflict zones, particularly focused on Afghanistan. He has spent time working on site in Kabul on a number of projects funded by the British Council Cultural Protection Fund, looking at critical conservation pedagogies and carrying out education and training in collections care and conservation for colleagues in post-conflict Afghanistan.

His lecture will focus on this aspect of his work, as we consider culture in conflict zones, what is being done to equip collections staff to respond to these crises, who needs to be part of the conversation and the work, and reflect on the future of culture in an increasingly polarised world.

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