Lauren is a paintings conservator and collections manager based in New York City. She graduated magna cum laude as a double major in Art History and Historic Preservation as a Phi Beta Kappa member from Mary Washington College. She then entered the graduate program at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, where she studied Art History and trained in the Kress Program in Paintings Conservation at the IFA's Conservation Center. She gained additional training at The National Galleries of Scotland and Rustin Levenson in New York City.
She received a postgraduate certificate from the University of Cambridge and continued at the Hamilton Kerr Institute under a Kress Fellowship focused on French masterworks from the Fitzwilliam Museum.
Lauren then worked privately in London and Cambridge. In 2008 she worked as a paintings conservator for the Instituut Collectie Nederland, and then at a private studio in the Netherlands.
In 2011, she founded the Fly Arts Initiative, a fine art conservation and collections management practice based in New York, NY. Lauren works with museums, private collectors, galleries, and other stewards of cultural heritage to preserve and protect their objects. She is passionate about promoting and demystifying conservation for the wider public, and loves talking about little things that can make a big difference.
For more information on Fly Arts Initiative, please visit https://www.flyartsinitiative.com/
Time stamps:
(3:14) Intro to art conservation
(4:45) Discovering conservation
(6:27) Pre-program experiences
(7:14) Applying to graduate school
(8:00) Graduate experience at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts
(10:40) Summer internship at The National Galleries of Scotland
(11:40) Internship and post-graduate training at Hamilton Kerr Institute
(13:59) International visas and transition to Netherlands
(18:26) Freelancing in England
(18:35) Instituut Collectie Nederland
(20:16) Private practice in the Netherlands
(21:15) Dutch American Friendship Treaty
(22:08) What is a business plan?
(24:07) Fly Arts Initiative business plan
(24:54) Business plan benefits
(26:40) Contents in CIPP Library within the American Institute for Conservation
(27:46) Fly Arts Initiative business plan (cont.)
(29:24) Naming of Fly Arts Initiative
(30:42) Fly Arts Initiative in Amsterdam
(32:24) Insurance for practice in England, Amsterdam, New York City
(34:25) Setting up a paintings studio space
(36:45) Transition from Amsterdam to Virginia
(38:27) Business transition from Amsterdam to Virginia
(39:50) Studio equipment and tools transition
(40:54) Building clientele in Virginia
(41:23) Transition to New York City (NYC)
(42:06) Working at SGS Art Division Services
(45:43) What is collections management?
(47:25) Building client relationships
(50:07) Management skills in private practice
(55:57) Tips for building studio management skills
(55:59) Transition from SGS Art Division to Fly Arts Initiative
(57:14) Studio features and functionality
(58:22) Charging clients
(1:00:44) When did your business become profitable?
(1:01:49) Retirement plans
(1:03:30) Expansion plan
(1:03:40) Treatment vs collection management hours
(1:04:22) Role as Chair of CIPP within AIC
(1:07:27) Conservation visibility beyond treatment
(1:08:52) Increasing conservation’s visibility via business planning
(1:11:21) Approach to negotiation
(1:13:38) Conserving paintings in the 9/11 Memorial Museum collection
(1:15:19) Tips for emerging professionals
(1:15:52) Strategically finding clients and projects; professional development
(1:18:12) Final thoughts on private practice
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