Lorraine Finch: Preserving UK heritage
Lorraine Finch: Preserving UK heritage
Author
The world of professional conservation and preservation of UK heritage is a small one, and smaller still are the numbers of those with expertise in the care of film, sound, and photographic materials.
Research into techniques is advanced in the USA, so it was against this backdrop that accredited conservator, Lorraine Finch, undertook her Churchill Fellowship in 2006.
“I had already started on the journey as a photographic conservator, but I wanted to learn from the USA because their research was further ahead, and it was all in one place.”
Travelling for a Churchill Fellowship
Lorraine travelled first to New York, spending time with staff and students of the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation MA at The Tisch School of Arts, touring the Moving Image Preservation Library at the Bobst Library, and liaising with the photographic conservator at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She then went to Rochester, home to the Image Permanence Institute, which researches the preservation and conservation of photographic material. Also based here are the Eastman Museum (George Eastman was founder of Kodak) which hosted the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film School, the Gannett Foundation Photographic Study Center, and the Advanced Residency Program in Photographic Conservation.
Finally, it was on to Washington, seeing what work was being done at the Smithsonian, visiting Heritage Preservation, the National Archives and Records Association, and the Library of Congress.
Advancing conservation and preservation techniques
Back in the UK, Lorraine put what she had learned into practice.
“I was being asked by different heritage institutions with photographic collections to help preserve or conserve their collections. Photographs will be in places you wouldn’t expect; not just albums, but in books, on mugs, postcards, jewellery – they are everywhere.”
Whilst Lorraine was in the USA, she was able to use some of the Fellowship grant to invest in resources to use in teaching conservation and preservation techniques, including reference books, and examples of historic photographic material.
Although Lorraine’s career has more recently taken a slightly different route, the knowledge and teaching materials she acquired during her month in the States have been invaluable in advancing the conservation and preservation of film, sound, and photographic materials in the UK.
"Since I took my Fellowship, it has never stopped giving. It has given me confidence, and, on a more practical level, the learning I gained has been invaluable in my work."
Where Lorraine led, others have followed, and the conservation and preservation of UK heritage is gaining prominence, thanks in part to television programmes like Hidden Treasures of the National Trust.
Lorraine’s focus is now on the natural environment, running LFCP, where she is able to combine her two passions – care of the planet with care for heritage – by working as a sustainability leader.
She still teaches, but now her topic is sustainability rather than bespoke photographic courses. However, she believes it was the Fellowship that gave her the skills and confidence she has drawn on in her subsequent career.
“Since I took my Fellowship, it has never stopped giving. It has given me confidence, and, on a more practical level, the learning I gained has been invaluable in my work.
“I still rave about the opportunity that the Fellowship gave me and have recommended it to many others. Several have gone on to become Fellows themselves.”
Research into techniques is advanced in the USA, so it was against this backdrop that accredited conservator, Lorraine Finch, undertook her Churchill Fellowship in 2006.
“I had already started on the journey as a photographic conservator, but I wanted to learn from the USA because their research was further ahead, and it was all in one place.”
Travelling for a Churchill Fellowship
Lorraine travelled first to New York, spending time with staff and students of the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation MA at The Tisch School of Arts, touring the Moving Image Preservation Library at the Bobst Library, and liaising with the photographic conservator at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She then went to Rochester, home to the Image Permanence Institute, which researches the preservation and conservation of photographic material. Also based here are the Eastman Museum (George Eastman was founder of Kodak) which hosted the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film School, the Gannett Foundation Photographic Study Center, and the Advanced Residency Program in Photographic Conservation.
Finally, it was on to Washington, seeing what work was being done at the Smithsonian, visiting Heritage Preservation, the National Archives and Records Association, and the Library of Congress.
Advancing conservation and preservation techniques
Back in the UK, Lorraine put what she had learned into practice.
“I was being asked by different heritage institutions with photographic collections to help preserve or conserve their collections. Photographs will be in places you wouldn’t expect; not just albums, but in books, on mugs, postcards, jewellery – they are everywhere.”
Whilst Lorraine was in the USA, she was able to use some of the Fellowship grant to invest in resources to use in teaching conservation and preservation techniques, including reference books, and examples of historic photographic material.
Although Lorraine’s career has more recently taken a slightly different route, the knowledge and teaching materials she acquired during her month in the States have been invaluable in advancing the conservation and preservation of film, sound, and photographic materials in the UK.
"Since I took my Fellowship, it has never stopped giving. It has given me confidence, and, on a more practical level, the learning I gained has been invaluable in my work."
Where Lorraine led, others have followed, and the conservation and preservation of UK heritage is gaining prominence, thanks in part to television programmes like Hidden Treasures of the National Trust.
Lorraine’s focus is now on the natural environment, running LFCP, where she is able to combine her two passions – care of the planet with care for heritage – by working as a sustainability leader.
She still teaches, but now her topic is sustainability rather than bespoke photographic courses. However, she believes it was the Fellowship that gave her the skills and confidence she has drawn on in her subsequent career.
“Since I took my Fellowship, it has never stopped giving. It has given me confidence, and, on a more practical level, the learning I gained has been invaluable in my work.
“I still rave about the opportunity that the Fellowship gave me and have recommended it to many others. Several have gone on to become Fellows themselves.”