In January, we welcome the 2019 Isabel Bader Fellow and Graduate Intern in Textile Conservation and Research for their four-month residency. The Fellow, Vanessa Nicholas, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Visual Art and Art History at York University, with an MA from Courtauld Institute of Art and a BFA from Queen’s University. Graduate Intern Lorna Rowley holds an MPhil in Textile Conservation from the Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History, University of Glasgow, and a BA in the History of Art and Design from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, with a specialty in embroidery.

Their project will focus on the environmental history and ecological significance of late nineteenth-century wedding dresses and bridal accessories in the Queen’s University Collection of Canadian Dress. They will be working with the textile collection in our vaults and in the Master of Art Conservation (MAC) Program labs, and will offer talks and workshops: watch for notices of these events.

Since 2011, this rare biennial program has supported the study, care and treatment of Canadian historical costume and textiles, linking two unique resources at Queen’s University: the Collection of Canadian Dress at Agnes Etherington Art Centre and the Master of Art Conservation Program, Canada’s only graduate degree in conservation theory and treatment.