Welcome to the 58th season of the Washington Conservation Guild!

I moved to Washington DC for my third-year graduate student internship, and at that time I could not foresee that, six years later, this place would become my permanent home. The first WCG meeting I attended was about the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative. As a throwback, here is a link to my October 2018 meeting summary. I was very excited to be part of a local community, and looked forward to attending the in-person programs (since this was before the pandemic, virtual WCG programs did not yet exist). A few years later I joined the WCG Board as a 2021–2022 Director, and the following year I was elected as the 2022–2024 Vice President. Now I begin my term as President. I am thrilled to give back by serving the WCG membership, as well as cultivate new and ongoing relationships with the broader District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) communities.

The WCG Board is comprised of a wonderful group of new and returning volunteers who have spent the summer preparing for an excellent season ahead. Much of this heavy lifting has been handled by Christine Haynes, our new Vice President, who has coordinated speakers and venues for WCG’s forthcoming in-person and virtual programs. Please visit the Meeting Schedule webpage for a preview of those meetings, tours, workshops, and other events. To help fund these in-person events, WCG will be continuing the Sponsorship initiative that began in 2022. In-person tours and some other WCG events will be restricted to members, so if you know someone who may be interested in attending, please encourage them to join or renew. All members are also invited to follow WCG on Facebook www.facebook.com/WashingtonConservationGuild, Instagram @DCconservators, and YouTube @washingtonconservationguil2398.

A note for local emerging professionals and supervisors: 2024–2025 memberships are free to emerging professionals who are entering their first season as a WCG member, and they are also free to emerging professionals who actively volunteer on the Board. More details are available on the Membership & Renewal Application webpage. In addition, WCG will offer five Sidney S. Williston Memorial Fund awards for the 2024–2025 season. The official announcement will be released soon, so please share this news with any emerging professionals you know in DC, Baltimore, and the DMV, so they are aware of the Williston award and its benefits!

Last season, WCG also re-established its commitment to organizing its local Community Partnership Project (CPPs were paused for three years during the pandemic). This past April, WCG members volunteered to help with basic mold mitigation and rehousing of 245 memorial profiles of victims of police violence from the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence collection. An in-depth summary and photographs are available on the 2024 Community Partnership Project webpage. Looking forward to this upcoming season, WCG will be partnering with Naval Lodge No. 4 on a collections survey and rehousing project. If you want to visit the Naval Lodge before the 2025 CPP event, please mark your calendars for Saturday November 16th, as that site will also be the location of WCG’s Private Practice Seminar.

As I start to wrap things up, I welcome you to reach out to share what you want to see from WCG. You can send a letter to me directly at president@washingtonconservationguild.org or to the general mailbox at wcg@washingtonconservationguild.org. Please share your ideas or feedback about speakers, venues, member workshops, or outreach initiatives. WCG currently has open positions for volunteers, so we would love to hear if you want to learn more about one of the following opportunities: 

• DEAI Committee Member
• Meeting Logistics/Refreshments Coordinator
• Events Coordinator
• Social Media Team Member

I look forward to seeing you on September 7 for WCG’s member tour of the Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Garden! If you would like to attend with us, please remember to join/renew and RSVP for the tour by noon on August 30 using this Google form: Hillwood tour sign-up.

Cheers,

Keara Teeter (she/her)
President, Washington Conservation Guild
Meisel Conservator of Modern American Paintings, Smithsonian American Art Museum