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Sara Bisi joined BACC in November of 2019 as the organization's Associate Conservator of Paper. Her diverse background in art conservation and collections care was gained by working with both large institutions, such as the Yale Center for British Art and the Harvard Art Museums, and smaller regional centers like the Williamstown Art Conservation Center and the Northeast Document Conservation Center.
She earned an M.A. in Art Conservation from SUNY Buffalo State College with advanced study in paper conservation and a B.A. in Art History from Saint Joseph College. Bisi held post-graduate positions as a research associate in paper conservation at the Yale Center for British Art and was awarded the Craigen W. Bowen fellowship in paper conservation at the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at the Harvard Art Museums in 2010. Her areas of interest and previous research include the analysis of color printing methods and materials before 1800, the development and analysis of an iodine vapor treatment for silver mirroring on photographs, and teaching workshops and courses on general collections care and preventive conservation practices. Here we learn more about her thoughts on being a conservator, favorite projects worked on to date, and more. BACC staff have returned to Balboa Park!
We are conducting business as usual while following city, state--and a few of our own--new protocols that ensure the safety of our staff and our clients. Because of this, our artwork intake process has changed and our preliminary consults are now handled remotely via phone or video call. Learn more about that process on our "Getting Started" page. FUNDS WILL SUPPORT CHANGES NEEDED AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 HEALTH CRISIS  The Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC) has received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act grant in the amount of $52,417. BACC, the region’s only art conservation center, is one of just 317 organizations to receive funding out of 2,333 eligible applications throughout the country. As well, it is the only organization in San Diego to be awarded this CARES Act grant. The funds awarded will support the development of innovative tools, practices, and procedures at BACC, namely cross-training art conservators and implementing a virtual pre-examination program for art objects so that staff can pivot to provide programming and services during the COVID-19 health pandemic. Associate Conservator of Paper Sara Bisi cross-trains Assistant Conservator of Paintings Morgan Wylder on a float hinge technique and how to attach the hinge to the art and backboard of a piece.  If you've had art treated at the Balboa Art Conservation Center you've probably met Emma Poggioli. As BACC's registrar and administrative assistant Poggioli is usually the first and last person our clients see.
Poggioli earned her graduate degree in public history at the University at Albany and a bachelor’s degree in history at the State University of New York at Oswego. Before she left for the west coast, she worked at the Albany County Hall of Records, the Safe Haven Museum, and the Storm King Art Center, all in New York. After landing in San Diego she worked as a visitor engagement associate at the San Diego History Center before joining the Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC). Here Emma shares her thoughts on what it’s like to work at BACC and be in a role that directly supports art conservation.  Erick Gude has been on the staff of the Balboa Art Conservation Center since 2001. As a conservation technician and photographer, his primary duties include photography, reframing, art handling, and conservation of frames. Before landing at the Center, he had worked for the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Terra Museum of Art in Chicago, the Musée d’Art Americain in Giverny, France, and the San Diego Museum of Art.
Here he shares some insights on what it’s like to work at BACC, and working in the field of art conservation, in general. Before she completed an Andrew Mellon Fellowship at BACC, Morgan Wylder worked as the NEH Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, having already earned her graduate degree in Conservation of Easel Paintings from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. During graduate school, Morgan interned at the Regional Laboratory for the Science of Cultural Heritage Conservation, Portland State University, and the paintings conservation department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Her current areas of interest include the conservation of Modern and Contemporary paintings and mixed media artworks, materials and techniques of 20th century California painters, and helping artists to better understand materials to support their artistic practice. Now an Assistant Conservator of Paintings at BACC, she shares some thoughts on what it’s like to be an art conservator.
BACC was thrilled to serve as a key partner in The Edward S. Curtis Orotone Conservation Project at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in San Diego. MOPA holds 175 Curtis images in its permanent collection and 13 of those are unique orotone prints that were contained in original mounting material from the early 1900s. Although the orotone photographic prints themselves are in fair-to-good condition, issues with frame damage, dirt, and fear of further harm prevented MOPA from loaning and exhibiting them. After securing a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project, MOPA looked to BACC to restore this collection to its near-original condition. Now an Assistant Conservator of Paintings at BACC, Bianca Garcia first landed at the Center as a Mellon Fellow in Paintings Conservation. Her areas of interest include pre-19th century paintings, Spanish Colonial art, and polychrome sculptures. When she is not conserving art at BACC, she serves as the Program Manager for the Andrew W. Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation, an initiative that supports opportunities for students who are from backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in the conservation field. Learn more about Garcia as she answers five questions about being an art conservator:  In light of the current circumstances with the continuously evolving COVID-19 outbreak, these have been postponed until further notice. We look forward to getting back on schedule as soon as we can safely and responsibly do so. Learn How BACC Can Preserve and Repair Important Documents, Beloved Works of Art, and More!
The clinics are as follows:
BACC’s art conservators are experts in their field and have access to the latest conservation technology. Over the course of a 30-minute consultation, they will discuss your concerns, assess your artwork, and recommend ways they can help preserve the artwork and/or bring it back to its former glory. Consultations are open to the public, but an RSVP is required. Unsure of which consultation clinic to bring your work to? Staff will help determine the right fit. Please call 619-236-9702 or email info@bacc.org for questions or to reserve your spot. The cost is $75 for each session. Alexis has been with BACC since her third-year internship in 1998. In addition to treating paintings and painted objects, she is involved with the technical examination of paintings at BACC, including infrared reflectography, X-radiography, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and cross-section microscopy. Here she answers five questions about being a conservator:  |
