AISEES award for participation in the Balkan Heritage Foundation project”

This year we have the first AISEES (American Institute for Southeast European Studies) scholarship in the Balkan Heritage Field School, awarded to Juniper Blue (an Anthropology major at University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale). She took part in the Balkan Heritage Field School project “Workshops for Interventive & Preventive Conservation of Metal, Paper and Textiles” in Zakynthos, Greece.   

Here is what she shared about her experience in the project:

“The Balkan Heritage Field School Workshop for Interventive and Preventive Conservation of Metal, Paper, and Textiles was an amazing and inversive experience. Each week held a mix of lectures and hands on experience, a good way for any time of learned to pick up the material. Each week was taught

by a different specialist. Each one a wonder to work with. Each week came with field trips to view exhibits and actively discuss what we learned by looking at local artifacts. We learned proper procedure and got to try out different types of interventive conservation on a mix of artifacts. Different kinds of tests and samples were used each week from chemical to mechanical. We also went over proper procedure for each step and how to record our process. Information was presented and explained in a way that allowed for someone with no experience in the field to understand without boring those who may understand certain concepts already. I came home with practical knowledge and experience. We also went over and looked at how to do preventative conservation, including making proper storage items. The whole workshop was a well rounded experience on a beautiful island with plenty of down time on the weekends to recoup and explore before the new week.”

The AISEES scholarship is going to be available again next year with the BHFS projects!