Experience Report: from Taiwan to Maastricht
SRAL offers internship placements to conservation students. Every year we select applicants who come to our studio for a training periode of three to six months. Most of the internships are related to ERASMUS programms. However, last winter we hosted two students from outside of Europe, namely Taiwan.
Pei-Ting and Yin-Chin, two graduate students majoring in the Conservation of Easel Paintings and Wooden Objects in the department of Conservation of Cultural Relics and Museology, Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA) spend 4 months at our studio.
Here is what they say about their internship at SRAL:
"Hello, I am Pei-Ting, I interned in the SRAL painting department from September to December 2022. SRAL is a great team, I feel welcomed from the start and happy to meet people from different countries, everyone is friendly and kind.
Some treatment considerations here made me feel very excited sometimes, for example, when wetting the canvas, extra tension must be applied to protect the canvas from sudden shrinkage and deformation. I enjoyed the discussion with Joanna Strombek (paintings conservator) and my classmate Yin-Chin every time before treatments. Thanks to Joanna for always patiently explaining all the aspects and details.
In addition, practical courses from Kate Seymour (paintings conservator and educator) about chemistry, adhesion, and cleaning are very practical and useful. I tried a lot of materials that I haven’t used before and understood more about the differences between various conservation materials.
The Solvent Star and Tissue Gel methods from SRAL are also very handy methods for us, I am very much looking forward to trying this method on painting in Taiwan. Many thanks to SRAL, I will always remember this wonderful internship time."
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“Hi, I'm Yin-Chin and I've spent an internship of 4 months at SRAL, together with my classmate Pei_Ting.
Learning new things is fun! I am so glad to have had the possibility to learn the materials and methods used at SRAL, including how to use the Solvent Star and the Tissue Gel method for solvent testing and varnish removal.
During the internship, SRAL conservators explained how and why to choose certain materials and methods. They also elaborated on the harmfulness of solvents for our health and environment. This gave me a deep understanding of conservation ethics, including topics as reversibility and minimal intervention. This particularly, let me feel that theory is so close to the reality of our practical work!
The people I met at SRAL are so kind! They were generous in sharing so much information and resources about conservation. And they helped us a lot with sorting out how to apply for a visa to the Netherlands.
The oversea internship is a rare experience that I will never forget.”
Thank you for your dedication and sharing insights about your study programme in Taiwan. This was a very enriching experience, also for us.
