Mathilde Van Dalen is a full-time student at ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels, Belgium where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in conservation-restoration of ceramic and glass objects. She is currently in the first year of her postgraduate degree in the same subject. Mathilde worked for freelance conservators and restorers in Belgium in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 she successfully completed a summer placement at the Royal Memorial Museum in Exeter, England, where she gained valuable experience by contributing to diverse projects. Her special interest in archaeological ceramic conservation makes her a valuable asset to our summer conservation intern team. Mathilde is grateful and excited to work at the INSTAP SCEC and hopes with her internship to expand her knowledge and hone her skills in the specialized field of archaeological conservation. Seen below, Mathilde conserves a cup for the Anetakis Project.
Mackenzie Fairchild is a rising third year graduate fellow specializing in Objects and Preventive Conservation at Winterthur’s Program in Art Conservation at the University of Delaware. Throughout her career, Mackenzie has worked in the conservation departments at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, and private practices in Chicago, Illinois. Mackenzie loves caring for objects that hold meaning for a person or culture and sustaining the stories that connect them through preservation. She was excited to gain more experience thinking through the complex needs of archaeological collections like those at the INSTAP Study Center. Mackenzie is pictured here in the first steps of assembling a large storage vessel. 