Conservation is a field at the intersection of art and science, requiring practitioners to have knowledge through both lenses. In this Barkcloth Conservation Workshop, we invite our special guest, Mimi Leveque, a trained archaeologist and lifelong conservator, who is an amazing and knowledgeable educator with extensive cross-cultural work experience. She worked for over twenty years at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. In particular, she has worked with hundreds of historic bark cloths as part of the Bark Cloth Relocation Project at PEM.

In this workshop, you will observe and experience some simple hands-on learning of two primary approaches to barkcloth treatment - humidification and mending. This workshop is open and welcome to people with any level of knowledge and experience in textile conservation, passion is the most important thing!

Mimi Leveque is a conservator of objects and textiles with a special interest in indigenous organic materials and archaeological objects. Since 2021, she has been working on the Pacific Barkcloth Project at the Peabody Essex Museum, to conserve, document, and rehouse the collection of over 900 barkcloth objects. She has been on staff as conservator at the Peabody Essex Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, as well as consulting for many museums and cultural institutions as the director ArchaeaTechnica Art Conservation Services.

Mimi received an M.A.C. in objects and textile conservation in 1978 from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and an M.A. in Western Asiatic Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology (now University College), University of London, UK. She has done archaeological field conservation in such far-flung places as Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Italy, Peru, and England.