About Us
Art Conservation Education
Founded in 2024
An International Platform for Advanced Training & Consultancy
Built upon over 25 years of master-level international practice in easel paintings conservation, Art Conservation Education is a mobile training and advisory platform operating at the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and advanced scientific analysis.
Instead of operating from a single fixed location, we bring specialised, high-level technical masterclasses directly to hosting institutions, private studios, and regional heritage hubs worldwide. We empower a global community of early-career conservators, professional practitioners, and museums with the hands-on confidence and scientific insights required to master complex treatments—offering targeted curricula in structural repair, advanced cleaning methods, filling, retouching, varnishing, and preventive conservation.
Facilitating global knowledge exchange and heritage preservation since 2024.
Our Story
Art Conservation Education was born from a simple observation made across decades of international practice: the most impactful learning happens directly at the easel, within active studio environments. Specialist knowledge in paintings conservation shouldn't be confined to a single geographic hub or institution.
We established this platform to bring high-level learning experiences directly to you. Operating without a fixed central studio, Art Conservation Education is entirely mobile. We deliver specialized workshops, intensive training programmes, and masterclasses hosted at established conservation studios and heritage venues globally.
This model relies on a seamless collaboration: our international host venues provide the physical space and often coordinate local financial arrangements, while Art Conservation Education delivers the technical content. By traveling directly to these venues, we eliminate logistical strain, minimise overhead costs, and actively promote sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint of group travel. Whether adapting to a specific institutional collection or addressing the unique skills gap of a local community, we work closely with our hosts to customise every workshop to their precise needs.
By bridging the gap between studio craftsmanship and material science on-site, we provide both emerging professionals and established institutions with the real-world competencies needed to preserve cultural heritage for the future.
Meet The Founder
Kate seymour
Founder & Director
Professional Interests
I am deeply passionate about the preservation of cultural heritage and have dedicated over two decades to advancing both the science and practical craft of paintings conservation. My career seamlessly bridges high-level academic theory with real-world studio practice. Prior to establishing Art Conservation Education, I spent 25 years as the Head of Education at SRAL in the Netherlands, training a generation of global conservators, and nearly twenty years lecturing in material science and conservation disciplines at the University of Amsterdam and Maastricht University. My technical expertise focuses on the structural treatment of canvas and panel paintings, complex cleaning, and image reintegration. Having directed major international training initiatives supported by the Getty and Mellon Foundations—spanning Europe, India, Latin America, and beyond—my true focus lies in decentralizing specialist knowledge. I designed this mobile platform to equip emerging and mid-career professionals with precise, research-informed competencies, fostering an international, collaborative environment where practitioners gain the hands-on confidence required to safeguard cultural treasures for future generations.
"Deeply committed to shaping global policy and upholding the highest standards of professional development, I actively serve on the international stage as the Chair of the ICOM Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) and as a Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation (IIC). My practice is further anchored by active memberships in the British Association of Paintings Conservator-Restorers (BAPCR), the Institute of Conservation (ICON), and Restauratoren Nederland."
