Four students at the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts have returned from summer sojourns to study at top heritage conservation schools in Europe.
Claire Brinkworth and Bailey Sprenger attended Messors in Italy while classmates Julia Hodgson and Michael Salvage went to the King’s Foundation Summer School at Dumfries House in Scotland thanks to $10,000 scholarships from the Humeniuk Foundation.
In Italy, Brinkworth and Sprenger gained practical hands-on experience in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage, frescoes and fine art.
And in Scotland, Hodgson and Salvage studied at the stunning Dumfries House, highlighting vernacular and regenerative approaches to building.
The scholarships, which covered tuition, travel and modest living costs, were made possible by a $200,000 investment by the Humeniuk Foundation as part of a five-year program for the Queenston school.
All four students have returned with a deeper perspective and appreciation of heritage and gratitude for the people who shared their traditional crafts with them.
Of her experience at Messors, Brinkworth said, “This trip is a time in my life that I will truly cherish and remember forever. It was honestly the best month of my life.”
“The Messors program is an experience that I wish everyone could do at least once in their lives.”
She particularly enjoyed the lectures, especially on iconography, and the site visits across southern Italy. The experience broadened her perspective on conservation worldwide and provided clarity on career possibilities as a conservationist.
That’s exactly what Andrew Humeniuk, executive director of the Humeniuk Foundation and the Brown Homestead in St. Catharines, hoped the scholarship would create.
“In our experience, the summer schools allow them invaluable access to additional perspectives and knowledge that benefit them in their careers and are also shared with their peers, Willowbank and the heritage sector itself,” he said.
Sprenger was equally inspired by the experience at Messors and its global instructors and colleagues, noting it was an all-encompassing, immersive experience that combined history, beauty, culture and conservation.
“I walk away from the Messors experience with a changed perspective on heritage: that materials need to be preserved, not only because of aesthetics, but for their value,” she said.
And also “for the understanding they provide, not only because they are part of the past. Conservation is part of the future.”
Now entering her third year at Willowbank, she has a renewed approach to the career in heritage that she plans to pursue.
“I will approach new projects with an openness and mindfulness of the inherent value I may not recognize at first glance,” she said.
“Remembering that my work is a part of a larger story, I will do my best to make my part a respectful, sensitive one.”
Creating and learning was also at the heart of the King’s Foundation program, which emphasized that tradition exists within the ideas and lived experiences of craftspeople more than physical examples of their work, Hodgson said.
“I feel very grateful to my instructors for their willingness to share their experiences, formulas and life’s work.”
Willowbank president Dr. Faisal Arain said the Humeniuk Scholarship has enabled students access to world-class heritage training, thereby adding yet another layer to the Willowbank experience and broadening the depth of knowledge from the diploma program.
Students return to campus next week and eagerly anticipate enjoying the presentations from all four students who travelled to Europe.
