View source for Midwest Regional Conservation Guild

{{Infobox organization
| name          = Midwest Regional Conservation Guild
| image         = File:MRCG logo 2014.jpg
| established   = {{Start date|1980}}
| predecessor   = [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]] and [[Cleveland Museum of Art]]
| type          = Professional conservation association
| region_served = [[Midwestern United States]]
| membership    = over 100
| website       = {{URL|https://www.midwestconservation.org/}}
}}

The '''Midwest Regional Conservation Guild (MRCG)'''  is a [[Conservation Associations and Professional Organizations|professional conservation association]] in the [[Midwestern United States]].

==History==
[[File:MRCG 25.JPG|thumb|left|Members of the MRCG attending the 25th Annual Meeting in 2005 at the [[Indianapolis Museum of Art|IMA]]]]
The MRCG was formed in 1980 by [[art conservation]] and restoration professionals with the purpose of bringing together those individuals in the Midwest region (and beyond) interested in the preservation of [[History|historic]] and [[art]]istic works and to promote fellowship and exchange of ideas on a professional level.<ref>{{cite web|title=MRCG By-Laws|url=http://mrcg.wik.is/Officers'_Manual/LEGALITIES_PERTAINING_TO_THE_GUILD/By-Laws|accessdate=13 November 2010}}</ref>

The first meeting of the Guild was held at the [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]] (IMA) on Saturday, October 25, 1980.  Art conservation experts specializing in archive, painting, paper, object, and textile conservation from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio met that day to discuss conservation treatment issues, conservation techniques, and the "formation of an information network and cooperative disaster policy for the Midwest."<ref>{{cite news|last=Garmel|first=Marion|title=Art Conservators To Form Guild|newspaper=The Indianapolis News|date=October 24, 1980}}</ref>  (IMA) paintings conservator David Miller was the Guild's first president and presided over the first meeting of approximately 40 participants.  The program consisted of an organizational meeting, museum tours, and two slide presentations.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Chicago Area Conservation Group Newsletter|date=January 1981|volume=3|issue=1}}</ref>

The Guild was organized in recognition of the pressing concerns of "museum curators and private collectors alike to preserve great works of art against the ravages of time and the environment, as well as to uncover increasingly sophisticated forgeries."<ref>{{cite news|last=Garmel|first=Marion|title=Art Conservators To Form Guild|newspaper=The Indianapolis News|date=October 24, 1980}}</ref>

The original purpose and character of the guild was defined by six principles:
# The Guild should provide a framework for knowing other conservators and laboratories in our region.
# The Guild should provide informal exchange of ideas with our colleagues.
# The Guild should serve as a "problem solving forum."
# The Guild could accurately represent our needs to national level agencies.
# Meetings could be held twice a year, rotating geographic location.

==Meeting locations==
{{Main|List of meeting locations of the Midwest Regional Conservation Guild}}

For more than 30 years, the Guild has had annual meetings throughout the Midwest region, often at area [[museums]].  There have been at least 49 annual meetings in 12 different states.  The museums that have hosted the most meetings are:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" 
|+ '''Top museums that have hosted MRCG meetings'''
|-
! Name of museum !! Number of meetings hosted
|-
| [[Nelson-Atkins Museum]] || 3
|-
| [[Detroit Institute of Arts]] || 3
|-
| [[Cincinnati Art Museum]] || 4
|-
| [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] || 6
|-
| [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]] || 5
|}

==Publications==
Starting in 1981, the Midwest Regional Conservation Guild Newsletter has been published bi-annually, highlighting environmental news gathered around the Midwest.

In 1993, the MRCG began producing its Membership Directory, which appeared yearly until it became an online resource with updates every few months.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Midwest Regional Conservation Guild Newsletter|date=September 1993|volume=XIII|issue=2}}</ref>

==Organisation and Governance==

===Current MRCG Officers===
*President (2024): Richard McCoy 
*Vice President (2024): Melina Avery 
*Secretary (2024): Cuong Nyugen  
*Treasurer (2024): Allison Slenker 
*Newsletter Editor (2024): Ashlyn Oprescu

==See also==
* [[Art conservation and restoration]]
* [[Conservation Associations and Professional Organizations]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://themrcg.wordpress.com Midwest Regional Conservation Guild Website]

{{Cultural Conservation-Restoration |state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Conservation and restoration organizations]]
[[Category:Arts organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Heritage organizations]]
[[Category:Arts organizations established in 1980]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Culture of the Midwestern United States]]