Lucy Welsh

“I like to think of conservators as doctors, but for things instead of people. I get to study and diagnose an object, assess its history, its significance, where it has been stored, and formulate a treatment plan to get it to a stable and healthy state.”

Lucy has over ten years’ experience working in cultural heritage in Victoria and New South Wales. After graduating from a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Geography, Environmental Science and Australian Archaeology from Monash University, Lucy went on to gain a Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation from University of Melbourne, for which she as awarded first class honours. Throughout her studies, she amassed an impressive portfolio of work, including digital reconstruction of at-risk objects and valuable relationships built from collaborative rock-art conservation.

Lucy has worked in both the public and private sector of cultural heritage management, and has a breadth of experience in project management, senior leadership, stakeholder engagement, Traditional Owner consultation, collections management, conservation, and a detailed understanding of Victorian Heritage Legislation. She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Cultural Materials Conservation (AICCM), and her research on the conservation of rock-art at Gariwerd has been published in the AICCM Journal.

Lucy specialises in the conservation of archaeological material, objects, and textiles, as well as environmental control and preventive conservation. She is particularly passionate about culturally appropriate conservation techniques and finding the best approach to conservation rather than the most scientific.