Saturday at the de Young: 2025 BAACG Annual Business Meeting and Tour

On Saturday, August 23rd, the Bay Area Conservation Guild’s 2025 Annual Business meeting was graciously hosted by the Conservation Department of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco at the de Young Museum. Organized with the help of objects conservator Céline Chrétien, the Guild members first gathered for food, drink and a chance to catch up with friends and meet new members. The meeting included an overview of events from the past year, election results, and a walk down memory lane led by Candis Griggs, BAACG President, who presented articles, pamphlets, and announcements from the BAACG archives to celebrate 50 years of Guild history! After the meeting, the attendees were led up to the Conservation Labs where the team of conservators and conservation interns presented current projects that included the treatment of a large François Boucher painting, lining removal of a large tapestry, a deep dive into the identification of the feathers on a Papua New Guinea headdress, the exploration of Teotihuacan mural fragments, examination of a painted plaster sculpture by John Rogers, and shared insights into the cleaning and mounting challenges of 2 Charles Henri Joseph Cordier sculptures. The Guild is incredibly grateful for the generosity of Jane Williams, (Head of Conservation), Céline Chrétien (Objects Conservator), Elise Effman Clifford (Head of Paintings Conservation), Abigail Rodriguez (Objects Conservator) and Rene Ringer (Conservation Intern) for taking time out of their busy schedules and for coming to work on a Saturday to give us an up close look at their engaging projects. After the tour, the members were then invited to explore the exhibition: Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-1964: Eyes of the Storm (recently extended through October 5, 2025) where we found ourselves swept back in time to the early days of Beatle-mania. For more information on current exhibitions please visit: https://www.famsf.org/visit/de-young.

Thank you to all the members who joined us for the annual meeting. As always, it was wonderful to see you and catch up. Our membership has grown over the last year and we are incredibly grateful for the engagement and sharing of ideas. With so many changes in our current political and social realms and insight into how our cultural heritage communities and colleagues are being impacted, the BOD is always discussing what we as an organization can do to help. Meetings and events always serve as a place of positive exchange, thoughtful discussions, networking, and inspiration. Thank you for your membership and support. We are listening and are open to any ideas or suggestions that help and support our cultural heritage community!

News for BAACG’s next event!!!  Join us on Saturday, October 25th @ 11am!!

For those who could not attend the meeting, the BOD discussed ideas for upcoming events and announced our invitation to put on your hiking shoes and join us for a walking tour of Andy Goldsworthy's land art installations located in the San Francisco Presidio. Members, family and friends are welcome to participate in this 2.7 mile walking tour featuring; Earth Wall, Spire, Wood Line and Tree Fall. Driving the tour is also an option!  We will begin at the Presidio Officer's Club at 11 am and finish at Tree Fall. After the walking tour, guests are encouraged to socialize and get a bite to eat at the Presidio Pop Up food trucks located at the Main Parade Lawn. For more information and to RSVP see https://www.baacg.org/event-details/andy-goldsworthy-presidio-walking-tour

Hope to see you there!