Kristin Parker

Kristin Parker
Research Scholar
Cultural Heritage Preservation
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“After trying to save people’s lives, the next thing is to save people's reason for living." 
-Olsen Jean Julien, Haiti Recovery Project

I identify strategies that will preserve cultural heritage at risk. I'm certified as a trainer in First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAC) through the International Center for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property - ICCROM (Rome, IT) and the Smithsonian Institution’s Cultural Rescue Initiative (DC, USA), and have completed coursework related to the impact on communities from the looting of its cultural patrimony. I am a research associate with Brandeis University’s Peacebuilding and the Arts Program, with a focus on the role of heritage recovery in humanitarian settings. I have 20 years experience managing both contemporary and historic collections, artist projects and exhibitions. 

I've worked with many of the most well known museums around the world, and am equally committed to local and personal heritage that may not be located within the walls of a famous museum or library. Currently, I have partnered with the Syrian Heritage Archive to survey online community archives that have evolved through social media as a way to document heritage disrupted by war and conflict. Our goal is to build a digital repository to preserve this content for future researchers.

Article about my mission: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/15/how-war-shattered-aleppo-is-preserving-its-culture

CAREER SYNOPSIS
Boston Public Library | Lead Curator of the Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | Special Collections Archivist
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University | Interim Director<Deputy Director<Manager of the Collection
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | Archivist <Manager of the Collection
Consulting Partner: The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
Expert Member: UNESTeams (Roster of Experts, UNESCO)
Research Associate: The International Center for Ethics, Justice & Social Life, Brandeis University (USA) | Peacebuilding & the Arts with a focus on cultural heritage recovery in humanitarian settings. Head of cultural heritage working group for "IMPACT Imagining Together Initiative: A Platform for Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation - Designing a Global Infrastructure for the Field" (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation).
Founder: Citizen Archivist Training Scheme for the Protection of Refugee Records
Advisory Board Member: Northeast Document Conservation Center
Member: International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Committee of the Blue Shield, International Council on Archives (ICA)
Lecturer: How Can New Technologies Support Heritage in Emergencies? Culture Summit 2019, Abu Dhabi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m42OutuMAds

Contact Kristin at parkivist@gmail.com