UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage welcomes Anya Dani as Director of Community Engagement and Inclusive Practice / Lecturer in Cultural Heritage Conservation

UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage welcomes Anya Dani as Director of Community Engagement and Inclusive Practice / Lecturer in Cultural Heritage Conservation.

In addition to research and teaching, Ms. Dani will help the Program develop partnerships and perform advocacy in the field. The impetus for the position is to expand our network of partners and institutions to include African American communities and to expand our own capacity to teach cultural heritage conservation in an inclusive manner. This includes working with community members, scholars, students, and collecting institutions associated with African American culture and history, and conducting outreach to attract more diverse students to the field. These activities will all aid in the preservation of African American material culture, which has historically been overlooked. The position also includes advocating for social justice in cultural heritage and expanding African American representation in the field of conservation.

Anya Dani is an objects conservator who incorporates social responsibility into her work and strives to end systemic racism in the cultural heritage conservation field. She received both a BA and MS in art conservation from the University of Delaware and has more than twenty years of experience working in the cultural heritage sector. She is currently working on a one-year Conservation Survey grant at the Stanford University Archaeology Collections, supported by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, where she is incorporating cultural sensitivity and sustainable practices alongside condition documentation. She is also the current co-chair of the American Institute for Conservation’s Equity & Inclusion Committee and a co-founder of Black Art Conservators. Previously, Ms. Dani spent almost ten years at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Okinawa, Japan where she established an Art Conservation Program that partnered with local museums and artists on the conservation of Okinawa’s unique cultural heritage. She began her community-centered work at the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

The position is funded through a grant from the Getty Foundation, with additional support from the UCLA Social Science Division, the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program, and individual donors.