The Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants scheme has got off to a great start. After the first two application rounds for 2017 a total of 21 grants have been awarded, enabling conservators from 21 different institutions or private practices to attend courses and conferences to develop their skills, knowledge and networks.

Among the CPD events the grantees are attending are:

• The American Institute for Conservation’s 45th annual meeting, Chicago
• “Peculiar, rare and strange – challenges in object conservation” the first joint conference of VdR groups, Germany
• Archaeology, Ethnography and Artist Crafts at Bauhaus University
• Historic Book Structures for Conservators, Winterthur Museum
• ICOM-CC Triennial “Linking past with future”, Copenhagen
• Taxidermy Conservation Workshop, Rotherham
• 2nd Vatican Coffin Conference, Rome
• Framing techniques and microclimate enclosures for panel paintings, Maastricht
• The Natural Sciences Collections Association 2017 Conference, Cambridge

The next deadlines for applications are June 5th and September 14th.  Full details and application forms can be found by following  this link.