In June 2025 the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Textile Conservation Centre (TCC) was celebrated with an international conference.

The culmination of many years of passionate and determined work by Karen Finch OBE, the move was the beginning of formal education for textile conservators in the UK and was the first postgraduate course in this specialism internationally. Whilst the physical location and name have changed, the training retains its original strong and focused purpose: to educate textile conservators in a dynamic and professional teaching, practice and research environment.

The conference was designed to both celebrate and assess the diversity, maturity and creativity of the textile conservation profession. It provided a forum for former and current students to gather, reflect on the positive impact of the profession over the past five decades, reconnect with peers, and foster new relationships.

The conference attracted attendees from around the world – with 110 delegates who attended in person at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, and a further 80 joining online (see images below). Notably, a significant proportion (65%) of the delegates were alumni of the TCC in its various incarnations, including alumni from both the late 1970s to 2024 and from Alaska to Puerto Rico and Edinburgh to Australia. There were 34 papers delivered and over 20 posters presented.

The two days were broken down into three sessions: the History of Practice, Collaborations and Training, overall focussing on how textile conservation treatment processes and procedures have changed and improved over the years. Subjects included the evolution of x-ray on textiles, early thinking on approaches to cleaning, sharing knowledge across disciplines in Peru, and responding to destruction of textile objects in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. The last sessions were looking forward to the future – internships and the future of training, working collaboratively between institutions and also across borders, but also the evolution of adhesives, the potential threat of climate change and the response needed by conservation.

An open access publication is in preparation, giving the conference a permanent legacy.

The TCF contributed to the conference by financially supporting the attendance of students and emerging professionals who graduated within the past year. They also presented a poster at a dedicated stand, highlighting the achievements of the charity since 1975 and underscored the enormous and global impact of its work.