Get involved with Icon

Opportunities to write for Icon or engage with our specialist groups and committees

Write for Icon

You don't need to be an Icon member to write for our publications! We are keen to hear from conservators, heritage scientists, academics, students and volunteers. When you share your successes, news stories, policy insights, and the energy and time you put into each, it gives us the raw material we need to promote conservation to the widest possible audience – pushing public awareness of what conservators do, and why it’s so important.

If you have a story or an interesting project you want to share with the conservation community and with the public, you can:

Write for the Icon website

We regularly feature conservation news and stories on our website to showcase the impact of conservation to the public. Email Geanina Beres (Communications Officer) with your idea at [email protected]

Write for Icon's Magazine

Icon's magazine is published quarterly and covers the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage in the UK and abroad. Each issue contains in-depth features alongside popular regulars such as news, updates from Icon’s specialist Groups and Networks, business advice, career spotlights, interviews, public affairs and policy, and much more.

If you would like to submit a news item or article, please email editor Karen Young, giving a brief overview of what you would like to contribute.

What can be submitted?

We welcome suggestions but typical submissions include:

Articles on recent initiatives, special treatments or interesting projects
Icon Group and Network news/updates
Information about upcoming awards, funding and internships
Member success stories – awards, media coverage or other forms of recognition.

Top tips

Read previous copies of Iconnect magazine, to get a feel for the kind of article you would like to contribute.
Think about the readership - not all Icon readers are practising conservators. Those who are cover a wide range of specialisms. Make the article as accessible as possible and do not recycle a dissertation or project/treatment report because it will read like one.
Keep it concise – keep to the point and make every word count.
High-quality images really help to make an article or news item stand out and grab the reader’s attention (please see more guidance below under ‘images’).
Footnotes, references or bibliographies should be avoided or kept to an absolute minimum – Iconnect magazine is not an academic journal.
If in doubt, shout – run your idea past Iconnect magazine’s editor, Karen, before you start working on a contribution.

Word count

News items (including Icon Group/Network news and Improv): 200-300 words

Features: 400-500 words per page 

Images

Please send images as separate email attachments. If you are supplying more than two images, please send via WeTransfer or similar. JPEGs or TIFFs are the preferred format and all images for print should be high-resolution (preferably 1MB+). It is important that you have obtained any relevant permissions, licences and/or picture credits for images supplied.

Write for the Journal

The Journal of the Institute of Conservation invites contributions from all those involved in the conservation of cultural heritage and related activities.

Areas of interest include:

Understanding cultural heritage materials and their degradation;
Subject reviews and histories of cultural heritage materials and conservation treatments;
New, innovative or improved approaches to conservation and collections care theory, practice, communication, management and training;
Conservation in its wider context

If you would like to write for the Journal, email the editor Jonathan Kemp to discuss your proposal or, after consulting the Instructions for Authors, submit your full article using our online system.

Speak at an Event

Icon and its special interest Groups and Networks run an extensive programme of events.

If you'd like to be a speaker at one of our future events, contact us - we're keen to hear ideas. Some options include:

talks (e.g. discussing a case study)
workshops (e.g. running a business)
present a paper or project at a conference

Become a Trustee

Icon’s trustees are responsible for shaping our vision and mission and for approving and monitoring our annual business plan.

Fundraise for Icon

Donations can help Icon make a real impact in promoting conservation and protecting our precious cultural heritage. Our membership fees cover less than 50% of our costs. We rely on donations and bequests in addition to generating income through events and advertising. Contact us if you want to find out more.

You can set up your own fundraiser to fundraise for Icon by clicking on the 'Fundraise for this charity' button on our Crowdfunder page here. You can download the Crowdfunder fundraising pack here.

If you are an Icon member:

Stand for a Group Committee Role

Many members report being part of a group committee as a rewarding experience. Members get involved to learn new skills, broaden personal and professional networks, and to give something back to the profession.

Keep an eye on the Groups' webpages and Iconnects for any vacancies - or contact the committee directly. The Group commitee roles are Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Events Officer and Social Media Officer.

Mentoring

Icon's Student Mentor Programme is offering 25 students or recent graduates the chance for 1-to-1 support from an experienced Icon conservator. You can volunteer to mentor a student for 6 months, with meetings taking place online. This is flexible and you can meet how often you want. Read more about the programme here.

Icon's Pathway Mentor Programme offers support to Pathway members working towards accreditation. Find out more here.

Accreditation Committee

The role of the Accreditation Committee (AC) is to ascertain whether an applicant is awarded ACR status.

The AC meets twice per year (May and November). The AC is formed of a Chair, Three Vice Chairs and Ordinary members each representing a different conservation specialism. When positions become vacant an open selection process is run to recruit new volunteer members to join the committee. Find out more here.