Our staff are here to provide the highest quality art conservation and collections services. As the oldest, full-service art conservation laboratory in the country our clarion call is “Art Conservation for the Nation!"
We believe that BLACK LIVES MATTER!
Our staff brings the same commitment to quality to each and every project that comes through the doors at the PIVOT Center.
Each and every one of our conservators is an AIC Fellow, AIC Professional Associate, or active member of AIC. Our technicians and support staff bring a wide range of skills to the care and handling of material culture treasures.
No art piece is too large or too small for our conservators. We offer our customers the highest quality of care whether your bring us centuries-old painting or a family heirloom that needs some tender, loving care.
Mission Statement
ICA – Art Conservation (ICA) protects, preserves, and enriches our shared heritage of art and material culture through conservation, advocacy, and education.
ICA is a unique arts, culture, and education nonprofit that provides access to conservation expertise, knowledge, and skill for all stewards of material cultural through services and programs. As an educational nonprofit, ICA works with arts, culture, education, history, neighborhood, public, and private partners to make our communities stronger and more successful by educating about material culture and sharing the means to preserve works of art and other cultural treasures for people today and for future generations.
History
ICA, founded in Oberlin in 1952, was the nation’s first non-profit regional art conservation center.
Originally known as the Intermuseum Conservation Association, ICA was established by the directors of six major Midwestern museums in order to provide professional, high quality, and cost-effective art conservation services and specialized graduate level conservation education. ICA became the model used by the National Endowment for the Arts when it incentivized a network of similar centers across the United States in 1971. In 2003, ICA relocated to a newly renovated facility in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood to be closer to the population that it serves. In 2022 ICA moved from the historic Vitrolite building in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood to a new facility in the Pivot Center for Art, Dance, and Expression at 2937 W. 25th St., Cleveland, Ohio 44113.
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
ICA’s Racial Equity, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement
ICA’s mission is to preserve the corpus of human visual material culture — artistic, historic, scientific, and cultural – for all people today and in the future. Our work touches on objects born of all cultures, all times, all geographies, and all belief systems. It is imperative that ICA conduct its work within an environment that transcends any race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, age, veteran status, citizenship, immigration status, disability or protected class. All perspectives are relevant, vital, and welcome in the development and implementation of the best solutions to conserve and preserve our visual material culture.
Pre-Program Internships are required before students can apply to one of the five graduate programs in fine arts conservation in the North America. As projects allow, ICA periodically accepts a pre-program intern.
Please note: the ICA does not offer full-time pre-program internships. Interns generally work only a few hours each week in one of the conservation departments. No stipends or relocation assistance monies are available, but we will work with colleges and universities that provide students with internships for academic credit.