Ela Keyserlingk: textile conservator

09/15/21 • 54 min

Ela Keyserlingk is a retired textile conservator who worked at CCI from 1976 to 1997. Originally from Germany, it was love that first brought Ela to Canada, but it was curiosity and determination that led her to an internship opportunity at CCI, which blossomed into an exciting career. In this episode, you will hear Ela tell us what it was like to work on some of Canada’s most important textile objects.

Previous Episode

Peter Homulos: founder of the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), 1972-1992

Peter Homulos recounts how he went from being a geology student to a director of the National Inventory Programme, the precursor of the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), all before he was 30 years old. The mandate of the Programme was to maintain the records of Canada’s cultural properties, but it evolved into creating a computerized inventory of collections to facilitate the sharing of information. It was also responsible for research and development on information management, collections documentation standards and collections management systems. From a modern perspective, it is difficult to convey how groundbreaking and even controversial this initiative was.