Melody Chen, 25, is all excited about Art Conservation, the degree course that she is presently following in her homeland, America. “Art Conservation is about the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. It includes activities like examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care of paper, paintings, objects,etc. All of these are, of course, supported by research and education,” she says. 

Art Conservation is no less than a passion for Melody. “When treating an object, you're actually trying to uncover the history of the object. The kind of secrets you're trying to unveil, may it be secrets of the artist or secrets of the work of art, it's just fascinating,” she says. According to her, an art conservator can appreciate the art work just like the creator, and his audience did years ago. “You holistically understand what the object is about. The latter, being untainted by any kind of opinion makes of the experience a very rewarding one,”says Melody.

At this she recalls the course she had followed in Asian paintings conservation. “The Chinese paintings on which I had worked made me feel that there was more to it. I felt as  I was doing something for my ancestors, my culture and my parents (the latter being of Taiwanese origin),” says Melody. She is glad that Americans are beginning to think of other cultures, and are actually taking initiatives to preserve history. “For the past 4-5 years, Art Conservation has become a recurrent theme in prominent newspapers like New York Times. The terms 'conservation', 'conservators' are very much heard of in the US,” she says.

It is with much zeal and aspiration that the young lady will be starting her third and final year in Art Conservation. She will be practising at Asian Art Conservation Studio Museum of Fine Arts, at Boston, next September.

Presently in Mauritius, Melody is working at the National Library. She has, amidst other activities, conducted a two-day workshop where she taught the staff the correct way of handling books, amidst others. “The preservation of books forms an integral part of art conservation. As such it is important to know how to handle them,”she says.

Today, Art Conservation holds unwavering importance in the life of Melody. Her candidature being rejected the first time she applied for the course at the university had but ignited that desire to know more and to gain more maturity about the topic. “Two years later, having a much better passion for this field, I reapplied to the university. I came to understand that it was not just about absorbing what I learn, but to give away what I learn. I develo-ped much confidence in myself and that its perhaps how I bagged a seat at the  Buffalo State College,” she says.