CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
State University of New York Buffalo State University, Buffalo, NY
M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Study in Art Conservation
Scripps College, Claremont, CA
B.A. Art Conservation
CONSERVATION EXPERIENCE
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
Objects Conservation Fellow, September 2024 - present
Glenstone, Potomac, MD
Conservation Fellow, September 2022 - August 2024
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY
Graduate Objects Conservation Intern, September 2021 - August 2022
Modern Art Conservation, New York, NY
Conservation Intern, Summer 2022
Whyrta Contemporary Art Conservation, New York, NY
Conservation Intern, Summer 2022
Page Conservation, Inc., Washington, DC
Paintings Conservation Technician, June 2017 - 2019
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
Conservation Intern, October 2016 - June 2017
Memoria Technica, Seattle, WA
Conservation Intern, September 2015 - October 2016
Aneta Zebala Paintings Conservation, Santa Monica, CA
Conservation Intern, Summer 2015
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Objects Conservation Intern, Summer 2014
SELECT PRESENTATIONS
Nurmi, Kaela, "Syringes to Neon: Conservation of Two Charlotte Moorman Cello Sculptures,” New England Conservation Association (NECA) Biennial, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, September 2025
Nurmi, Kaela, Reilly Jensen, Marie D. Desrochers, and Stephanie Guidera, “Alf Engen Ski Museum Gets a Lift,” AIC Annual Meeting, Textile Specialty Group, May 2025
Nurmi, Kaela, “Uncovering the Layered Past: Analysis and Treatment of a 6th Century Haniwa,” Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation (ANAGPIC) Annual Conference, Lightning Round, April 2025
Nurmi, Kaela, “Bones, Epoxy, and Cotton Balls, Oh My!: The Treatment of Two Thornton Dial Artworks,” AIC Annual Meeting, Objects Specialty Group, Salt Lake City 2024
Nurmi, Kaela, Nick Ecker, and Elisse Brautigam, “Blinking Outside the Box: The Treatment of Sol LeWitt’s Wall Structure in Nine Parts, Each Containing a Work of Art by Other Artists, 1963,” AIC Annual Meeting, Contemporary Art Network (CAN!), May 2024
Nurmi, Kaela and Fiona Beckett, “When Doing Nothing is Best for the Future: Analysis and Conservation of Louise Nevelson’s Dawn’s Image, Night,” AIC Annual Meeting, Objects Specialty Group, Los Angeles 2022
Nurmi, Kaela, “Material Analysis and Conservation Treatment of Louise Nevelson’s sculpture Dawn’s Image, Night,” ANAGPIC, April 2022
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), Chair (2024-2025), Vice Chair (2023-2024), Outreach Co- Officer (2021-2023)
Contemporary Art Network (CAN!), Communications Chair (2023 –2025)
Materials Working Group, contributor (2020)
Washington Conservation Guild (WCG)
Social Media Coordinator (2022-2023)
Intern & Fellow Coordinator (2018-2019)
Voice in Contemporary Art (VoCA)
Image Description & Alt-text Writer (2020 – 2021)
Connecting to Collections Care, AIC
Online Forum Monitor (2016 - 2021)
OUTREACH & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Public Gallery Talks, Harvard Art Museums, 2024 - present
From Neon to Syringes—Conserving Charlotte Moorman’s Cello Sculptures
Uncovering the Layered Past of a Haniwa Figure
Community Partnership Project, Alf Engen Ski Museum, Park City, UT, May 2024
Sensory Visits, Glenstone, Potomac, MD, 2022-2024
WCG Social Media Team,2022-2023
Buffalo State Garman Art Conservation Social Media Coordinator, 2020-2021
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Basics and Challenges, Ceramics Program Harvard University, 2026 (current)
The Persistent Glow: The Conservation and Continuity of Neon Artworks, workshop & Symposium, selected participant, Chicago, 2025
VoCA Artist Interview Workshop, selected participant, 2021