Conservator Emerita and Research Associate at the Museum of Anthropology (UBC), former Senior Conservator at MOA.

Expertise in conservation ethics and cultural significance, and academic background from Queen’s University and the University of Leicester.

Academic background from the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and the University of Leicester. Dr. Miriam Clavir received her Master of Art Conservation from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, in 1976, and her Doctorate from the University of Leicester, Department of Museum Studies, in 1998. She has worked in conservation primarily for Parks Canada and from 1980 to 2004 as the Senior Conservator at MOA, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC in Vancouver. She continued teaching and writing after taking early retirement and remains Conservator Emerita and Research Associate at MOA.

Miriam has authored many articles as well as an award-winning book, Preserving What is Valued: Museums, Conservation and First Nations. These publications focused on underlying issues embedded in conservation: what are we preserving, for whom, why, and how. Conservation’s focus on physical objects was explored in relation to the tangible and intangible elements of cultural significance. In addition to conservation’s values and practices, the publications examined “the museum” itself.

Miriam’s publications now include works of fiction: two detective novels and a dozen short stories.