balancing tradition with contemporary conservation practice.
Care in practice — working closely with materials to support the long-term preservation of cultural heritage. © Tiaki Objects Conservation.
balancing tradition with contemporary conservation practice.
Conservators. Caring for Culture. Caring for Collections.
We are a community-centred conservation practice based in Melbourne. We care for objects, decorative artworks, and cultural heritage collections, working with small organisations, private clients, local government, and heritage groups across Melbourne, Victoria, and Australia. We also work alongside iwi and hapu in Aotearoa New Zealand, supporting the care of taonga and culturally significant collections.
Our work spans objects conservation, preventive collection care, and advisory support, with particular experience in culturally significant and community-held collections. By creating space for open and collaborative conversations, we shape conservation approaches that respond to the needs of both collections and the people connected to them.
This approach is grounded in the values that guide our practice.
WHY WE ARE HERE.
Our work begins with a simple idea: care is relational.
The name Tiaki means to guard, care for, preserve, or protect. It is also the root of the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga - the responsibility to care for people, place, and cultural heritage so that it can endure for future generations.
This understanding of care sits at the heart of Tiaki Objects Conservation.
Grounded in Te Ao Māori, our practice recognises that cultural materials are not only physical objects. They carry stories, relationships, and knowledge that connect communities across time and place. Caring for collections therefore means caring for the people, histories, and responsibilities that surround them.
Across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, we work alongside communities, iwi, hapū, organisations, and cultural institutions to support the care of cultural materials and taonga through collaboration, respect and shared knowledge.
Our purpose is to support the care of cultural heritage by bringing together conservation expertise, cultural knowledge, and community leadership.
We believe conservation works best when scientific understanding and cultural perspectives are considered together. Through transparency, collaboration, and shared learning, we help communities, organisations, and collection holders care for their heritage in ways that reflect their values and connections to place.
Our values are grounded in Te Ao Māori and guide how we care for taonga, how we work with communities, and we hold responsibility to people and place.
+ Making connections
Relationships sit at the heart of our work. Meaningful conservation begins with listening, building trust, and creating space for open conversation. By connecting people, knowledge, and collections, we support collaborative decision-making and shared responsibility in the care of cultural heritage.
+ A more holistic approach to conservation
Cultural values are central to our practice. The tikanga | principles of kaitiakitanga | guardianship, whānau | family, and manaakitanga | reciprocity, humility, and respect underpin our ethical framework. By bringing together established conservation science with cultural knowledge and tikanga, we work to balance scientific understanding with cultural perpsectives surrounding the use, display, and preservation of heritage collections.
+ Respect for Elders, Culture and Community
Stories carry knowledge across generations, guided and upheld by Elders and knowledge holders within communities. Material heritage embodies these stories, connecting people to identity, place and belonging. Many objects are taonga | treasures passed down from ancestors. Caring for them means safeguarding both the tangible materials and the knowledge, relationships and cultural responsibilities they carry.
+ Empowering others with knowledge
Sharing knowledge is an important part of our work. We aim to make conservation accessible by translating technical language into practical guidance that communities and collection holders can confidently apply. Through training, advice, and collaborative work, we help people build the confidence and skills needed to care for their collections.
Guided by the principles of kaitiakitanga, Tiaki Objects Conservation works to support the long-term care of cultural heritage while strengthening the relationships that sustain it.
Caring for taonga, together.
Erina McCann PMAICCM, BA(Hons), MCMCons
Founder. Conservator. Cultural Consultant.
I am the Founder, Director, and Principal Conservator of Tiaki Objects Conservation, established in 2016.
My pathway into conservation began long before formal training - shaped by early experiences with cultural heritage, from tracing the carved surfaces of my tīpuna whare | ancestral house, to the woven textures of tukutuku | lattice-work panels, and listening to stories and whakapapa shared by my kaumātua | elders. These moments grounded an enduring connection to cultural knowledge, material heritage, and the responsibilities that come with their care.
I am a Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Ruapani wahine from Tūranganui-a-Kiwa | Gisborne, Aotearoa New Zealand, now living and working on the unceded lands of the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung Peoples in Naarm| Melbourne. My practice is grounded in Te Ao Māori and shaped by over 20 years of experience across conservation, museums, and cultural heritage sectors in Aotearoa and Australia.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Māori Studies, and an Honours degree in Māori Material Culture from the University of Auckland and a Master of Cultural Materials Conservation from the University of Melbourne. My experience spans objects conservation, preventive conservation, collection management, relocation, and exhibition and installation support.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Māori Studies, and an Honours degree in Māori Material Culture from the University of Auckland and a Master of Cultural Materials Conservation from the University of Melbourne. My experience spans objects conservation, preventive conservation, collection management, relocation, and exhibition and installation support.
Through Tiaki Objects Conservation, I work alongside iwi, hapū, First Nations communities, museums, galleries, local government, and private custodians to support the care of cultural materials and taonga. My work brings together conservation science and tikanga Māori, supporting culturally grounded, community-led approaches to collection care.
My project experience includes conservation assessment, treatment, and exhibition support for significant cultural collections, including contributions to the Te Rā exhibition, where tikanga-led and Indigenous-governed approaches shaped conservation decision-making.
At the centre of my practice is the relationship between people, place, and material heritage. I believe cultural heritage is both tangible and intangible, and that understanding the stories, materials, and relationships that surround objects is essential to their care.
Through my work, I support communities to care for their collections in ways that reflect their values, knowledge, and connections to place.