Barbara Sommermeyer is a conservator at the Hamburger Kunsthalle / Gallery of Contemporary Art and responsible for the care of paintings, sculptures and installations from 1960 onwards. After a graduate degree in art history and archaeology and a 3-year pre-program in conservation studios and museums in Munich, Brunsvick, Cologne and Hamburg she finished a masters degree in painting and sculpture conservation in 1998 at the State Academy of Arts and Design Stuttgart. Barbara then received a grant from the State Baden-Württemberg to work for 2 years in Liverpool at the Conservation Centre and in London at Tate Modern. She was co-founder of the working group of modern art and modern materials (MKKM) of the German Conservators Association (VDR) in 2001 and joined the board of the VDR as treasurer (2007-2009). She participated in European projects (Inside Installations, PRACTICs), organised national and international conferences and published papers about conservation of contemporary art.