Partners

• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)
• SEAMEO-SPAFA (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization - Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts)
• Office of National Museums, Fine Arts Department, Thailand

Duration: 3 weeks (10 - 28 January 2005)

Place: Bangkok, Thailand

Participants
Twenty one Asian heritage professionals representing ten countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Aim
The workshop aimed at enhancing the capacity of heritage institutions in Southeast Asia and beyond to develop and implement sound exhibition strategies appropriate to the nature and needs of the heritage of the region. It addressed conservation concerns when planning and implementing the presentation of Southeast Asian collections in an exhibition context. The values and identities embedded in the heritage were explored as the basis of presentation decisions. The workshop also discussed the concepts and skills necessary for selecting presentation methods incorporating sound conservation principles, highlighting the potential of local materials and low-cost solutions. Finally, course participants explored ways in which heritage could play a role in the reconstruction process following the disastrous tsunami that affected the region.

Course activities
Unit one - the course explored teamwork skills, the concept of “object biographies” and methods used to examine the significance of objects. This was combined with a study of community involvement in museums through a site visit to Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple that doubles as a museum, and to the Siam House in Bangkok. The rest of the week focused on mechanisms of deterioration.

Unit two - participants discussed the exhibition planning and design process, visitor flows and the relationships between buildings and collections. Key exhibition concerns in historic houses - a type of heritage structure common in Southeast Asia - were discussed.

Unit three - participants worked on specific technical issues such as exhibit maintenance, measuring and monitoring light and light damage, protective case design, exhibition mounts and supports, disaster-preparedness as well as the working with suppliers. At the end of the course, a final evaluation session took place.

Main achievements

• Professional capacity-building: 21 Asian professionals have increased their knowledge and skills in the conservation and exhibition of Southeast Asian collections;
• Networking: CollAsia 2010 network reinforced, through the participation of 21 professionals from 10 Southeast Asian countries, and an international course team of over 25 professionals from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States;
• Final evaluation results: participant evaluations show very high levels of overall satisfaction with course coordination, themes, materials, lectures and study visits;
• Impact: teaching and other resource materials on the conservation and exhibition of collections have been produced and are accessible; participants expected to disseminate results of the course through articles, presentations, reports and seminars, aimed at colleagues as well as other institutions and departments in their home countries.
  

updated on: 14 June, 2007