Recentering the Temple Museum and Socially Engaged Curating
Abstract
What, when and how is a ‘temple museum’? This hybrid approach to museum-making and curating, challenges our tendency to think in binary terms e.g. sacred/secular, temple/museum, spiritual/educational, and offers an opportunity to explore the tensions between and within these spaces/practices. The paper draws on fieldwork undertaken by co-researchers Udomluck Hoontrakul, Ohnmar Myo and Heidi Tan, in and around Chiang Mai since 2023. Drawing on recent research into pagoda museums in Myanmar (Tan 2020) and local museums at sacred sites in Thailand (Paritta 2006, Siriporn 2021), we question how temple museums also embody processes of ‘socially engaged’ or ‘slow’ curating (Silverman 2015, Johnston 2021), whilst grounded in the perpetuation of Buddhist merit-making rituals. Such forms of museological activity have always existed, yet have often been marginalised in favour of ‘best’ (internationally standardised) practice. A resurgence of academic interest in local epistemologies, driven partly by restitution issues, suggests there has never been a better time to recenter museological discourse, in this case through critical engagement with the temple museum in Southeast Asia.
Author
Heidi Tan, School of Arts, SOAS University of London
Udomluck Hoontrakul, Thammasat University
Ohnmar Myo, SEAMEO SPAFA
From “Death” Museum to Becoming a Living Museum; The case of the Anthropology Museum at the University
Abstract
Title in writing this actually no means anything, however title on leave from One phenomenon interesting from Wrong a museum inside environment university. In accordance with collections stored in this museum often called as a museum of death, because of course more Lots the items inside related with issues death. Including the design of the room setting like that so that it looks like resemble as well as represent theme from this museum. Although impressed interesting, but this museum Not yet become consumption public in a way whole. One problem is this museum still “dead” inside another meaning, meaning Not yet as always This idealized by some people for make museum collections can enjoyed in a way open. That means, collection the No only become goods savings nor display just.
Keywords: University, Museum, Death Museum, Living Museum, Anthropology
Author
Moordiati Dept. of History–Faculty of Humanities, University Airlangga – Surabaya Indonesia
Sarkawi B. Husain Dept. of History–Faculty of Humanities, University Airlangga – Surabaya Indonesia
Moordiati was born in Sukoharjo, Middle East Java on 7th April. Since 2002- now she is a lecturer at Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga Surabaya. Her research interests are Museology, Social History, Southeast Asia History, and History of medicibe. Some of her articles have been published both in national and international journals and in book chapters. The writing includes: “Citizenship in Surabaya, 1950’s”, in Sarkawi’s and La ode Rabbani, Economic and Changes; Social Transformation in Surabaya 19-20 centuries, Yogyakarta, 2022, “Relation Gender on Narrative Shri Sanggramawijaya Tunggadewi Kediri, Ketut Ardhana, Raja Airlangga and The Kingdom of Kediri; Social Aspect, economic and Politik on continuity Development, Pustaka Larasan Yogyakarta, 2023. Art in Modern Jamu; traditional herbs, Proceeding on Pubic History 2023.
Sarkawi B. Husain was born in Tolitoli, Central Sulawesi on June 29. Since 1999-now he is a lecturer at the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga Surabaya. His research interests are Environmental History, Socio-Political History, Urban History, and Border Studies. Some of his articles have been published both in national and international journals and in book chapters. The writings include: “Chinese Cemeteries as a Symbol of Sacred Space. Control, Conflict, and Negotitation in Surabaya, Indonesia”, in Freek Colombijn and Joost Coté, Cars, Conduits, and Kampongs. The Modernization of the Indonesian City, 1920-1960 published by Brill Leiden; “History, education, and border area: An introduction study on education at the Indonesia-Malaysia border, Sebatik Island, North Kalimantan” published in Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 42 No. 4, October, 2021. His article about the State of Eastern Indonesia (NIT) published at Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) in a book chapter entitled: Revolutionary Worlds. Local Perspective and Dynamics During the Indonesian Independence War, 1945-194
Our Aligned Missions to Preserve Heritage
abstract
Our cultural heritage is in danger. It has been a major point of concern for humanity’s future heritage well-being and livelihood. Our project rests on the perception that digitisation can save our endangered maritime cultural heritage for the use of present and future generations. The project’s ambition is to document maritime cultural heritage threatened by both environmental change and human that jeopardise the survival and accessibility of historical information.
Under the leadership of Prof. R. Michael Feener, the MAHS (Maritime Asia Heritage Survey) conducts field surveys across multiple countries, including the Maldives, Indonesia, and Thailand. In Thailand, the MAHS collaborates with the Faculty of Architecture, Silpakorn University, led by Dr Kreangkrai Kirdsiri and his team. This collaboration combines traditional field survey methodology with cutting-edge technologies to create a robust multimedia online archive. The archive is preserved and maintained with redundancy backups on servers in multiple countries. The field team works closely with the Digital Heritage Documentation Lab at Kyoto University to create, preserve, and open-access publish a massive set of descriptive records of diverse and historically significant forms of architectural and material cultural heritage resulting from century-long interactions.
This presentation thus showcases the alignment of our project mission and museums’ work in the curation and preservation of knowledge and heritage. It presents an overview and progress of the project since June 2023. We hope our digital collection will be of great use for visual museums and digital exhibitions in the future.
Author
Abhirada Komoot is a country coordinator for MAHS Thailand. Her role is to oversee and administer the project operation in Thailand. She is an experienced maritime archaeologist and heritage scholar with a cross-educational background in law, heritage management and archaeology. She continues developing her industrial experience in maritime cultural heritage and research with broad interests in the maritime history of the Indian Ocean World, in which Southeast Asia is a central focus.
Heritage Documentation in the Philippines: Notes on Cultural Mapping with Local Governments
Abstract
The paper presents the author’s reflections on heritage work engagements with several local government units in the Philippines as an overview of heritage efforts and issues within the lens of the local government units. Republic Act (RA) 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, has mandated local governments to conduct documentation of various cultural properties within their jurisdictions. This need was also strengthened by various agency circulars requiring local governments to strengthen the documentation of their heritage properties. Since then, various local governments have initiated various cultural mapping projects to come up with their local cultural profile and inventory. For this paper, I aim to discuss: how is heritage translated by the local communities, especially, local government units? First, conducting heritage documentation activities are done to comply to various government regulations. Secondly, LGUs identify heritage properties are valued in terms of its socio-economic significance, particularly for the tourism opportunities it may provide. Third, there is still a need for a more bottom-up or participatory approach for more collective and holistic efforts on heritage documentation and conservation. Lastly, local governments also must work with other stakeholders to ensure that data from heritage mapping efforts are fully utilized. It is hoped that with the amendment of RA 10066 through RA 11961, which strengthens the use cultural mapping, local government units in the Philippines will also place more value to projects related to heritage conservation and protection.
Author
Floper Gershwin E. Manuel
Faculty, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Central Luzon State University, Philippines
Student, PhD in Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University, Thailand