Daniëlle Kuijten holds a Master of Museology from the Reinwardt Academy ( Amsterdam University of the Arts). She started working for Imagine IC, a pioneer in the field of heritage of the contemporary society in 2012. Since march 2023 in the role of director and co-curator. Here she is building with her team a participative neighbourhood archive on and in the Amsterdam district Southeast. Exhibitions she produced here are amongst others Black Resistance, Queering Southeast, Personal archives of 25 year Bijlmer flightdisaster and Saya and Koto: layers of fabric and of time. Besides her work at Imagine IC she is active as a freelancer in the heritage field under the name Heritage Concepting. Her main focus in projects is on participatory collecting methods, contemporary collecting, action curating and decolonization of museum praxis. Danielle is a regular guest on international conferences giving presentations and workshops. This year she joined the jury of the European Museum of the Year Awards. She has been active for COMCOL, ICOM’s international committee for collecting since 2011, currently in her second term as president.
Change is never easy. But in a time marked by extreme polarisation, a growing need for more inclusive deepdiving museum methodologies has becoming increasingly crucial. Methods that center the act of listening, dialogue and investment in eachother. To achieve this we have to face our own practices. For decades heritage collecting has been a top-down, curator-driven process, often resulting in the exclusion of underrepresented voices and an imbalance in the narratives presented. However, recent years have witnessed a paradigm shift, where communities, stakeholders, and individuals are actively demanding to be engaged in the interpretation and representation of heritage. This asks for a participatory model beyond interaction It requires collaboration, shared authority, systems of reciprosity and co-creation, ultimately ensuring that heritage is more reflective of the diverse memories and experiences of the people it represents. One exemplary case of innovative participatory heritage work is Imagine IC, based in Amsterdam. Imagine IC has pioneered participatory collecting practices that empower networks to actively contribute to the processes of meaning making. This collaborative approach enables diverse voices and perspectives to shape the narrative, allowing for a deeper sense of ownership and connection. The contemporary participatory approach also underscores the importance of care for people when inviting them to engage around topics. It prioritizes ethical considerations, respecting the rights, wishes, and emotional connection of those contributing their stories, artifacts, and experiences. It acknowledges the potential emotional and psychological impacts, both positive and negative, and seeks to ensure sensitivity and care throughout the process. In summary, tthe presentation will highlight contemporary participatory collecting practices that prioritize the diversity of perspectives and the care for people. This transformative approach, exemplified by organizations like Imagine IC, has the potential to create a more equitable and just understanding of our past, present, and future.
Emeritus professor, the University of Brasilia
HUNG Shih-Yu holds a Master's degree in National Development Studies from National Chengchi University. He is deeply engaged in the museum and cultural heritage sector, serving as a board member of the Natural History Museums Committee at the International Council of Museums (ICOM NATHIST). He also holds dual roles as the Executive Director and Director of the Board at the Taiwan Museum Foundation. He contributes as a member of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Office Committee for the Appraisal of Cultural Relics and the Collection Management Review Committee at the National Human Rights Museum. HUNG Shih-Yu's career has spanned various pivotal positions, including Special Commissioner at the Council for Cultural Affairs (now the Ministry of Culture), Chief of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Director-General of the Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture, and Director-General of the Department of General Planning. In 2016, hetook the helm as Director of the National Taiwan Museum, overseeing the restoration of the Railway Department Park and its reopening. HUNG Shih-Yu' has been actively involved in the establishment of the "Taiwan Museum System," aligning it with contemporary trends. In 2022, HUNG Shih-Yu' assumed the role of President of the Chinese Association of Museums. He plays a central role in planning international conferences such as the ICOM COMCOL Annual Conference and the ICOM ICR Annual Conference, both hosted in Taiwan. He is also preparing for the ICOM General Conference in Dubai in 2025, focusing on expanding international networks and enhancing professional engagement to raise Taiwan's museums' international profile.
Inkyung is the director of Iron Museum in Korea. Trained in arts, archaeology, and museum studies, she has promoted and advocated museums and the profession while running a museum for over 20 years. She is an ICOM COMCOL member and was elected as a vice president of ICOM in 2022. Recently appointed Chairperson of the National Museum Foundation of Korea, she serves museum communities nationally and internationally.
The ICOM 2022 Prague General Assembly approved the new ICOM museum definition with the vast majority. While the new definition generated worldwide attention for the future of museums, the journey to the new definition presented polarized perceptions and complexities of present museums. Newly included keywords and concepts collect, interpret, accessible, inclusive, diversity, sustainability, ethically, professionally, participation of communities, experience, reflection, and knowledge sharing. These concepts do not play in isolation in museum functions and activities. And one notable change is from ‘acquire’ to ‘collect.’ For this reason, we must return to the meaning and scope of ‘collect.’‘Collecting’ in museums was what and how to collect according to the established policy. However, there are more facets than an act of collecting. Furthermore, digital technology and media expansion challenge museums’ collecting practices. These indicate the essential paradigm shifts in how museums sustain their relevance in communities and society, present and future.
CHEN Kuo-Ning is the board member of ICOM ICOFOM-ASPAC, she was the Chair of the board from 2016 to 2022. She continues to serve as the Vice President of the Chinese Association of Museums in Taiwan since 2005. She started her career in museum management in Taiwan in 1970. She was the director of Haw Kang Museum of Chinese Culture University from1976 to 2001. She served on the board of Kaohsiung City Cultural Institutions, Tainan Art Museum, and Society of Preservation of Chinese Cultural Heritages of ROC in Taiwan etc. She was the Director of Museum of World Religions from 2015 to 2020 and continues on as the Honorary Museum Director and a board member in her retirement. She authored several books: Museology, Modern Museum Management, The Med-Small Museums in Taiwan-Manual for Museum Management of Cultural Centers in Taiwan. In addition to many articles and papers on museology presented in conferences. Among her many endeavors, she directed research projects on the evaluation of over 300 regional museums in Taiwan between 1995 to 2016 sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Republic of China in Taiwan.
Dr. Lung-chih Chang is Director of the National Museum of Taiwan History. He received his BA and MA in History from the National Taiwan University and his Ph. D. in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University. His research interest includes social and cultural history, comparative colonialism, historiography and public history. Before coming to the NMTH in 2021, Dr. Chang served as deputy Director of the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica and thought at National Cheng-Chih University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Ching-Hua University. He has been the visiting scholar in Tokyo University, Cambridge University and Heidelberg University and offered MOE Taiwan Lectures on Chinese Studies at Oxford University and Oslo University. While leading the NMTH towards new international mission, Dr. Chang is working on a manuscript on historiography and public memory in contemporary Taiwan.
This lecture aims to offer a field report of contemporary collecting at the National Museum of Taiwan History (the NMTH) and reflects on the main theme of the 13th COMCOL annual conference: “Living Collections, Living Communities.” Since her opening in 2011, the NMTH has become one of the leading museums in Taiwan that features the stories of the land and the people on the island. With the vision of "Taiwan in the World" and studies of Taiwan as the foundation, we strive to promote Taiwan’s cultural identity through dialogue on historical issues, international cooperation, and intellectual property rights. Our multiple mission is to encourage the co-writing of history, to conduct public exhibitions, to improve heritage preservation, and to enhance cultural preservation renewal, and equality. Contemporary collecting become a new mission of the NMTH with the organizational level-up of the museum in 2021. On top of the 150 thousand artifacts in our collection, our staff members have become more active in engaging public issues and more vigorous in promoting social dialogues. To be sure, the NMTH has been playing a more active role in Taiwan’s bourgeoning civil society. The presentation will offer several vivid examples of contemporary collecting ranging from Taiwan’s political elections, student movement, earthquake rescues, and heritage protection to our special “Taiwan COVID-19 Collection Project” during the pandemic and the ongoing digital project “Taiwan Cultural Memory Bank 2.0.” The conclusion will reflect on the critical issues, major challenges and important lessons concerning contemporary collecting in Taiwan and call for new collaborative efforts among museum professionals in the vision of “collecting for the future.”
This lecture aims to offer a field report of contemporary collecting at the National Museum of Taiwan History (NMTH) and reflects on the main theme of the 13th COMCOL annual conference: “Living Collections, Living Communities.” Since her opening in 2011, the NMTH has become one of the leading museums in Taiwan that features the stories of the land and the people on the island. With the vision of "Taiwan in the World" and studies of Taiwan as the foundation, we strive to promote Taiwan’s cultural identity through dialogue on historical issues, international cooperation, and intellectual property rights. Our multiple mission is to encourage the co-writing of history, to conduct public exhibitions, to improve heritage preservation, and to enhance cultural preservation renewal, and equality. Contemporary collecting become a new mission of the NMTH with the organizational level-up of the museum in 2021. On top of the 150 thousand artifacts in our collection, our staff members have become more active in engaging public issues and more vigorous in promoting social dialogues. To be sure, the NMTH has been playing a more active role in Taiwan’s bourgeoning civil society. The presentation will offer several vivid examples of contemporary collecting ranging from Taiwan’s political elections, student movement, earthquake rescues, and heritage protection to our special “Taiwan COVID-19 Collection Project” during the pandemic and the ongoing digital project “Taiwan Cultural Memory Bank 2.0.” The conclusion will reflect on the critical issues, major challenges and important lessons concerning contemporary collecting in Taiwan and call for new collaborative efforts among museum professionals in the vision of “collecting for the future.”