With as quickly as this year has gone by, September and our new temporary exhibit Carving a Culture: the Katu People should be here in no time. The past week, we hosted several Katu carvers here in Luang Prabang while they prepared carvings for the exhibit.
TAEC is also currently included in a temporary exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington. Empowering Women provides an intimate view of the work of artisan enterprises around the world. This exhibition illustrates the power of grassroots collaborations to transform women's lives. Our livelihoods and advocacy work and efforts to preserve the traditional skills and handicrafts of those artisans were also featured in the article A Short Weave Through Laos in Asian Art newspaper.
Read on for more details!
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Online Museum Shop Launch
We’d like to think that our museum shop is one of the things that makes TAEC so special. Not that other museums don’t have shops, but ours supports sustainable livelihood development based on traditional skills for 600 artisans in 300 communities throughout Laos with an average of 50% of each sale going back to the producers. Now, we’ve made it easier for you (and your friends who will no doubt admire both your purchase and your commitment to a good cause) to be a part of that impact from wherever you are. Our new and improved online shop doesn’t just sport a new look, the entire ordering process has been simplified to bring you an easy shopping experience. You can even browse the shop on facebook!
Check out the new shop here TODAY, make a purchase that will help preserve valuable and endangered skills among rural ethnic communities, and be sure to share the news with your friends and family! Orders placed before July 4, 2013 get 10% off, just enter the promotional code "TAEC" at checkout!
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It’s about that time of year again when artisans, traditional crafts sellers, and handicraft enthusiasts descend upon Santa Fe in droves to celebrate the diverse artisanal heritage found in every corner of the world at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market! We are really excited to be able to participate in the festivities for a second time this July. If you or anyone you know will be in Santa Fe for the market, send them our way!
Also, TAEC is looking to expand our advocacy and livelihoods work through participating in more trade shows, markets, trunk shows and other events that would allow us to introduce traditional Lao textiles to new markets abroad. If you are interested in hosting or sponsoring our participation in one of these events, please contact shop@taeclaos.org.
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Shoppers at last year's TAEC booth. |
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TAEC-sponsored Yao Mien artisan, Famchoy Saely, at last year's market. |
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Young Person's Guide to the Museum
Benjamin Britten did it in 1946 and Cole Porter did it in 1956. Now, TAEC is also creating an accessible introductory guide to our field for Lao youth: the Young Person’s Guide to the Museum. By the time most of you finished high school you were probably already very familiar with museums, having visited with family and on school trips. In Laos, however, no museum culture exists—children do not visit with their schools or families and, as with the older generation, they believe museums to be primarily for tourists. So, as a part of our upcoming summer program we will be introducing students to the work and relevance of museums around the world and in Laos.
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A young girl upon her first trip to TAEC. |
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Women's International Group Talk in Vientiane
Event flyer.
TAEC's talk at Monument Books in Vientiane was a big success! Over 50 people came and asked questions for more than an hour after the presentation was over. Special objects from the collection were on display, including a Yao Mien silver hairpin, and a Tai Dam groom's bag. We were especially pleased to see our book, "The Cultural Diversity of Laos: stories from the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre" featured so prominently in the shop!
Tara during her talk in Vientiane.
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