Underscore-Responsive Email Template

If you cannot read this email, please view online.

December 2015

What do you DO at TAEC? It can be hard to tell, but TAEC’s work actually goes far beyond the museum and shops! As this year comes to a close, we want to share some of the activities we’re proudest of from 2015, and ask for your support to make even more possible in 2016!

Documenting Living Culture

In partnership with the Luang Prabang Film Festival, we filmed 19 folktales told by seven women elders in Hmong, Kmhmu, and Tai Lue communities in Luang Prabang Province. Three of the stories have been animated and all of the Women and Folktales documentary short films will be screened at the Luang Prabang Film Festival on the 5 – 9 December.

Reaching Out to Lao Children

Lao primary school students learn to appreciate cultural diversity through our Education Team’s classroom visits and TAEC tours. In 2015, we reached 112 fourth and fifth graders, and held an in-depth summer programme for 20 children.

Supporting Artisans

In 2015, TAEC purchased over US$70,000 worth of handicrafts from artisans in rural communities. Most of these producers are ethnic minority women, and these earnings allow them to supplement their household income while practicing their traditional skills. Cash from handicraft sales is used for basic needs such as seeing the doctor, paying school fees for their children, and upgrading their homes.

Welcoming Museum Visitors

In the past 12 months, TAEC welcomed 23,277 international and Lao visitors to the exhibitions at TAEC and provided insight into the cultural diversity of Laos.

Complementing University Studies

In 2015, many college and university students visited TAEC, including groups from Xayadeth College, Souphanouvong University, Lao American College, and Khonkhaen University (Thailand). In addition to our exhibitions, university students also access our library of books and articles about the people of Laos.

Preserving Objects

We moved the TAEC Collection to a new off-site storage space, with additional shelving and improved organisation to protect over 400 objects of significance to ethnic cultures in Laos.

Sharing Lao Culture On-line

Through a new series of self-produced short videos posted regularly on our Facebook page, our staff shares their knowledge about ethnic cultures in Laos. To date, we have posted 18 videos about ethnic diversity, handicrafts in Laos, and our exhibitions. Take a look here.

Presenting Our Work Internationally

TAEC’s staff shared our work at conferences and workshops including at the American Museum of Natural History, the American Alliance of Museums, the Chiang Mai Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art Initiatives, and the Asia Society’s Arts and Museum Summit.

Promoting Handmade Products from Laos

When we participate in international markets, we bring unique handmade items from remote rural villages (33 and counting!) in Laos and support artisans who often have no opportunity to travel internationally. This year we joined the International Folk Art Alliance for their annual market in Santa Fe and Vietnam Lifestyle in Ho Chi Minh City.

Researching Handicrafts in Laos Today

With the Map Your World project, our community researchers explored handicraft production in and around Luang Prabang and at the Night Market. From 110 vendors at the Luang Prabang Night Market, we learned that 70% have been selling at the night market for over 8 years; for 80% of the vendors this is their main family income; and 85% of the vendors make at least some of the products they sell. See more findings here.

Sharing Scholarship

Translated from Thai to English by Dr. Linda McIntosh, The Tai Daeng of Hua Phan Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic by Sumitr Pitiphat, brings scholarship about the Tai Daeng people in Laos to a wider audience. This is the first book in the TAEC Ethnography Series.

CAN YOU HELP US DO MORE IN 2016?

Our admission fees and craft sales support our daily operations, including salaries, electric bills, and our artisans in villages all over Laos. With additional donations, we’re able to take on special projects to empower ethnic minority communities and celebrate cultural diversity in Laos.

Learn more about how to support the work of TAEC, or go directly to making a donation in the US or UK.

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre

You are receiving this email because you have signed up on our mailing list, have visited or work with TAEC, or are a friend or colleague.

Our mailing address is:

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre

PO Box 222

Ban Khamyong

Luang Prabang, Lao PDR

If you wish not to receive further updates, please unsubscribe.