On the 8th of June 2023, the EMKP celebrated its fifth anniversary with a one-day conference at the British Museum’s Stevenson Lecture Theatre. The event included papers and presentations by EMKP Grantees, displays about some of our ongoing projects, and an interactive digital table featuring information about the EMKP repository and the uses of technology in material knowledge documentation. See the event full programme here.
The conference was opened by Dr. Hartwig Fischer, the Director of the British Museum, who announced the latest cohort of EMKP Grantees during his introductory speech. We were also joined by Arthur Dudney, the Director of Cultural Programmes at Arcadia, who spoke about Arcadia’s vision and commitment to the preservation of endangered knowledge and heritage around the world.
EMKP FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE INTRODUCTION
The rest of the day was divided into three different panels, “Exploring Material Knowledge”, “Endangered Environments and Foodways”, and “The Future of Material Knowledge Documentation”. There were a total of ten presentations, each delivered by EMKP Grantees and Collaborators who joined us from all across the world.
SESSION 1: EXPLORING MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE
WRINKLES, RIPS, HOLES: A STUDY OF THE TENUOUS LINK BETWEEN GENERATIONS OF PAPER CLOTHING MAKERS IN JAPAN
Daphne Mohejer va Pesaran
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
PERLA ANUGERAH ILAHI: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PALARI
Chiara Zazzaro and Horst Liebner
University of Napoli “L’Orientale”, Italy and Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia
DOCUMENTING SKILLS AND PRACTICES OF DRY-STONE MASONRY AT GREAT ZIMBABWE: TOWARDS CAPTURING A FADING MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE
Munyaradzi Elton Sagiya
Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe
A WORLD OF MANY TONES: DOCUMENTING THE BORA KNOWLEDGE ABOUT DESIGNS AND DYES
Maria Luisa Lucas
Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MAE-USP), Brazil
APPREHENDING ASAPAN: MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE,
HISTORY AND CEREMONY IN TURKANA, NORTHERN KENYA
Samuel Derbyshire
St. John’s College, Oxford University, England
SESSION 2: ENDANGERED ENVIRONMENTS AND FOODWAYS
FERA-I-ASI: DIGITIZING THE ISLAND BUILDERS OF THE LAU LAGOON, MALAITA, SOLOMON ISLANDS
Geoffrey Hobbis and Stephanie Ketterer Hobbis
University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and Wageningen University, the Netherlands
MULTILAYERED ENDANGERMENT: THE WILD SILKS PROJECT
Laurence Douny
Humboldt University, Germany
MULTIPLE MOBILITIES: INVESTIGATING CHANGING TRAJECTORIES OF PEOPLE
AND THINGS IN THE MONGOLIAN ALTAI
Kristen Pearson
Harvard University, the United States of America
SESSION 3: THE FUTURE OF ENDANGERED MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE DOCUMENTATION
ENSURING THE VITALITY OF MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Bruna Rocha
Federal University of West Pará, Brazil
PLASTIC, ALUMINIUM, AND POLYESTER VERSUS POTTERY, WOOD, AND STONE. DEALING WITH “NEW” AND “OLD” THINGS IN WESTERN ETHIOPIA.
Juan Salazar Bonet and Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal
Institute of Heritage Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (INCIPIT-CSIC), Spain
EMKP Grantees who happened to attend the conference were also invited to attend a series of workshops with the EMKP Team. These workshops were designed to aid grantees with their ongoing projects, as well as encourage discussion and collaboration between grantees.
The EMKP Team is incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed to the organisation of the Five Year Anniversary conference, as well as the many people who attended to share this momentous occasion with us.
Thank you for supporting the EMKP!
Banner Image: Conference attendee exploring the EMKP Digital Engagement display and trying the VR sets. (Photo: Paula Granados Garcia)
More photos of the event