Cultural Heritage Studies @ University of Vienna

Tik Tok! ⏰ Just a quick reminder to get your workshop applications in before the week wraps up. 🤗

Very recently, a long-lost Klimt has resurfaced, along with a silenced story. @noemieetienne.bsky.socials student, Sarah Hübler, looks into Austria’s colonial past through the portrait of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a performer in 1900s so-called ethnographic shows.

Read here: bit.ly/42hLWqN

Last days to apply for our conference "Fleeting Voices"! - April 6th

arthist.net/archive/4395...

#heritagescience #voiceletters #materialscience

HERitage Book Club Reading List HERitage Book Club Reading List Session 01, March 2025 Smith, Laurajane. Uses of Heritage. 1. publ., Reprint. London: Routledge, 2009. (u:search) Session 02, April 2025 Pratt, Mary Louise. “Arts of...

We just started our HERitage Book Club! 📚 In this monthly meeting, our team in Vienna discusses texts on heritage, museum studies and cultural theory over coffee. 🧐 We began with Laurajane Smith's publication Uses of Heritage.

💡 Follow us as we share our evolving reading list here: bit.ly/4c8CB9p.

Roaming around St. Louis: A Personal Reflection on the Centre de Recherches et de Documentation du Sénégal and the Struggles of a UNESCO World Heritage City – by Renée Riedler — Cultural Heritage Stud... During my recent visit to Senegal, I had the opportunity to explore the Centre de Recherches et de Documentation du Sénégal (CRDS), located on the southernmost point of the historic Ile de Saint Lou...

How do we preserve heritage in a rapidly changing world? 🌍 Renée Riedler shares reflections from St. Louis, Senegal: exploring CRDS archives, Oumar Ly’s photography legacy 📸, and witnessing the city's urgent fight against coastal erosion 🌊.

Read our new GloCo blog post here: bit.ly/444M3IC

@noemieetienne.bsky.social

🎨 Check out our new guest lectures for the summer term on Museums, Exhibitions & Conservation, organized by @noemieetienne.bsky.social. Speakers include @silas-blue.bsky.social, @heghnarw.bsky.social & @cageinbeakifly.bsky.social and many others.

📅 Wednesdays 9:15–10:45am CET.
✍️ DM for Zoom link!

We are looking for contributions!

Honoring Craft and Conservation: The Role of Local Artisans in Conservation — Cultural Heritage Studies Vienna In our previous blog post , we shared some reflections from our Viennese team members on the International Conference on Situated Conservations in Senegal. Today, we highlight a different but e...

🌍✈️ From Dakar to Saint Louis, through Goree, Podor & Casamance – our latest blog emphasizes the vital role of artists & craftspeople in conservation(s)! 🎨🛠️ Check out what we learned from dyers, potters, booksellers & makers in Senegal. ✨ Read more: bit.ly/4itFS5D.

@noemieetienne.bsky.social

Indigenous Heritage and Identity of the Last Elephant Catchers in Northeast Thailand In 2019, when Mew Salangam passed away at 91, newspapers across Thailand described him as belonging to the “last generation of elephant doctors.” Mew was a member of the Kui Ajiang community in Thaila...

🎉 Our "Global Conservation" postdoc, Alisa Santikarn, just published "Indigenous Heritage and Identity of the Last Elephant Catchers in Northeast Thailand"! 📖The book explores the Kui Ajiang community’s heritage after elephant catching ended.

Check out the Open Access publication: bit.ly/3DJD98S 🐘

The Siam Society Lecture: The Last Elephant Catchers? YouTube video by The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage

"The Last Elephant Catchers? The (In)Visible Indigenous Heritage of the Kui in Thailand" by Dr Alisa Santikarn from Siam Society's archive

Book:
library.oapen.org/handle/20.50....
.
Recording:
youtu.be/LlTz51kyS6s?...

Bridging Worlds: Reflections on the International Conference “Situated Conservations” in Senegal — Cultural Heritage Studies Vienna

🌍 In January, we were in Senegal for "Situated Conservations" conference – and it was an incredible experience! But what was it really like? 👀

We’re sharing our journey in a 6-part blog series!
📖 First up: Experiencing Senegal: Reflections from our Viennese Participants

Read more 👉 bit.ly/43BleLV

An exciting project for cultural heritage scientists!

➡️ The project will allow simulation of any interventions (restoration, protection, …) before applying changes to the real items. #culturalheritage @heritageunivie.bsky.social

‼️ CFP: Fleeting Voices Preserving: Acoustic Heritage in Archives & Arts 🎙️

We invite conventional as well as experimental contributions!

📅 Oct 1-3, 2025 | Vienna
📩 Submit by April 6: fleeting.voices@sonime.at

More info: arthist.net/archive/43953

@mediathek.bsky.social @noemieetienne.bsky.social

Call for Papers: „Fleeting Voices. Preserving Acoustic Heritage in the Archives and the Arts“ Konferenz von #SONIME und Cultural Heritage Studies (Uni Wien)

📧 Deadline: 6.4.25 fleeting.voices@uni-ak.ac.at

Konferenz: 1.–3.10.25, Die Angewandte Wien

🔗 hsozkult.de/event/id/event-153192

CFP: Fleeting Voices (Wien, 1-3 Oct 25)

https://arthist.net/archive/43953

What a wonderful experience in Senegal! We discussed conservation, its multiple definitions, and its political uses. Conservation was challenged by our great speakers, lively audience, and many songs and dances. Let's work for more justice, nuance, and fun in the museum world, academia, and beyond.

Sargal Fatima Fall Niang! We closed the day with a heartfelt ceremony honoring Fatima Fall Niang. She is an iconic figure in heritage management in 🇸🇳, dedicating her life to its preservation. A former director of CRDS in Saint-Louis, she combined practical experience with theoretical approaches.

As the main challenges,we identified fewer successors to continue the traditional techniques.To sustain traditional textile manufacturing, it is crucial to support artisans, but also to build new professional networks, find new clients and spread awareness about the craft both in Senegal and abroad.

How to transmit heritage? In our final panel on textiles, we focused on preserving knowledge through bottom-up efforts--driven by the people involved and not relying solely on the state.

#SituatedConservations

In this context, we discussed the role of the government in funding restoration of historical buildings and argued that the process of rebuilding can strengthen identities. Built heritage isn’t just monuments--it’s a source of learning and unlearning.

#SituatedConservations

What is the goal of conservation if not the living? We asked many thought provoking questions during our fifth panel on built heritage. The discussion centered around the connection between built heritage, histories, and tourism.

#SituatedConservations

We identified funding, awareness, and knowledge as some of the main issues. Solutions include training, intersectional approaches, and partnering with international groups and Senegalese communities traditionally preserving these archives.

#SituatedConservations

How do we conserve archival documents? In our fourth panel, we talked about the specific challenges of preserving both colonial and pre-colonial archives, in distinction from objects.

#SituatedConservations

In this context, archaeologists should study not just the mere objects but also hoe these are used by the individual communities. We then looked into the links to immaterial heritage—spirituality, religion, traditions—and the challenges potters face, like plastic replacing their craft.

Craftwomen are at the center of art and knowledge production. In our third panel, we highlighted pottery as an important cultural heritage, urging museums to value it and connect with communities.

We are on with the first panel today on earth, ceramics, and pottery and the concept of fragility. Join us online using the following link: www.facebook.com/story.php?st...

And that's a wrap for today! Thank you for being with us! 😍

Conversations also covered “religion” vs “spirituality" vs "culture". Also, the importance of accurate terms in heritage, gender, power hierarchies, and how museums should move beyond knowledge extraction to include diverse voices.

In our second panel, PhD candidates and postdocs shared their ongoing research. We discussed key aspects for cultural heritage processes. We looked into the role of languages in connecting traditional practices and communities to museum work.