ecoclub.com/blogs - news & views from ecoclub.com members

Music Dissemination Project and other news from the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre, Laos

Sabaidee! We've been taking advantage of the last bit of dry season as our research team traverses northern Laos (again!) as part of a music dissemination project that is linked to our special exhibition, "Voices of the Wind: Traditional Instruments in Laos". Communities have been captivated and engaged with our pop-up exhibition, and are excited to see their cultural heritage documented and celebrated. Read on for more about this project! We were also honoured to have our special exhibition recently highlighted in The Newsletter published by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS). April and May are always filled with celebrations like Pi Mai Lao (Lao New Year), Song Nam Pha (watering the Buddha), World Fair Trade Day, and International Museum Day. We'll be busy with events at TAEC so follow us on Facebook to stay updated! Kawp jai lai lai! MUSIC DISSEMINATION PROJECT  As part of our special music exhibition, “Voices of the Wind: Traditional Instruments in Laos”, it was vital that we share our research with the communities that gave their time and valuable knowledge so generously. The research team has painstakingly catalogued and compiled over two years worth of field trip notes, photographs, audio and video files. The team is distributing...

Continue reading
1756 Hits
1 Comment

TAEC Update, Luang Prabang, Laos

TAEC Exhibition at the French Institute, Luang Prabang

Sabaidee! We are a few months into 2018 but New Year celebrations continue in ethnic villages across Laos! The research team of the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) has been here, there, and just about everywhere capturing the sights, sounds, and instruments of Oma, Hmong, Kmhmu, Lahu, and Yao Mien New Year. Much of their research will be showcased in our upcoming special music exhibition opening September 2018! Read on to learn more. The new year is also a time for the team to gather, reflect, and discuss new initiatives, projects, and artisan programmes for the upcoming season. The core mission of our work continues to be handicraft preservation and development for rural ethnic minority artisans. We are excited to launch our Instagram page to celebrate these incredible artisans, their culture, and crafts with you! Please follow us @TAECLaos! Happy new year from everyone here at TAEC - Kawp jai lai lai! "ONE CLOTH, MANY THREADS" POP-UP EXHIBITION TAEC unveiled a specially curated exhibit by Hmong-American textile researcher and TAEC intern, Pachia Lucy Vang. The displays offer a fascinating glimpse of the distinct clothing patterns and designs linked to the migration of the Hmong ethnic group. These textile traditions are...

Continue reading
2314 Hits
0 Comments

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) Laos - Upcoming Workshops and Events

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) Laos - Upcoming Workshops and Events

We are excited to announce the addition of Katu Backstrap Weaving at TAEC! As with all of our half-day handicraft workshops, we include a museum tour, drink, and instruction by an ethnic artisan from 9:30am - 12pm. Our workshops are a hands-on way to learn something new while on holiday and discover an appreciation for the traditional crafts of Lao...

Continue reading
3453 Hits
0 Comments

Laos: First Book in TAEC Ethnography Series Released

Laos: First Book in TAEC Ethnography Series Released

The English translation of The Tai Daeng of Hua Phan Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic is now available at TAEC and our on-line shop. Translated from Thai into English by Linda S. McIntosh, this first book in the TAEC Ethnography Series gives historical background and documents the contemporary lives of the Tai Daeng in Laos. Sumitr Pitiphat, professor of Anthropology at Thammasat University of Bangkok, Thailand wrote the original book and has studied the Tai peoples of Laos, northern Vietnam, and southwest China. The book explores traditions and changes including this group's traditional belief system and their conversion to Buddhism and the external factors that have led to changes in their handwoven textiles. Translation of this book into English brings information about the Tai Daeng in Laos to a larger audience. We hope it will build greater understanding of the rapid change facing ethnic groups here," notes TAEC Co-Director Tara Gujadhur. The publication received support from the Henry Luce Foundation and Translation Project Group/AAS Southeast Asia Council and private donors. Receive a 40% discount off of the cover price of $25 if you purchase the book at our on-line shop before 31 March. Use the code TAIDAENG

4431 Hits
0 Comments

New TAEC Boutique opens in Luang Prabang, Laos

New TAEC Boutique opens in Luang Prabang, Laos

In July, we opened the new TAEC Boutique on the main street in Luang Prabang featuring the Heirloom Collection of one-of-kind textiles and other handicrafts. Each piece is made of the highest quality materials by the most respected artisans of their craft.   We hope the Boutique will allow more tourists to support fairly-traded handicrafts from ethnic minority artisans, and discover the cultural diversity of Laos.   The TAEC Boutique is open daily from 9am - 9 pm.   In addition to reaching more visitors in Luang Prabang, TAEC made new friends and important contacts for future sales by sending Khoun and Alai to the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico last month. With over 150 artists from 60 countries and 20,000 visitors, this three-day event is the largest folk art market in the world, and we were pleased to participate in it once again.   For more details please visit http://www.taeclaos.org/

5057 Hits
0 Comments

TAEC Accepted to Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

TAEC Accepted to Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

Know any textile enthusiasts or Lao culture lovers in the American southwest or California? For the third summer in a row, TAEC has been accepted to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. This year, we'd love to make connections with craft shops, museums, and cultural organisations while we're across the Pacific. If you know of a place or an audience for a talk or a trunk show, please contact us. If you'd like to help us out at the Market itself, do let us know!

4539 Hits
0 Comments

"Stitching Our Stories" at the Luang Prabang Film Festival!

"Stitching Our Stories" at the Luang Prabang Film Festival!

More great news about the Stitching Our Stories Project! The short films from last year's participants will be screened at the Luang Prabang Film Festival. The film, which was edited by local Hmong film students, will be shown at 11:00 AM at the LPFF Visitor Center from 7 – 10 December. On Wednesday, 11 December, there will be a special presentation by the SoS filmmakers, subjects, and film editors at the Luang Prabang Film Festival. The film assembles four documentary shorts shot by the projects' filmmakers Bao Song, Pasong Lee, Sia Yao, and Ma Ying. These examine the intricate artistry of Hmong batik and embroidery and the complex and often challenging roles of the medicine women and shamans who care for the bodies and spirits of their communities. More details on that event here.   The Stitching Our Stories project, a partnership with PhotoForward, is currently in the middle of its second phase with six women from varied ethnic groups. The first phase finished successfully with an exhibit of the participants' work at TAEC on 17 November. View photos of the celebration on our Facebook page.

4761 Hits
0 Comments

"Stitching our Stories" program expands

"Stitching our Stories" program expands

We’re four weeks into the second year of Stitching Our Stories! We have expanded to include women from other ethnic groups like Kmhmu, Tai Lue, Tai Dam, and Phunoi and have started the Stitching Our Stories scholarship and internship programme. The work of the participants of years one and two will be featured in a community-curated exhibition on “childhood” opening in September 2014. Some of the young women’s work will also be showcased at the United Nations Annual Commission on the Status of Women in March 2014 in New York City.   This project has garnered a lot of interest recently for its commitment to ensuring the voices of ethnic women are heard, providing educational enrichment opportunities to women and children, and helping to encourage ethnic pride among minorities. If you would like to support this project, our partner, PhotoForward, has just launched a crowd-funding campaign on RocketHub and some of the funds raised will go to supporting this important project. Or, contact us directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Every bit helps to make a difference in a young woman’s life!

4336 Hits
0 Comments

New Ethnic Minority Woodcarving Exhibition opens in Luang Prabang, Laos

A new special exhibition is opening on September 20, 2013 at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) in Laos. "Carving a Community" is the first exhibition in Luang Prabang to highlight an ethnic minority group from the south of Laos. Highlights of the exhibit include intricate weavings and basketry and the bold carvings adorning Katu communal meetinghouses. Carving a Community: The Katu People highlights the distinct cultural traits and crafts of the Katu residing in southern Laos and the central highlands of Vietnam. Intricate weavings and basketry and bold woodcarving created by the Katu people are highlights of the exhibit. Of special interest is the carved decoration of the Katu communal meetinghouse. Traditionally, the meetinghouse was the focal point of the village, where members of the community gather to carry out important rites, including buffalo sacrifice. Videos of this annual ritual and daily activities will allow visitors to witness the folkways of the Katu. This exhibit opens on 20 September 2013 and will be up for one year. TAEC is home to a rotating display of informative and engaging exhibitions, offering a rare and fascinating insight into the diversity and richness of Laos' ethnic cultures. Our exhibits feature objects from...

Continue reading
6537 Hits
0 Comments

Stitching our Stories in Luang Prabang, Laos

Stitching our Stories in Luang Prabang, Laos

We are excited about a new project to empower minority women to share their stories through photography, interviews, and video.  In November, TAEC finished the first phase of the project with our partner, PhotoForward.  The participants, primarily young Hmong women from the night market, were given cameras, taught basic photography skills, and then asked to document women at work in their communities. The results were insightful and showed the strength of women in Lao society.  We celebrated the women’s creativity and hard work by exhibiting their photographs and embroidery at Children’s Cultural Centre.  To view their images, visit the online gallery at http://www.photoforward.org/women-at-work.html   We are now in the second phase of this project, working with a smaller group of women to further develop their photography skills and introduce them to basic research techniques.  The women have been exploring topics of their choosing, from shamanism and polygamy, to single parenthood and festival food preparation.  This project is a part of TAEC’s ethnic youth internship program , developing ethnic community researchers to document their own cultures.   To raise funds to continue the project, postcards featuring the women’s photography will be available for purchase in our TAEC Shop in March.  We hope...

Continue reading
6089 Hits
0 Comments