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Topics in Preservation Series

Recent Trends in Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Chandra Reedy
Director, Laboratory for Analysis of Cultural Materials
University of Delaware
May 20, 2008

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ABOUT THE LECTURE:

The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage dates back to only 2003. Yet, it is already having a major impact, globally and within the preservation community of the United States. This movement explicitly recognizes that material culture is intertwined with ideas, memories, knowledge, skills, creativity, spirituality, emotions, traditions, and other intangible qualities. As much as possible, preservation of these intangible aspects of material culture, in conjunction with the objects they are associated with, is a goal of modern preservation efforts.

Dr. Reedy will discuss highlights of the 2003 Convention, and its context within overall preservation efforts of UNESCO (such as Memory of the World and the World Heritage Convention) and within past efforts of the conservation and preservation communities in the United States. Recent global efforts and current directions of the work in this field will be reviewed, followed by a discussion about how and why intangible data can and should be preserved in close association with material culture when dealing with library materials, works of art, utilitarian objects, spiritual and ritual objects, buildings and monuments, or landscapes.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Chandra L. Reedy is currently a Professor in the Center for Historic Architecture and Design at the University of Delaware, where she serves as director of its Laboratory for Analysis of Cultural Materials. She also holds secondary appointments in Material Culture Studies, Art History, and East Asian Studies. She received her Ph.D. degree from UCLA, and worked as a conservation scientist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art before moving to Delaware to direct the Ph.D. Program in Art Conservation Research from 1989-2003. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works for 8 years, and also served a term on the AIC’s Board of Directors. She is the author or co-author of five books and more than 50 research articles, and has presented workshops and professional papers at more than 100 venues nationally and internationally.