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Treasures of Polish University Heritage

In May 2014, the first non-governmental organization in Poland dedicated to Polish museums and museum units at universities was established – the Association of University Museums. The strength of the university museum community in Poland is evident in the Association’s growth: with 13 museums on 2014, today it has 102 university museums.

The Association of University Museums makes the society aware of the importance of academic heritage as an important dimension of national identity. The most important goal of the Association is to develop university museums and preserve academic heritage through its protection, dissemination and promotion, as well as to support the collection, documentation and conservation of monuments, and develop scientific research. A wide range of information activities is carried out, promoting the idea of university museums in Poland and abroad.

Several publications have resulted from the activities of the Association: “University Museums”, ed. H. Kowalski, M. Grassmann, M. Bukowski; “University Museum in Poland”, ed. H. Kowalski, M. Grassmann, M. Bukowski, Warsaw 2016; K. Pomian, “Museums and nations in Central Europe”, Warsaw 2016; “University Museums. Catalogue” ed. H. Kowalski, M. Grassmann, M. Bukowski, M. Piszczatowska, J. Ślaga, Warsaw 2017.

In 2020, the Association of University Museums is implementing the project “TREASURES OF THE POLISH UNIVERSITY HERITAGE”. This project will publish in English a catalogue of the most valuable objects from 102 museum units of Polish universities. The project will also create a website in English. The official launch of the catalogue will take place December 16th, 2020 in the Warsaw University Museum.

The project “TREASURES OF THE POLISH UNIVERSITY HERITAGE” has been co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.

More information about the project here.

 

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SJTU-T.D. Lee Science and Art Competition 2020

The SJTU-T.D. LEE Science and Art Lecture Fund of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (hereinafter referred to as the Science and Art Fund) was established in 2013 to promote the integration of science and art and carry forward the spirit of science and art. The Science and Art Fund would organize a science and art work competition every year to encourage the creation of works of art based on scientific themes, and select outstanding scientific and art works from around the world to organize special exhibitions after review and evaluation. So far, 6 science and art competition and exhibitions have been successfully held.

The 7th Science and Art Competition starts officially in June 2020. This year’s theme is ‘Spin‘. After completing the collection and review of art works, it is planned to hold the “T.D. Lee Science and Art Works Exhibition — 2020 Spin International Scientific Seminar” in November 2020. During the event, it will focus on the integration and innovation of science and art, and hold international academic seminars to provide scientists and artists with a high-level interactive communication platform.

Organizating Bodies

Sponsoring Organization:

  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • International Scientific Exchange Foundation of China
  • Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

Supporting Organization:

  • Tsung Dao LEE Library of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • Tsung Dao Lee Research Institute, School of Design
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Review and Evaluation Body:

  • SJTU-T.D. LEE Science and Art Committee
  • Science and Art Committee of International Scientific Exchange Foundation of China
  • T.D. Lee Science and Art Research Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Learn more about calendar, submission and rules in the notice.

More information, please contact:

Chen Xuwei,  Shanghai Jiao Tong University Tsung Dao Lee Library, 800 Dongchuan Rd., Shanghai, 200240, P.R. China.

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20th UMAC Annual General Meeting

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, UMAC’s 20th Annual General meeting will take place on the virtual platform Zoom.

It is scheduled to Monday, 27 July at 1 PM Lisbon/London time. Please find the announcement, agenda, and associated documents here.

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Fire at the Natural History Museum and Botanic Garden, Belo Horizonte

So sad that yet another tragedy hit a university museum in Brazil. This week, a fire at the Natural History Museum and Botanic Garden, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, destroyed part of the collections.

Photo Divulgação COBOM, Brasil.

UMAC sends to our friends in UFMG our condolences and full solidarity. We are also forwarding dozens of messages that are arriving from everywhere in the world to the Museum director, Prof. Mariana Lacerda.

UMAC is working closely with ICOM Brazil and the UFMG Museum Network to accompany the situation and help when we can.

 

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Luís (Lucho) Repetto Málaga (1953-2020)

Luís (Lucho) Repetto Malaga, was born August 4, 1953 in Peru. Art historian and museologist specialized in popular art and Amazonian ethnography. Administrator with a master’s degree in Museology from the Escuela de Conservación Restauración y Museografía Manuel del Castillo Negrete in Mexico.

Vice-President of ICOM Peru, Luís Repetto was President of the ICOM-LAC, the Regional Organization for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Council of Museums. He was the Director of the Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions of the Riva Agüero Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Director of Galleries and Special Projects of the Cultural Centre of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and General Coordinator of the Ibero-American Network for the Management and Appreciation of Heritage Cemeteries. He published multiple essays on popular art and Amazonian ethnography, as well as contemporary museology.

Throughout his life, Repetto was an active and respected leader in the cultural sector in Peru, Latin America and internationally. He is recognized for his commitment to, and love for, heritage and museums, as well as for his love of the popular dance Marinera.
An active member of ICOM-UMAC, particularly in recent years, he supported national networks of university museums and collections in Latin America. Among his many reflections, he left us: “We are in times of museological introspection, times for reinvention, research and the use of the virtual channels in all its modalities”.

 

Karin Weil, Chile

9 June 2020

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UMAC Webinars

 

Since late March, universities across the world have closed, lectures were moved online and research – apart from COVID research – has suffered limitations due to safety reasons. As lockdown rules relax and museums worldwide gradually reopen, UMAC wants to have a global overview of the situation for university museums and collections.

How did the lockdown affect your university museum, collection, botanic garden or science center? How did you navigate the plethora of online platforms and social media, both internally and publicly? How did you respond to your audiences – researchers, students, general public? What lessons did you learn?

UMAC is organizing a series of five informal webinars every Friday between 5 June and 3 July 2020. The series will take place on ZOOM. Each webinar will happen twice a day to facilitate access from different time zones.

Please see below how you can participate.

The series will be made available au fur et à mesure under our resources section — webinars and in UMAC YouTube channel.

Similar initiatives are being organised by Universeum (also here) and the AAMG – check their websites for details.

WEBINAR I: Reopening for the public

5 June 2020

Has your university museum, botanic garden or science center reopened to the public or will reopen soon? What safety measures are you implementing in your exhibitions and public spaces? Will you reopen totally or partly? If you are on campus, how are you coping with the restrictions of a closed campus?

8 AM Lisbon/9 AM Pretoria/3 PM Shanghai/4 PM Tokyo/5 PM Sydney, moderated by Andrew Simpson, Australia

5 PM Lisbon/11 AM Mexico City/12 PM New York/1 PM Rio de Janeiro, moderated by Marta Lourenço, Portugal

WEBINAR II: Reopening Collections

12 June 2020

Is your university museum resuming access to collections post-lockdown? What safety measures are you implementing? Do you plan to quarantine specimens, artefacts, manuscripts and books post-access? What impact did COVID have on your collections policy? Are you collecting COVID objects?

8 AM Lisbon/9 AM Pretoria/3 PM Shanghai/4 PM Tokyo/5 PM Sydney, moderated by Akiko Fukuno, Japan

5 PM Lisbon/11 AM Mexico City/12 PM New York/1 PM Rio de Janeiro, moderated by Sébastien Soubiran, France

WEBINAR III: Lockdown Lessons: Going Digital

19 June 2020

During lockdown, did your university museum, science center, botanic garden remain active online? Was your university museum prepared? What technological, logistical, content challenges did ‘going digital’ pose? What lessons did you learn for the future?

8 AM Lisbon/9 AM Pretoria/3 PM Shanghai/4 PM Tokyo/5 PM Sydney, moderated by Roland Wittje, India

5 PM Lisbon/11 AM Mexico City/12 PM New York/1 PM Rio de Janeiro, moderated by Jill Deupi, USA

WEBINAR IV: Lockdown Lessons: Online Teaching and Students

26 June 2020

Was your university museum or collection being used for teaching? Were you teaching material culture or collections-based courses at graduate or post-graduate levels when the lockdown started? What were the challenges of moving object-based teaching online? Which platforms did you use? Did you create specific resources? How did students cope? How can we prepare for a future where online teaching appears to be predominant?

8 AM Lisbon/9 AM Pretoria/3 PM Shanghai/4 PM Tokyo/5 PM Sydney, moderated by Alistair Kwan, New Zealand

5 PM Lisbon/11 AM Mexico City/12 PM New York/1 PM Rio de Janeiro, moderated by Kirsten Vincenz, Germany

WEBINAR V: Lockdown Lessons: The Near Future

3 July 2020

What is the immediate and mid-term impact of COVID in your university museum and collection? What consequences do you anticipate in terms of audiences, logistics, finances, access, even mission and strategy?

8 AM Lisbon/9 AM Pretoria/3 PM Shanghai/4 PM Tokyo/5 PM Sydney, moderated by David Ellis, Australia

5 PM Lisbon/11 AM Mexico City/12 PM New York/1 PM Rio de Janeiro, moderated by Steph Scholten, UK

Contributions (limited slots)

We are now inviting informal contributions from all over the world. Each contribution consists of a 5 min presentation (max. 3 powerpoint slides, these are optional). Slots are limited and will be accepted on a first come first served basis.

If you want to contribute, please send an email to UMAC Secretary Wenjia Qiu, indicating name, institution, and which date and hour you want to intervene. You will be asked to provide your three slides 24 h before the webinar.

Attendance

Everyone can attend but registration is required.

Please send an email to UMAC Secretary Wenjia Qiu, indicating name and institution. You will be given the access link and password.