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...
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/
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.
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
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...
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...
Please join us for a lecture and discussion on "CULTURAL CHANGES IN ISAAN AND LAOS" Led by Professor William Klausner Wednesday, 21 November 2012 - 4:00 - 5:00pm Join us at TAEC on Wednesday, November 21 for a talk by Prof. William Klausner, President emeritus of the James HW Thompson Foundation and adjunct professor at Chulalongkorn University. Prof. Klausner has lived in Thailand for over fifty years. His talk will explore the dramatic cultural transformation of Isaan village life during the past few decades and be followed by a discussion session with the audience. Come by Le Patio Cafe on Wednesday if you’re interested in learning about how Lao culture has changed over the years. Light refreshments will be served, and desserts in the café are also half-priced after 3pm so enjoy a treat while you listen and participate. This activity is FREE with a museum entry ticket. Light refreshments will be served Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre House 355 Ban Khamyong Luang Prabang LAOS - http://www.taeclaos.org
