Working Group Participants: Ms. Aphantri Setthetham, Mr. Sanpiseth Kim, Mr. Kriengkrai Watanasawad, Ms. Chunbo Xie
Background
Gallery : Urban Lamphun Community Museum
The Urban Lamphun Community Museum was founded in 2007 by Mr. Naren Punyapu. The museum focuses on the history of the contemporary town of Lamphun, with an emphasis on archival photographs of Lamphun’s past. It is housed in a nearly 100 year-old edifice, the Khum-Chao-Rajabutra, which is the former residence of a Lumphun ruling lineage. This building remains one of the rarest and oldest buildings in the town of Lamphun. A group of young volunteers, called the Klum-Kwong-Wean-Hlapoon, initiated the museum project and have taken care of the museum since its foundation. The municipality of Lamphun has supported various activities and events organised by the museum’s young cultural workers.
The museum exhibitions consist of 4 areas as follows:
First, on the ground floor, a series of photographs tell different stories concerning the period of the Chao-Rajabutra residency, and document the historical changes of the site. Enlarged and reproduced old maps of Lamphun reflect both the changes and continuities of the town of Lamphun. Moreover, reproductions of old photographs encourage visitors to learn about events, customs and rituals which were formerly practiced by Lamphun residents.
Second, a small wooden building in the courtyard behind the main building has been reconstructed, modeled on an old cinema of Lumphun and an old classroom. On some occasions, the museum has cooperated with the Centre for Old Film Conservation in Lampang to screen films and launch educational programmes for the general public.
Third, on the upper level of the main building, youth who are interested in traditional music like Pin-paie (idiophone) can learn to practice and play the instruments from the volunteer masters from local universities in the North. Some reproduced photographs taken by an American ethnomusicologist who had studied this instrument and its music more than 30 years ago illustrate the value and significance of the tradition.
Lastly, the open-air space close to the main edifice hosts various activities for the youth and wider public such as “talkfests” about the past, ritual activities, and performances. There is also a one-storey building divided into three adjoined rooms: one presenting the collection of local firefighters; another reconstructing a former convenient store; and the third showing the ambiance of the 1960s coffee shop.
Naren Punyapu, one of the museum caretakers, emphasized that even though the museum has been subsidized by the local municipality, which provides support for the venue of the existing museum, the museum operators still have to struggle for funding; for instance, young volunteers must seek donations from the public at weekend markets and by organizing fundraising events such as screening movies.
Regarding the collection, besides the photographs copied from the National Archives, most of the exhibited objects come from donations and acquisitions of Lamphun objects made via online auctions. Members of this online community are interested in antiquity and the cultural paraphernalia of the past 50 years. Additionally, some museum operators have worked closely with local researchers associated with the Hariphunchai Institute, an NGO local research centre.
Working Group Project
On the first day of fieldwork, the working group focused on identifying the role of the museum in the community. According to a number of key informants, including the curator and several volunteers, the museum serves as a centre to research, preserve, transmit and revitalize local values and traditions, such as the “volunteer spirit” in urban Lamphun and rural Lamphun province. It is also a centre for youth groups’ cultural activities, and transmission of elders’ knowledge to youth. Operators and primary users include the volunteers and youth group networks, and outside audiences include tourists and other interested persons.
Regarding the museum’s core challenges, they are facing a shortage of funding for activities, as well as uncertainty about the exhibition space. The museum also faces challenges in terms of a shortage of skills and appropriate methods for conserving, archiving and exhibiting materials collections.
Turning to the identification and selection of intangible heritage, in the inventory process, the working group initially identified a number of elements of intangible heritage associated with the museum and museum community, including: traditional music; production of traditional, handmade toys; and the production of floating candles for the November floating candle festival. Through observation and interviews, the working group discovered that at the heart of all these activities is an element of ICH associated with youth volunteerism, which the working group called “volunteer spirit.” As the group learned, this “volunteer spirit” among youth volunteers has a long history in Lamphun province. As evidenced by archival photographs, “Num-Saaw” youth groups have been involved in a range of social welfare, public service and development projects for many decades.
Activities of these groups in the past included building irrigation systems and rural schools, as well as organizing events (plays and performances) to raise funds for local charities.
The current youth volunteer groups found at the Urban Lamphun Community Museum are modeled on the “Num-Saaw” volunteer spirit and practice of Lamphun, and they support a number of activities, such as organizing cultural activities (i.e. revival of the floating candle festival) and teaching of traditional folk music. In addition, the youth groups are involved in research about persons and events featured in old photographs of Lamphun. Starting with the photo archive, youth seek out key informants who can teach them about practices and events. These findings from interviews and meetings with elders are then used to document and sometimes to revitalize threatened or dying cultural practices (like the floating candle festival). In this way, the research, sponsorship and organization of these cultural activities supports intergenerational transmission of ICH.
Regarding documentation and research, the Urban Lamphun Community Museum already has a fair amount of existing documentation, such as old photos, newsletters, books, a museum website, and a museum brochure.
In terms of cultural rights, the curator has sought permission to reproduce photos in the museum exhibits from the donors of photos as well as the National Library in Bangkok. Nevertheless, there is concern that some visitors to the museum take photographs and reproduce the images without respecting the photo copyrights.
With respects to promoting, transmitting, revitalizing and enhancing ICH, the working group found that the museum was already engaged in both in-reach and out-reach through a range of educational activities, cooperation and interpretation, and networking and partnership. For instance, the museum already served as a cultural learning centre transmitting knowledge about traditional practices and cultural activities. As for outreach, there was a monthly newsletter featuring articles about local history and cultural events, as well as a museum brochure and coverage about the museum’s activities in local and national newspaper media. The museum also had been featured in a TV documentary program, billboards, as well as on T-shirts promoting museum activities.
In summary, the working group found that the Num-Saaw group, or “volunteer spirit” was the most significant element of ICH for the Museum of Urban Lamphun Community, inasmuch as it underlies all of the museum’s educational and outreach activities focused on Lamphun’s local history and culture. The Museum of Urban Lamphun is a good example of a community-based museum which relies on the participation of community members. The working group suggested that this element of ICH could be listed in a local and national inventory, and should also be considered for the international listing.
Project Outputs
(Museum Plan and Recommendations for Safeguarding ICH)
In terms of recommendations, the working group suggested that the Museum of Urban Lamphun should develop a digital database featuring photo archives as well as documentation (interviews, etc.) It was also suggested that the museum continue and expand it’s fundraising efforts, in part through developing a statistical record of visitors to show the importance of the museum both locally as well as regionally and internationally.
English language materials (brochure, labels) would make the museum collection and activities more accessible to the international community. Moreover, the museum needs to focus on improving its collection management, such as cataloguing and inventory methods. It would also be worthwhile to develop “appropriate” conservation methods for the museum’s photographs, media and artifacts. One specific suggestion made by the working group was the introduction to a simple form that could be used to develop a database of photographs.
The working group also focused its recommendations on transmitting the “Num-Saaw” Volunteer Spirit model to other communities in the region, as well as nation-wide. Based on their research and consultation, the group suggested that the museum produce a CD with information about the history of Lamphun “Volunteer Spirit” which would demonstrate the way that the ULCM is revitalizing and transmitting their historically-rooted practice of community service. This CD could be used to teach other districts as well as visitors so that they could develop similar volunteer networks in their own communities.
Contents of the CD would include: 1) history of the Noom Saw group with archival photographs; 2)methodology of ULCM (collection of photo archives, transmission of activities from elders to youth and younger generations, community service); 3) examples of community activities that the museum facilitates; 4) Thailand TV documentary about ULCM. The CD could be used to teach new members of the ULCM about activities and methods. It could also be mailed to other districts, and made accessible to people without internet access. It could be given to visitors at the museum who are interested in teaching these methods in their own communities.
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