Mobilizing the (Im)Mobile Museum Through Hybrid Curation: A Story of Hybrid Curation of Cultural Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0086

Keywords:

COVID-19 Pandemic, Good Health, Hybrid Curatorial Practice, Mobile Ethnography, Mobile Museum

Abstract

This narrative research report summarizes the experiences of Vivid Ethnicity, a mobile anthropological museum of the Museum of Cultural Anthropology at Mahidol University, Thailand, during the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2022. Although Vivid Ethnicity was rendered immobile and forced to stop travelling during the pandemic, it developed a hybrid curatorial method to stay connected and engaged with its audiences and research partners in two ethnic villages in Chiang Mai province. A key lesson of this experience is that hands-on information and communication technologies can help maintain a certain proximity with the audiences and research partners in times of physical absence. We also learned that an empathetic mindset on the part of everyone involved in the project, along with a human-centric design, are crucial components of what we call the hybrid curation of cultural practice.

Author Biographies

Patoo Cusripituck, Mahidol University

Patoo Cusripituck is assistant professor and lecturer in museum studies at the Cultural Studies Program, at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia (RILCA), Mahidol University, Thailand. She serves as Chair of the iCulture group that runs the Museum of Cultural Anthropology and the Vivid Ethnicity mobile Exhibition at RILCA. She holds a position as board member and consultant for various museums in Thailand. Her areas of interest include museum education, museum and community engagement, ethnicity, and visual anthropology. Her current research project is a play-learn-earn outreach educational program for policy advocacy. 

Jitjayang Yamabhai, Mahidol University

Jitjayang Yamabhai is assistant professor and lecturer at the Cultural Studies Program, at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Thailand. His research interests include rural development, ethnicity, and sociology of education. His current research project is a play-learn-earn outreach educational program for policy advocacy. 

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Published

2023-06-28

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2023): The COVID-19 Pandemic, (Im)Mobilities, and Migration in Southeast Asia

Section

Research Workshop

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Copyright (c) 2023 Patoo Cusripituck, Jitjayang Yamabhai

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