Traditional arts and Ethnology center
Overview
Preserving Cultural Diversity in Laos. Opened in 2007 in a historic house at the foot of Phousy Hill, the museum at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) presents engaging exhibitions and special projects that offer a rare and fascinating insight into the diversity and richness of Laos ethnic cultures.
Open Hours
- Open daily 09:00am – 18:00pm
- From: Tuesday to Sunday (Close on Monday)
- Tickets: 25.000k/person (under age of 12 years old free entrance)
Access
- Located in Khamyoung village, the way to go just beside Dara Market
History
From the perspectives of ethnic minority women, this exhibition shares the lives of women in Laos today. With photographs, documentary videos, and objects the exhibition explores themes of work, family, health, heritage and handicrafts as recorded by girls and women in Northern Laos.
Over a two year period as part of the Stitching Our Stories (SOS) project, young women from Hmong and Tai Lue communities in Luang Prabang learned to use digital media to record and reflect upon their lives in a rapidly changing Laos. From this collection of photographs, video clips, and interviews, TAEC and the international arts programme, PhotoForward, developed the Caregivers to Culture Keepers exhibition.
Community Researchers were integral in framing the exhibition themes, and along with the SOS participants provided the content for the exhibition. Seven short videos present interviews with women in the Hmong and Tai Lue communities on varied topics including a Hmong medicine woman, early childcare in Laos, Hmong batik, Tai Lue weaving, Shamans, and Hmong embroidery, A part of the exhibition, the videos provide a more in-depth look into the lives of women in Laos today.
- Permanent Exhibitions
Two rooms of displays showcase the Akha, Hmong, Tai Lue, and Kmhmu people in Laos and feature traditional handmade clothing and textiles, jewellery, handicraft and household tools, reconstructions of domestic scenes, and religious artefacts.
All exhibitions are presented in Lao and English. Translations are available in French, German, Spanish, and Japanese.
- Â Collection, Library and Research
TAEC maintains a collection of ethnic minority artefacts and a small library on the ethnic groups of Laos. Special projects of TAEC contribute to a growing body of documentation about the diverse cultures found in Laos and include books, short videos, and exhibitions.
