Webinar des Pitt Rivers Museum im Rahmen des EU-Projekts “Taking Care” (in Englisch)

How can ethnographic and world cultures museums use their collections and galleries as spaces which create active discussion around the impact of humans on the planet, while also highlighting what long-term perspectives can tell us about sustainability for developing positive futures? The project TAKING CARE explores the connections between ethnographic collections and questions regarding the climate crisis, the Anthropocene and issues related to the afterlives of colonialism.

In the fourth week of the Matters of Care: Museum futures in times of planetary precarity conference series, we talk with Cissy Serrao, founder of Poakalani & Company, Hawai’i. Cissy and her family have been creating Hawaiian quilts for many generations. In conversation with Jeremy Uden and Misa Tamura, she shares her thoughts with us on the cultural significance and symbolism of quilting in Hawaiian culture, why the patterns and tradition are so important to keep alive, and how she teaches this exciting and beautiful art.

Cissy Serrao, founder of Poakalani & Company, Hawai’i

                        ‘The Art of Hawaiian Quilting’Kii Nche Ndutsa (Time and the Seashell)’

Discussants: Jeremy Uden, Head of Conservation, Pitt Rivers Museum and Misa Tamura, Senior Conservator, Pitt Rivers Museum

Register for this event here

All public webinars will be recorded and available on the Pitt Rivers YouTube channel and the Taking Care website after the live event.

Cissy Serrao is the founder of Poakalani & Company, a quilting guild and school in Honolulu, Hawai’i, established in 1988 by Cissy’s parents, Poakalani and John Serrao. Her parent’s philosophy in creating this guild was to preserve and appreciate the cultural heritage of Hawai’i.

Jeremy Uden is Head of Conservation at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. He is interested in research into materials and construction techniques using non-destructive scientific techniques. He is also currently conducting research into pesticide residues on museum objects, and whether these residues potentially have an impact on human health.

Misa Tamura is a Senior Conservator on the Talking Threads textile research project at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. She is also Chair of the Institute of Conservation Ethnography working group.