This project is the second part of the plan to digitalize the series of “Collaborated Exhibition Projects” (hence CEP) organized by the Museum of Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (MIOE), alongside indigenous communities. In the first year of the plan—“Academia Sinica Institute of Ethnology Open Museum : A Dialogue Between Anthropology and Indigenous Knowledge”—we transform the first two CEP into digital exhibitions using the Open Museum platform. For the second year, we will continue to work on the third and fourth CEP, including the 2020 exhibition “Re-Collections of the Kaviyangan” in collaboration with the Kaviyangan Community of Paiwan in Pingtung and the 2022 exhibition “Linking Fata'an” in collaboration with the Fatai'an Community of Amis in Hualian.

The series of collaborations with indigenous communities was initially launched by MIOE in 2017. Through these CEPs, indigenous artifacts collected between the 1950s and 1960s by anthropologists are reconnected with contemporary indigenous communities and become part of the cultural heritage movement. In the process, there created multilayered knowledge dialogues between generations of anthropological researchers and indigenous communities. The digitization of the physical CEP will enable a continuation of the dialogue and collaboration, with possibilities for further exploration. With a foundation based on the original physical exhibitions, the Digital CEP will also include video documentation, field interviews, and classical ethnographies digitized for online reading. Furthermore, the project will showcase ways in which indigenous communities extend and further develop their cultural heritage through the course of CEP. The collaborative experiences have also allowed staffs in MIOE to reflect on the institutional methodologies, and further explore a more open and egalitarian design, for example, inviting indigenous partners to participate in artifact restoration and to provide perspectives on the photo documentation of artifacts, etc. As the second year of digital CEP, this project plans to strengthen the extent of participation by indigenous communities, not only to ensure that the exhibition content is more consistent with indigenous perspectives but also to more actively reify the spirit of CEP to impart shared interests and their influences.

Open Museum of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (1): Knowledge Translation, Anthropology, and Digital Exhibitions

Open Museum of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (2): Dialogue between Anthropology and Indigenous Knowledge