Crafting Cultures: Understanding Materials
On February 9th, 2023, the interdisciplinary LeidenGlobal photo exhibition "Crafting Cultures" will be opened at the Leiden Faculty of Social Sciences, with an introduction by Dr. Erik de Maaker.
The interdisciplinairy LeidenGlobal photo exhibition "Crafting Cultures" consists of photographs of academics affiliated with the university and LeidenGlobal partners, who show their vision on the subject of 'craftsmanship' from their own research. The theme is illuminated by different angles.
Location:
Leiden Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW), Central Hall
Pieter de la Court building
Wassenaarseweg 52 te Leiden
Programme on 9 February:
16:15 Walk-in
16:30 Opening:
- Welkome by the Art Committee of FSW and LeidenGlobal
- ‘Understanding Materials’
Introduction by dr. Erik de Maaker*, who will talk about the usage of bamboo in the borderlands of South and Southeast Asia, and the dedicated requirements thereof. Working with bamboo typically involves skills that are subsistence oriented, representing a sphere of economic life that resists commodification.
17:00 Official Opening Event with bites and drinks
18:00 End
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*Erik de Maaker is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology of Leiden University. He works on the social constitution of values, objects and places, and their relevance in terms of ethnicity, indigeneity, heritage, environment and religion, primarily in South Asia.
His research has taken him, among others, to rural Meghalaya (India), where people know exactly how to make bamboo into a material that can be used for purposes as varied as house building, making implements, but can even serve as food. The art of working bamboo requires skill and dedicated craftsmanship. His photo and the research conducted make a great fit with 'Crafting Cultures', the latest exhibition of LeidenGlobal.
The exhibition will be on display until March 28th 2023 and can be viewed during opening hours of the faculty.