Evolving Conservation Practices in Local Tropical Climates — Asia Pacific Focus
7-9 December 2026 (+1 day option)
5 sites and 3 locations in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Lenggong
Cultural conservation helps Southeast Asian nations to manage and present their collections and determine the stories and identities they share. Access to collections is critical to understand what it means to care for heritage, as we revisit (colonial) histories and engage with decolonisation, inclusion and sovereignty (in the region).
Conservation can be difficult in tropical climates, with high risks of decay and natural disaster. However, challenge-led experiences also provide possibilities, adaptions and creative futures.
After almost 20 years, APTCCARN7 is returning to Malaysia where it held its first meeting in 2008.
In these two decades, the practice of cultural conservation in the Tenggara-South of Southeast Asia has formed its distinct character, thought style and learning communities.
APTCCARN7 Program
-
09:00 – 09:30
Registration & Launch
Chair – Tan Hui Koon (National Art Gallery Malaysia)
09:30 – 10:15
Keynote – DG Amerrudin Ahmad
10:15 – 10:30
Morning Tea
10:30 – 12:00
1st Sharing Panel – For What Local Context? Frameworks Moderator – A/Professor Nicole Tse (University of Melbourne, Australia)
10:30 – 10:40
Pattayarach Thamwongsa, Burin Singtoaj, Chutinun Thongkham – National Discovery Museum Institute, Thailand, Applying RE-ORG in Southeast Asia: A Case Study of Museum Storage Improvement at a Local Museum in Thailand
10:40 – 10:50
Nina Lawrence Duenas & Ana Maria Theresa P. Labrador – National Museum of the Philippines, Phillipines, Exhibition as legitimizing process: the case of the National Museum of the Philippines
10:50 – 11:00
Jia Min Tsu – The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Malaysia, Preserving a Regional Archive: The Material and Environmental Challenges of The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple's Living Heritage Network
11:00 – 11:10
TBC
11:10 – 11:20
TBC
11:20 – 12:00
Discussion
13:30 – 14:15
Lunch / Solat
Study Visit – Art Hospital
15:30 – 16:30
Study Visit – Islamic Art Museum Malaysia
16:30 – 16:55
Afternoon Tea – Islamic Art Museum Malaysia, Rehal Terrace
17:00 – 18:30
3rd Sharing Panel – For What Local Context? Materials Moderator – Dr Aristoteles Georgios Sakellariou (Islamic Art Museum Malaysia)
17:10 – 17:10
Camilla Bianchi & Mohd Azizi Mohd Azhar – Islamic Art Museum Malaysia, Digital Innovation for Ethical Conservation
17:10 – 17:20
Yori Setiawan – Institut Konservasi, Indonesia, In Search for Colors: Hyperspectral Imaging for Pigment Identification of the Illuminated Javanese Qur’an Manuscripts
17:20 – 17:30
TBC
17:30 – 17:40
TBC
17:40 – 17:50
TBC
17:50 – 18:30
Discussion
18:30 – 21:00
Welcome Dinner – Venue TBC
Over 3-4 days, APTCCARN7 will engage with:
Who decides? Culture is conserved only when people care. But then who decides what is cared for and whose voice is represented?
For what local contexts? From local contexts, inclusive and collective responses can evolve. Across Southeast Asia is it possible to identify shared regional practices and common approaches?
Does a common view of cultural conservation exist? Approaches to cultural heritage follows its own pathway in Southeast Asia. This means there are multiple ways to understand how cultural conservation is practiced and recognised.
What change do we want to see? As climate changes, we change our practices and develop new ways of doing things. Our approach to heritage, adapts and evolves to offer promising new ideas for cultural conservation.
We will engage in discussion panels, study visits and listening sessions.
APTCCARN7 invites expressions of interest from heritage practitioners, creatives and museum workers to exchange ideas to learn from each other’s experience.
Call for Participation closed. If you are still interested in participating, still complete this form.
Registrations will open in September 2026.
Organising committee
National Art Gallery Kuala Lumpur
Robert Cripps Institute for Cultural Conservation, University of Melbourne
We acknowledge traditional owners on the lands on which we work and learn. We pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and the place of Indigenous knowledge in the academy.
KEY DATES
Call for participation closed on 22 July 2026
Participants notified 30 July 2026
Registrations will open for all September 2026
APTCCARN7 7-9 December 2026 + 1 day
Option to submit a written paper 30 February 2027
Co-organisers and host
Strategic Partners
