The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at The Courtauld is honored to bring together leading voices in the fields of archaeology, conservation, heritage management, education, and religious studies to discuss current topics impacting Sri Lanka’s heritage. The four talks will address such issues as colonial legacies, religious nationalism, and ethnic and religious conflict and present case studies of people-centred approaches, decolonising collections, digitisation projects, multi-faith heritage sites, and nature-culture links that look toward Sri Lanka’s future.
These events, part of The Courtauld’s Arts of the Buddhist World: Heritage and Conservation lecture series, aim to broaden our understanding of the contemporary and global challenges in the study, preservation, and appreciation of cultural heritage created and connected to the beliefs and practices of Buddhism. Lectures and workshops will expose us to the ethical issues surrounding cultural heritage from a theoretical and practical vantage point and an interdisciplinary perspective. The series aims to expand the ways in which religious heritage that embodies spiritual and sacred values is researched, cared for, engaged with, and curated.
Arts of the Buddhist World: Heritage and Conservation is the second in a series of events linked to the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at The Courtauld.
Organised by Sujatha Meegama (Art History) and Lori Wong (Conservation)
Previous events
Art of the Buddhist World: History and Conservation was the first event in this series relating to the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at The Courtauld. It presented a series of lectures and workshops exploring the current fields of Buddhist art from across Asia.
During Autumn and Spring Terms, leading speakers in Buddhist art history presented focused research from across a range of Buddhist geographies, temporalities, and methodologies, including Southeast Asia, Japan, China, South Asia, and the Himalayas. In Summer Term, three roundtables addressed the intersections of conservation, art history, and site-based research, as we explore Bamiyan and West Asia; Dunhuang and Central Asia; and thangka painting. Over the course of the year, this rich variety of public events aimed present and expand our understanding about the state of the field in Buddhist art and the contemporary challenges facing art historians and conservators in studying, working in, and preserving Buddhist monuments across Asia.
Organisers: Sussan Babaie, Austin Nevin, Stephen Whiteman
Organised in collaboration with the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation.
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at The Courtauld was established by a generous endowment in 2012 from the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
