The Heritage of the World and UNESCO World Heritage – Conservation goes International

The Institute of Conservation of the University of Applied Arts Vienna (IoC)

Patan Durbar Square and Royal Palace in Nepal, © Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna / Christoph Schlessmann

Field trip to the World Monument Fund project construction site at Wat Chai Watthanaram, Ayutthaya, © SUIC / © Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna

The preservation of the world's cultural heritage, whether in Europe or Asia, is a central task of the Institute of Conservation and its UNESCO Chair. In 2004, the Institute's international activities began with the FWF research and conservation project in Nako, at an altitude of 4000 m in the Himalayas. From 2009 to the present, Patan Durbar Square and the Royal Palace, part of Nepal's UNESCO World Heritage Site, have been the focus of research conservation campaigns, as have the ethnographic museums and their collections of Kavaja and Kruja in Albania after the devastating earthquake of 2019.

Collection care in the ethnographic museum of Kruja, Albania, © Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna

Dissertations and research projects on World Heritage sites in Ephesus and Patan allow for basic research on the history of restoration and the development of methods and concepts for the conservation of these outstanding sites. The new Joint Master Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management has enriched the range of courses offered at Angewandte, with the primary aim of strengthening the development and expansion of conservation in Southeast Asia.

The lectures provide insight into conservation, research and capacity building on an international level, which require not only specialized knowledge, but also creativity and flexibility in practical work.

Examination of the painted doors in the temple Wat Kamphaeng Bang Chak, © Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna

Program:

16:00 Welcome

Gabriela Krist, UNESCO Chair on Conservation and Preservation of Tangible Cultural Heritage | Head of IoC

16:05 Welcome

Florian Meixner, Programme Specialist for World Heritage and Protection of Cultural Property, Austrian Commission for UNESCO

16:15 Introduction

Bruno Maldoner, Honorary Professor IoC

16:25 Conservation practice within a living World Heritage site: The Patan Durbar Square in Nepal

Martina Haselberger, Research Associate IoC | Doctoral Student IoC

16:50 Conservation science research at the archaeological site of Ephesus (Turkey)

Barbara Rankl, Conservator | Doctoral Student IoC

17:15 UNOPS-led projects in Albania. Evacuation and conservation of cultural heritage

Meral Hietz, Senior Conservator IoC

17:40 Austria and Thailand: Together for ‘Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management’

Tanushree Gupta, Research Associate IoC

EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fr: 13.00 – 18.00; Thu: 13.00 – 20.00

Curated by Gabriela Krist and the team of the Institute of Conservation of the University of Applied Arts Vienna

Exhibition design: Christian Höller / Photos: Christoph Schleßmann