Opening of the Interdisciplinary photo exhibition on Crafts and Craftsmanship in different cultures, with an introduction by Fridus Steijlen on the Crafts of Tau-Tau Puppetry Arts in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Crafts and innovation have gone hand in hand for decades. A re-evaluation of craft and craftsmanship in different cultures becomes more and more visible. This is not a nostalgic return to an idealised past; It is a search for scenarios that offer a better life for future generations. Crafts can play a central role in different sciences and innovation. Across material disciplines, craft processes have driven breakthroughs that have passed into the other field. This exhibition shows photographs, affiliated to LeidenGlobal partners, that relate to the theme of craftsmanship, specifically where tradition and innovation are fused through craft. 

Fridus Steijlen* will explain his submission to the exhibition named ‘Tau Tau Puppetry’. While filming daily life in Tana Toraja (Sulawesi, Indonesia) with his colleagues for the project ‘Recording the Future’, Fridus Steijlen visited a sculptor specialised in Tau-Tau Puppetry Arts: “While sitting in his workshop, I turned around and saw this Tau-Tau of a deceased woman. It felt like there was a real person.”

The programme will feature:

• Welcome by the Art Committee of Oude UB and LeidenGlobal
• Tau Tau Puppetry and recording the future by Fridus Steijlen
• Officially announcing the opening of the the exhibition
• Drinks 

Fridus Steijlen* is a senior researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) and Endowed Professor ‘Moluccan Migration and Culture in a comparative perspective’ at VU University Amsterdam. He researches postcolonial migration from Indonesia and daily life in present day Indonesia and coordinates the research project ‘Recording the Future’: an audiovisual archive on everyday life in Indonesia.

The exhibition will be on display in the context of Leiden2022, Leiden City of Science, at the Oude UB Building until November 30th 2022