Recovery and Conservation Learning
After a quick call from Heritage Victoria to the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne, Master’s students and staff have been part of the restoration and recovery work alongside the temple custodians and heritage experts who are steering the efforts. Collection recovery and reconstruction is hard, and at the See Yup Temple even more so. So we’ve constantly been asking how we can support the recovery of fire affected materials and living heritage, and for the collections and environment to be safe? Discussions, dialogues and layers of decisions has been really important before any restoration work takes place.
We first gained an insight into the impacts as part of subject learning in ‘Sustainable Collections’, with Nicole Tse (Grimwade Centre), Jenny Dickens (Heritage Victoria) and Sophie Couchman (Professional Historian and Curator). This made an impression, and a group of students were awarded a Willem Snoek Award to continue working with temple and its collection recovery in preparation for Chinese New Year 2025. The conservation of wooden plaques and banners has also been part of the Masters program. Our joint restoration projects are ongoing and here are some images that show what has been done.
“During the See Yup Temple conservation project, I contributed to tasks such as measuring and assembling storage solutions, cleaning and organising workspaces, and documenting artefacts. Additionally, I restored a ceramic Kwan Ti sculpture. These efforts not only enhanced my conservation skills but also supported the preservation of Australia’s diverse community cultural heritage. I feel deeply honoured to have participated in this meaningful and fascinating project, which was truly a valuable opportunity.”
Danni Lin, student of Master of Culture Materials Conservation at University of Melbourne
Student participants:
Mollie Liu, Lucinda Papas , Laura Jane Delaney , Hannah Berry , Ameliah-Rose Tioriori , Yori Akbar Setiyawan , Danni Li , Jiahe Yi , Mengxuan Zhang , Satriyo Wibowo , Zeejay Tan, Hernan Lopera, Sarah Johnston, Brigid Stapleton, Qianyu Tan, Madeleine Davies, Renae Bruno, Hayley Curtis, Chuqing Huang.
