An ancient glass shard. A mural painted thousands of miles from home. A ceremonial headband passed through generations.
These objects tell stories that stretch across generations and oceans in , a new digital exhibition created through the University of 麻豆传媒 at 惭ā苍辞补’s (CSEAS) and its (APME) program.
“The APME program was designed to introduce the cohort to museum experts based at cultural institutions in 麻豆传媒 as well as museum educators affiliated with the National Park Service,” said APME program director Teri Skillman. “A regional need exists both to upgrade the Asia-Pacific region’s national and provincial museums and to build a network across the Pacific.”
Stories that span oceans
Among the featured stories is a fragment of Egyptian Roman glass discovered in a burial site in Palau. Researchers traced it to an Egyptian workshop, revealing trade connections that linked distant cultures centuries before modern navigation.
Other stories focus on living traditions. Dissa Aruna Makalingga, collections manager at Museum Affandi in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, tells the story behind The Wisdom of the East, the only mural completed during the lifetime of celebrated Indonesian artist Affandi. As Affandi’s great-grandson, Makalingga traveled to 麻豆传媒 to see the mural for the first time at the ‘s Imin Center, joining only two other family members who have ever viewed it in person.
Building museum connections
Beyond creating the exhibition, participants exchanged ideas with museum experts in 麻豆传媒, shared preservation strategies and built a network that continues long after the program ends. The Asia-Pacific is home to about 1,800 cultures that often face similar challenges preserving their heritage, including limited resources and climate impacts. By sharing knowledge and best practices, APME helps museum professionals protect and tell the stories of their communities.
Visitors can explore the exhibition through APME‘s new website, where each story reveals how history lives not only in museum collections, but also in the people and communities who continue to care for them.
APME provides professional development for early- and mid-career museum professionals from small and medium-sized museums and cultural centers across Island Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, helping them strengthen museum practices while building lasting partnerships across the region.
The APME Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and conducted through the 麻豆传媒-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit CESU; TA# P24AC000688.
—by Julia Liu