EFHA International Symposium 2024: “Codes of Conduct” Nov. 21st – 22nd, 2024

As the repository of our cultural and historical legacies, heritage holds profound significance in shaping societal identities and fostering intergenerational and intercultural bonds. The stewardship of heritage assets necessitates a commitment to responsibility, one that transcends preservation to encompass other areas, from sustainable management to equitable engagement and, in general, ethical code of conduct.

In 1972, UNESCO published the World Heritage Convention: an agreement elucidating the shared responsibility borne by the international community to protect cultural and natural treasures for posterity. Since then, institutions have advocated for a comprehensive approach to heritage conservation that integrates conservation principles with socio-economic development imperatives. Lately, the discourse on heritage and responsibility has gained paramount importance. In 2022, ICOM defined the museum as “a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection, and knowledge sharing.” This definition, which can be extended to institutions (at least public ones) safeguarding heritage, highlights the imperative of collective action in safeguarding and leveraging our diverse heritage; developing methodologies to address issues of social, economic, political and ethical responsibility has become central as museums and cultural institutions rethink their role and their mission looking at how to shape their future developments.

The conference Codes of Conduct. Responsibility and Ethics in Fashion Heritage will address the responsibilities fashion heritage professionals and institutions faced, face now and will face in the future, outlining a wide-ranging, nuanced definition of 'responsibility' in relation to both heritage objects and to the public(s) which encounter them.

Programme

Thursday, 21 November

13,30 - 14,00 Registration

14,00 - 14,30 Welcome by Marco Rendina, Managing Director of EFHA and intro by Bárbara Coutinho, Director of MUDE - What are things for?

Panel 1: The Private and The Public: Modes of Intersection
Chaired by Karolien De Clippel, Modemuseum Hasselt

14,30 - 14,45 Exhibiting Fashion Research – between curatorial and administration.
Hanne Eide, Nasjonalmuset Oslo

14,45 - 15,00 A Life’s Work, A Life’s Wardrobe: The Fashion Collection at the Zaha Hadid Foundation
Jihane Dyer and Catherine Howe, Zaha Hadid Foundation, UK

15,00 - 15,15 From a private collector to a public collection. How the Muzealne Mody Foundation was shaped
Piotr Szaradowski, Muzealne Mody Foundation

15,15 - 15,45 Q&A

15,45 - 16,15 Coffee break offered by MUDE

Panel 2: Backstage / Frontstage - Curatorial Responsibility
Chaired by Sonnet Stanfill, V&A

16,15 - 16,30 Curatorial Interruption: Decision-making bias and an ethics of interpretation when analysing worn fashion objects
Cyana Madsen, London College of Fashion

16,30 - 16,45 Ethics of Preserving and Displaying: Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gaultier: two case studies from MUDE’s collection
Anabela Becho, Inês Matias, MUDE

16,45 - 17,00 Reviving W. Beirendonck’s painted dresses: a new look through conservation
Elisa Costa, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Sara Babo, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Inês Correia, MUDE

17,00 - 17,15 MODA - Moroccan Fashion Statements
Ninke Bloemberg, Centraal Museum Utrecht

17,15 - 17,45 Q&A

17,45 - 18,15 Roundtable: Responsibility and Value
Chaired by Marco Pecorari, Parsons Paris

Sonnet Stanfill, V&A
Eve Demoen, Modemuseum Hasselt
Marta Franceschini, EFHA

18,15 - 18,25 Wrap up

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, 22 November

10,30 - 10,45 Registration and coffee offered by MUDE

10,45 - 11,00 Intro

Panel 3: Re-Mapping Fashion: Politics & Poetics of Local Heritage
Chaired by Marta Franceschini, EFHA

11,00 - 11,15 From here to where? Fashion history in Campania (Italy)
Ornella Cirillo, Vicenza Caterino, Andrea Chiara Bonanno, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

11,15 - 11,30 Forms of Future Collaborations in Handicraft
Thomas Kilian Bruderer, Cho’jac items

11,30 - 11,45 India’s Crafts Heritage: Engagement Framework and Protocol
Binil Mohan, JK Lakshmipat University

11,45 - 12,00 Indigenous Peoples’ traditional cultural expressions in fashion: suggested steps for promoting dialogue and collaborations
Anna Sinkevich, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

12,00 - 12,30 Q&A

12,30 - 13,30 Lunch (not provided)

Panel 4: Re-thinking Fashion Collections: New Policies & Perspectives
Chaired by Karolien de Clippel

13,30 - 13,45 Hidden histories: reviewing healthcare workers clothing design and its conservation.
Leanne Tonkin and Katherine Townsend, Nottingham Trent University, UK

13,45 - 14,00 EXPANDING FASHION HERITAGE: revealing the importance of prototypes and the endangered industrial knowledge
Isabella Volpe, Parsons Paris

14,00 - 14,15 Traces to slavery: through the lens of fashion
Lena van de Poel, Centraal Museum Utrecht

14,15 - 14,45 Q&A

14,45 - 15,00 Wrap up