A preliminary survey of university art museums in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary survey of the university museums landscape in Southeast Asia, some of the challenges confronting each of these institutions, and the different curatorial strategies employed in relation to specific needs of each university museum. These issues have not been well documented or discussed. Recent efforts by a group of university museums in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to initiate a regional platform where discussions and practices can be exchanged will be discussed in this article. Considering the dramatic growth of museums and their exhibitions in Asia, this initiative acknowledges the need for a network that encourages innovative and sustainable strategies in mobilizing university museum collections and curatorial collaborations.