Program and Event

U.S. Embassy and Ministry of Information and Culture Open New Lao National Museum Conservation Area

U.S. Ambassador to Laos Ravic R. Huso and Director General of the Department of National Heritage Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, Ministry of Information and Culture, cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of the Lao National Museum’s new conservation area.

Museum Deputy Director Bounheaung Bouasysengpaseuth shows Ambassador Huso and DG Thongsa before-and-after photos of the conservation area before leading a tour of the new facility.

On August 5, 2008, U.S. Ambassador Ravic Huso cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of a new area for artifact conservation and documentation at the Lao National Museum. This project was funded with a grant of $28,321 from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Director General of the Department of National Heritage, Mr. Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, cut the ribbon on behalf of the Ministry of Information and Culture, Lao PDR. 

The grant provided the National Museum with secure storage rooms for the collection, improved conservation facilities, and a department for documenting the artifacts. The project directors, Ms. Juliette van Krieken-Pieters and Ms. Marion Ravenscroft, worked with museum staff to prepare the rooms allocated for storage; provide shelving and materials to protect artifacts awaiting conservation, inventory or display; provide equipment and facilities to properly analyze and clean artifacts; and set up a documentation department to catalogue and inventory the collection. Museum staff also received training on the use of the new equipment and international inventory standards. The Museum is located in a major tourist area in the center of the capital city of Vientiane, and therefore has the potential to attract significant numbers of tourists from around the world.

The preservation of this collection at the Lao National Museum is the fourth project in Laos funded by the Ambassador’s Fund. 

For more information about the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation projects, please click here.