Training in heritage conservation is expanding, bringing international connections and shared values to the fore.
The large room in the Liberal Arts Building on the campus of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei City could be mistaken at first glance for an art gallery installing an eclectic new exhibition. However, the works held by the Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics (RCCCR) are only displayed for a small team of conservators, who examine them and determine suitable restoration methods. “We take great care with each piece sent to us,” said the center’s director, Chang Yuan-feng (張元鳳). “All the windowpanes are covered with a film to reduce ultraviolet light from the sun, and temperature and humidity levels are tightly controlled to protect from further degradation.”
The Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei City is one of top facilities of its kind in Taiwan. (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)
After its founding in 2011, RCCCR applied conservation techniques to work by students and teachers from the university’s prestigious Department of Fine Arts. The center has restored around 1,000 of these pieces to date, which are now part of the collection at NTNU Art Museum. It also accepts around 20 commissions from outside entities annually and has worked on paintings by the first Taiwan painter to have an oil painting accepted by the Imperial Art Exhibition of Japan, Chen Cheng-po (陳澄波), and traditional brush painter, modern impressionist, expressionist and master forger Chang Ta-chien (張大千). Although RCCCR began its restoration work with paper-based ink, oil and gouache paintings, it now handles textiles, wood and metal as well.
Chang noted that meticulous documentation of the restoration procedure for each piece is essential. “We’re building our archives so the next time a piece needs work, conservators have previous references to make the job easier,” she said. “After all, we expect our work today to last around 100 years before requiring another round of maintenance.”
Chang noted that meticulous documentation of the restoration procedure for each piece is essential. “We’re building our archives so the next time a piece needs work, conservators have previous references to make the job easier,” she said. “After all, we expect our work today to last around 100 years before requiring another round of maintenance.”
Conservators explain the restoration process to members of the public at Neiwei Arts Center in Kaohsiung City. (Courtesy of Cheng Shiu University)
Li I-cheng (李益成), director of the conservation center at Cheng Shiu University (CSU) in the southern city of Kaohsiung, noted that demand for art conservation has increased significantly in recent years. When the center was established in 2005, its annual income amounted to less than NT$1 million (US$30,800) but is expected to reach NT$80 million (US$2.46 million) this year, a record high. “The growing awareness of the need for cultural heritage preservation has contributed to an expansion of services and technical proficiency,” the director explained.
CSU established its Institute of Creative Cultural Design and Art Preservation Techniques in 2019. A mere three years later it was tasked with staffing the art conservation space at Neiwei Arts Center, operated by Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (KMFA), Kaohsiung Museum of History and Kaohsiung Film Archive, in a testament to the breadth and variety of artifacts requiring these skills. “The Neiwei center takes care of municipal museum collections and educates the public about art conservation,” Li noted. Guided tours of the country’s first such space opened to the public give visitors a rare glimpse into how experts assess and repair pieces. The center also offers regular workshops that impart knowledge and skills to empower members of the public to conserve family heirlooms and other objects of historical value.
The next generation of conservators now have a choice of training routes. Following the founding of the RCCCR, NTNU’s Department of Fine Arts began offering courses in art conservation to doctoral and master’s degree candidates in 2013 and 2022, respectively, and classes opened at the undergraduate level at NTNU, National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in 2021.
Shared Culture
Taiwan’s conservators also actively collaborate with international peers. Building on a foundation of Sinitic art restoration work undertaken in Taiwan, in 2018 the Bureau of Cultural Heritage (BOCH) established a working relationship with the managers of an elaborate Hokkien clan temple in Malaysia, the Boon San Tong Khoo Kongsi in George Town, which is designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site. The BOCH commissioned Shao Ching-wang (邵慶旺), then a cultural relics conservation expert at Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA), to lead about 25 specialists from Taiwan in a project to restore the ancestral hall’s murals. The project was completed in September 2019 after around 200 days of work. “Restoring this building from 1878 brought Taiwan closer to Malaysia,” Shao said.
Taiwan’s conservators also actively collaborate with international peers. Building on a foundation of Sinitic art restoration work undertaken in Taiwan, in 2018 the Bureau of Cultural Heritage (BOCH) established a working relationship with the managers of an elaborate Hokkien clan temple in Malaysia, the Boon San Tong Khoo Kongsi in George Town, which is designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site. The BOCH commissioned Shao Ching-wang (邵慶旺), then a cultural relics conservation expert at Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA), to lead about 25 specialists from Taiwan in a project to restore the ancestral hall’s murals. The project was completed in September 2019 after around 200 days of work. “Restoring this building from 1878 brought Taiwan closer to Malaysia,” Shao said.
A team of conservators sent by Taiwan’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage works to restore paintings at Boon San Tong Khoo Kongsi. (Photos Courtesy of Shao Ching-wang)
Japanese experts assist with the restoration of statues from Taipei City’s Lungshan Temple. (Courtesy of National Taiwan Normal University’s Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics)
The RCCCR has similarly developed close ties with institutions in Japan, thanks in large part to Chang, who obtained a doctoral degree in art restoration from Tokyo University of the Arts (TUA) in the 1980s and advocated for a sister-school agreement between NTNU and the Japanese institution. The center is currently cooperating with TUA on a project, slated for completion in 2026, to restore parts of Taipei’s Lungshan Temple. The national historic site dates back to 1738, and the restoration team of 10 includes two members from Japan. “We’re inspired by the wood restoration skills of our Japanese peers,” Chang said.
Japanese textile conservators have also shared a great deal of vital knowledge with their counterparts in Taiwan. Over a three-year period in the late 2010s, the RCCCR worked with the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties to organize training sessions at NTNU to improve textile conservation skills across the local conservation community. Classes were also open to interested professionals worldwide, which had the additional benefit of placing Taiwan on the map as part of a global restoration ecosystem.
Japanese textile conservators have also shared a great deal of vital knowledge with their counterparts in Taiwan. Over a three-year period in the late 2010s, the RCCCR worked with the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties to organize training sessions at NTNU to improve textile conservation skills across the local conservation community. Classes were also open to interested professionals worldwide, which had the additional benefit of placing Taiwan on the map as part of a global restoration ecosystem.
Conservators like Chu Yu-chen have the opportunity to work at the Vatican Museums thanks to an internship program launched by the cultural institution in the Holy See and the BOCH. (Courtesy of Chu Yu-chen)
The CSU Conservation Center is looking outward as part of a mission to protect heritage beyond Taiwan and build global links. “Indonesia is increasingly serious about art conservation and is seeking guidance on best practices,” Li said. This need led to a memorandum of understanding, signed last year with the Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta, to establish an exchange program that paves the way to internships at CSU for Indonesian students.
Taiwan is also strengthening relations with the Holy See, its ally in Europe, through an art conservation internship program launched by the BOCH and Vatican Museums in 2017. “Seeing how a large, world-class facility operates was immensely valuable to me,” said Chu Yu-chen (朱宇臻), who interned for six months at the Vatican Museums’ Ethnological Materials Restoration Laboratory while studying for a master’s degree at TNNUA. “I was deeply impressed by what I saw, from the sophisticated technologies used in preventive conservation to the careful preparatory work that conservators do to devise the safest course of action to maintain or restore artworks of various materials.”
While global exchanges broaden horizons, the Conservation Association of Taiwan was founded in October 2024 to advance the sector’s development at home. Currently led by Chang, the organization is committed to facilitating interaction among its members, including art conservation experts from universities and cultural institutions like the National Palace Museum. It aims to enhance cooperation in wide-ranging areas from designing a conservator certification system to sharing costly equipment for artifact analysis. “Taiwan’s cultural assets are unique and diverse,” Chang said. “Tangible heritage shapes human identity, and work to conserve art and artifacts is vital to establishing a sense of cultural continuity for current and future generations.”
Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw