ZJU delegation attends first joint meeting of ICOM Storage and IATMU in Paris

On June 26, 2026, the ICOM International Committee on Collections in Storage (ICOM Storage) and the International Association of Training in Museology (IATMU) held first joint meeting at Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, under the theme "The Connected Collection: Teaching/Interpreting Objects in Storage." The conference brought together experts from multiple countries to discuss collection-based pedagogy, resource activation, and cross-cultural museum education.

A faculty and student delegation from the School of Art and Archaeology at Zhejiang University (ZJU) attended the event, led by Professor ZHAO Feng — ICOM Executive Board member and IATMU President — and Professor ZHANG Hui, board member of ICOM Storage. The delegation also included Associate Professor FU Yi, ZJU "Hundred Talents Program" researcher MAO Ruohan, and graduate students.

At the opening ceremony, ZHAO Feng articulated IATMU's development vision across four priorities — collection research, industry practice, international exchange, and standard-setting — and introduced ZJU's university-enterprise collaborative model with Ningbo Bangda. François Mairesse, UNESCO Chair on Museum Diversity at Sorbonne Nouvelle, welcomed the delegation and commended ZJU's open storage teaching lab initiative as a valuable model for balancing preservation, research, and public education.

In the presentation session, MAO Ruohan reported on IATMU's Object-Based Learning (OBL) working group and its joint project with University College London on cross-cultural museum pedagogy. Graduate student LIN Yuyang presented a typological analysis of open storage drawn from a survey of over 80 museums worldwide, along with ZJU's own planning for an open storage teaching facility.

The afternoon featured a virtual tour of the Louvre Conservation Center (CCL), organized by ICOM Storage Chair Hélène Vassal. Participants also reached consensus on long-term cooperation including faculty-student exchanges, joint research, and shared teaching resources.

Prior to the joint meeting, the delegation attended the ICOM 2026 Annual Meeting and 80th Anniversary Celebration at UNESCO Headquarters, and conducted field research at six Parisian museums including the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and Musée Guimet.

Source: ZJU School of Art and Archaeology

Translator & editor: DING Chenwei