About the project · 2007–present
Design, cultural heritage, and shared knowledge.
The Kam Heritage Project brings together people in Dimen village, the Dimen Dong Cultural Eco Museum, students, and researchers to document cultural traditions and explore community-centered design.
Beginning with fieldwork and documentary collaboration, the project has grown to include craft documentation, education, student work, cooperative experiments, films, and a searchable cultural archive.
PROJECT FRAMEWORK
Three interconnected strands
Working with Dimen
In cooperation with the Dimen Dong Cultural Eco Museum, Marie Anna Lee and university students developed projects informed by local patterns, daily life, environmental resources, and the knowledge of skilled artisans.
The research emphasizes collaboration and continuity across generations, rather than treating cultural traditions as static artifacts.
RECOGNITION & RESOURCES
Research, publications, and recognition
Kam Minority Archive
Photographs, video, audio, and field materials documenting Kam heritage.
From the project archive
Dimen in Transition · 2012
The Reynolds Gallery exhibition brought together the research of Marie Lee, Jennifer Little, Joanne Kwan, and Anastasya Uskov, including Through Young Kam Eyes and Their Then and Now.
Community design · Student collaboration
Singing Hands Cooperative
Developed from artisan-led production and early market testing in 2014, Singing Hands was founded in 2015 as a women’s cooperative and a Pacific student-led design agency. The partnership explored ways for traditional textile knowledge to support income generation while providing interdisciplinary design experience.
