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Trace Foundation's support of Cultural Heritage in Modern Society seeks practical applications for traditional skills within the modern context. This approach emphasizes the value of traditional practices as part of a living culture. Projects benefit local people by passing on cultural practices and providing useful skills with income-generating potential, sometimes by adapting traditional methods or styles to serve new purposes.
Apprenticeships for young people with master crafts people are a traditional way for skills to be handed down the generations, as well as providing a locally-based livelihood and stimulating the local economy. This is true of arts such as thangka-painting and wood-carving, handicrafts such as weaving and embroidery, and trades such as traditional construction.
Trace Foundation has supported indigenous and international efforts (Grants to Other Organizations Supporting Culture in China) to preserve and restore traditional Tibetan buildings. Such projects provide valuable opportunities for artisans, including masons, wood and metal workers, to pass on their craft to the next generation. Local electricians, plumbers, and solar technicians also upgrade their skills as they modernize these traditional buildings to suit the lifestyles of their inhabitants, and improve community health and sanitation.
The foundation also supports selected projects that provide a model of traditional architectural styles and construction techniques being used in contemporary buildings with modern facilities. Such buildings are traditional in style, but incorporate modern facilities for contemporary purposes. The Jigmei Gyaltsen School in Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province built a dormitory and classroom building using local masonry techniques. The school also included modern structural and technological elements that make the structure earthquake-resistant and warmer during winter months, while allowing classrooms to have an open floor plan suitable for teaching vocational subjects.
Recent Grants in Cultural Heritage in Modern Society
Jigme Gyaltsen School
Maqin (Machen) County, Guoluo (Golog) Prefecture, Qinghai (Tsongon) Province
To build a dormitory and classroom building with a traditional façade and modern interior. The Jigme Gyaltsen School managed all aspects of construction, including researching traditional stonemasonry techniques and interviewing engineers to design methods of incorporating them into a contemporary building.
Amount of Support: $49,637
Tibet University Art Department
Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region
To promote the preservation and development of traditional Tibetan art mineral colors and train students in traditional Tibetan painting techniques. Tibet University provided training in painting techniques, facilities for training, storage of equipment, and raw materials to the value of $6,098.
Amount of Support: $21,066
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