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Dr. Lim Kok Yoong
Dr. Lim Kok Yoong
Speaker Biography
Dr. Lim Kok Yoong is an artist-researcher and Associate Professor serving as Deputy Dean of Research & Innovation at the School of Communication & Design, RMIT University Vietnam. His work sits at the intersection of media arts, creative innovation, and transnational academic practice in Southeast Asia. He explores how digital media shapes perception, memory, and contemporary existence through projects such as Digital Thrownness, Operasi Cassava, and Circuitry & Sensibility. His media art—ranging from projection mapping to generative and interactive installations—has been exhibited internationally and is held in the National Art Gallery, Malaysia. More at limkokyoong.com
Keynote
Non-institutional Archiving and the Archaeology of Social Memory in Digital Space.
In the age of data colonialism, memory has been captured, indexed and governed by memory institutions that decide what is worth remembering. But what happens when archiving becomes non-institutional, when it becomes a communal activities, sprouts from lived experiences, informal exchange, and grassroots digital practices. This keynote explores communal act of archiving and cultivating memory outside of formal institutions.
Dr. Emma Duester
Dr. Emma Duester
Speaker Biography
Dr. Emma Duester is an Associate Professor at ICCI and formerly a faculty member at RMIT University Vietnam (2019–2022). She led the funded project Digitization of Art and Culture in Vietnam (2020–2023) and contributed to DFAT’s Investing in Women initiative across Southeast Asia. She has collaborated with government and national media on cultural development in Vietnam. Emma is the author of The Politics of Migration and Mobility in the Art World (2021) and Digitization and Culture in Vietnam (2023). She holds a PhD in Media and Communications from Goldsmiths, University of London, and specialises in digital culture, cultural heritage digitisation, museum environments, and transnational communication.
Presentation 1
Ethics and the Use of A.I. in Cultural Heritage Digitisation.
Dr. Emma Duester’s talk explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way museums and archives preserve and manage cultural materials. She highlights key ethical concerns—including data ownership, transparency, authorship, and cultural sensitivity—while emphasising the importance of responsible, community-focused practices. Her talk invites participants to reflect on how AI can be used ethically to support inclusive, sustainable, and culturally respectful approaches in Digital Cultural Heritage.
Zhang Qian, MA, Msc
Zhang Qian, MA, Msc
Speaker Biography
Qian Zhang is a Curator in the Department of Collections Management at Xi’an Museum. Rooted in her academic background from the University of Leicester, where she completed two Master's degrees in Museum Studies and Socially Engaged Practice in Museums and Galleries, she brings over a decade of experience in cultural policy and museum management. During this time, she played a key role in drafting local policies that promote the development of both state-owned and private museums in Xi’an. Her work focuses on managing and digitising museum collections, especially Chinese calligraphy and paintings. She is interested in how physical objects relate to their digital data, and how this connection can inform information systems that improve internal workflows and enhance the visitor experience.
Presentation 4
Management and research of cultural relics for digital archiving practices.
This talk examines a critical dimension of museum practice: the relationship between traditional collection inventory and the evolving landscape of digitisation. Grounded in hands-on experience with the inventory and documentation of calligraphy and painting collections, it considers how the process of verifying, consolidating, and correcting collection records exposes the indispensable role of accurate, reliable information as the foundation for any effective digital projects. Building on this practical perspective, the talk will highlight key applications and cultural policies shaping digitisation in Chinese museums, with a focus on collections management. These insights show how routine tasks such as inventory work reveal the current state of museum information systems while pointing toward their digital futures.
Ondris Pui, MMDES
Ondris Pui, MMDES
Speaker Biography
Ondris Pui is an academic at RMIT University and a cultural heritage technologist dedicated to helping galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) adopt sustainable digital preservation practices. He works closely with GLAM institutions by organising free workshops, delivering talks, and providing hands-on training in scanning, preserving, and transforming physical artifacts into 3D models. At the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, Ondris served as a key team member responsible for scanning and digitising The Reincarnated Grid installation. In the same year, he also published an online 3D exhibition for the Vietnamese Women’s Museum titled Một thời và mãi mãi – Once and Forever.
Workshop 1
Low-Cost 3D Scanning for Cultural Heritage Preservation.
Through his experience working with GLAM institutions, Ondris has identified significant barriers preventing the adoption of digital preservation techniques. These include budget constraints, a lack of appropriate tools, and limited technical expertise among staff. Many professionals in the sector may not be well-versed in digital technologies, or they may perceive them as complex and costly. His approach focuses on equipping GLAM staff with practical, sustainable skills using cost-effective, everyday technologies alongside open-source or free software. By simplifying technical concepts and incorporating storytelling within virtual environments.
Michal Teague, MA
Michal Teague, MA
Speaker Biography
Michal Teague is an Associate Program Manager in Design Studies and a transnational practitioner in art, design, and communication across the Middle East and Vietnam. A Distinction graduate of RMIT Melbourne’s Master of Art in Public Space, she has exhibited internationally and curated projects for institutions such as RMIT University, CreativeMornings Hanoi, NYU Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Biennale, and ADMAF. Previously, she led the Sydney-based design agency Teague Moore Design for 13 years. Her research focuses on social design, cultural ecosystems, urban spaces, digital archives, and storytelling. She is a contributor to the forthcoming Routledge book Digital Museums in the Global South: A Case Study on Vietnam.
Workshop 2
Impact of Storytelling with Digital Archives.
Michal Teague’s talk explores how storytelling can transform digital archives from static collections into dynamic, meaningful experiences. Drawing on her extensive practice in art, design, and public space, she examines how narrative frameworks help audiences connect emotionally with digitised cultural materials. Michal highlights methods for shaping stories within digital platforms—through curated pathways, visual sequencing, and interactive design—to enhance engagement and accessibility. She also discusses the importance of context, voice, and cultural sensitivity when interpreting archival materials in digital form. This session demonstrates how storytelling not only deepens understanding, but also strengthens the role of digital archives as living cultural resources that inspire learning, creativity, and community connection.
Darine Choueiri, MUS
Darine Choueiri, MUS
Speaker Biography
Darine Choueiri is an architect-urbanist whose work explores how stories are embedded in space. She investigates the links between walking, mapping, and narrative-making, highlighting how the built environment shapes everyday life. Her research-driven projects use maps to preserve spatial knowledge—particularly oral or lived knowledge often overlooked by traditional documentation. Darine’s Sarajevo project, Schooling Under Siege, maps improvised schooling spaces during the war, revealing their deep ties to the city’s socio-spatial fabric. Her recent Madrid project, Campos escolares / Cuerpos viajeros, retraces early 20th-century student journeys to outdoor summer schools, examining how archives can narrate stories a century later. Across her work, maps become both content and container, connecting history, space, and lived experience.
Presentation 3
Mapping as an Archival Practice.
In this talk, Darine Choueiri explores mapping as a powerful form of archival practice—one that preserves stories embedded in space and reveals how everyday life is shaped by the built environment. Drawing from her independent, research-led projects, she shows how maps can move beyond touristic representations to capture lived knowledge: oral histories, informal practices, and spatial memories generated by inhabitants. Darine presents examples from her Sarajevo project Schooling Under Siege, where she mapped improvised schooling hideouts during the war, exposing how these spaces were entwined with the city’s socio-spatial fabric. She also shares insights from her recent Madrid project, Campos escolares / Cuerpos viajeros, which retraces early 20th-century student journeys and reflects on how archives can narrate stories across time. Through these works, she demonstrates how mapping can function as both content and container—an interpretive tool that connects history, space, and the lived experiences of communities.
Nguyen Theson, MFA
Nguyen Theson, MFA
Speaker Biography
Nguyen The Son is a visual artist, independent curator, and lecturer at the School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. With over two decades of teaching experience, he leads the Art Photography Department and works extensively across contemporary, public, and modern art projects in Hanoi, including curating major events such as the Hanoi Creative Design Festival and the Hanoi Photo Biennale. In his guidance for emerging artists, Son emphasises the importance of strong research skills, the ability to translate historical and cultural understanding into creative practice, and the need for continual self-learning to stay current with evolving trends and technologies. He also highlights the value of project management and effective communication in shaping, presenting, and sustaining creative work. As Vietnam’s art market continues to grow, he encourages young practitioners to build practical skills, seek opportunities through internships and collaborations, and stay connected to developments in visual and contemporary art locally and internationally.
Presentation 2
City, Memory, and the Moving Facade: Digitally Preserving Hanoi’s Urban Heritage through Photography and Public Art.
Hanoi’s streets, facades, and working-class neighborhoods are rapidly transformed or erased, photography and public art become urgent tools for preserving urban memory. Drawing from long-term projects such as City and Memory, Nhà Mặt Phố, and the Phúc Tân and Phùng Hưng public art spaces, Nguyễn Thế Sơn will discuss how photographic archives, large-scale photo reliefs, and community-based installations function as living digital records of a city in transition.
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