MUSEO DEL ORIGAMI

Report of work carried out in 2022
 

Since the museum opened in January 2020, this has been the first year it has been open without interruption (since in 2020 and 2021 it operated intermittently due to the COVID pandemic).

Summary of activities.
 

• Museum Collection and Fund for Origami Art: This was a great year for the museum's collection, as many outstanding works and collections were added.
  
  The proceeds this year through Fund for Origami Art, an established program for the acquisition of origami works by leading international artists, made it possible to acquire and transport works of Chen Xiao(晓陈, aka Obelisk), who specializes in human figures inspired in anime and manga models. One of Chen Xiao's works is "Walking in the Rain", winner in 2021 of the "Joisel Award" in the Figurative-Artistic category, awarded by CFC (Community for Creators). We thank everyone who helped Fund for Origami Art to make this acquisition possible (see list below). 
  
  More additions to the museum's collection: Gabriel Vong from Hong Kong is an excellent interpreter, particularly of classic models such as those by Neal Elias and Akira Yoshizawa, and many other celebrated creators. We thank Gabriel Vong for his decision to donate to the museum the more than 700 works that make up the collection of his folds, made over the years. Due to the volume and number of boxes, the museum had to implement careful logistics to ensure safe transportation, complying with all customs regulations. The boxes were shipped from Hong Kong via Miami where a company in charge of the logistics took care of the shipment to Colonia and all the customs details. While de models are being catalogued, they can be seen on Gabriel Vong's website here. 
  
  In the second half of the year, a dozen pieces of William Huang and Nan, two very talented young origamists. They donated their works and the museum financed the transportation. 
  
  During the OrigamiUSA Convention in New York, the Canadian artist Quentin Trollip donated to the museum a series of works that were exhibited during the days of the convention.
   

• Visitors: Little by little there is a return to the pre-pandemic era in terms of tourism in Cologne. Until last year, the flow of tourists was mainly Uruguayan, but now more and more tourists come from other countries, not only neighboring countries but also from other countries in the Americas, Europe and the East. Between January and December some 10,000 people visited the museum, this not including students and teachers from 35 schools across the country.  
   

• Community: The Museo del Origami reached out our community and beyond with an invitation to send origami ornaments for the Christmas Tree. The invitation went through social networks and mass media and dozens of origami arrived from different parts of the country and even from Argentina, France and Spain. The Christmas Tree is on display at the museum until January 6.
   

• Education: As of September, school visits resumed. More than 20 schools from different cities in Uruguay were able to visit the museum in person. All children are given folding material and a 20-page educational booklet on origami, based on historical information and artists whose works are in the museum. 
   

• Courses: The Origami Museum continues to offer the virtual course "Origami and Geometry" Directed by Professor Stella Ricotti, to teachers of initial and secondary education, and coordinators of art workshops. The course is distance learning, without time imposition.  It is made up of 47 videos with a duration of almost seven hours. The edition was in charge of the production team of the Origami Museum. 
   

• Florence Temko Award: In the month of June, the director of the museum Laura Rozenberg traveled to the OrigamiUSA Convention to receive the Florence Temko Award for Innovation, for the creation of the Origami Museum. Said award was granted in 2020 but at that time it was not could be delivered due to the pandemic. 
   

• Workshops: Due to lack of time, this year there were no virtual or face-to-face origami workshops. The museum is contemplating the possibility of structuring an origami school with a program that will allow students to acquire the necessary tools from an initial to advanced level. 
   

• Exhibition: Although the museum expanded its collection, the new pieces have not yet been able to be exhibited due to an involuntary delay in the construction of the new showcases. We hope that soon they can be exhibited to the delight of visitors. 
   

• Research: Work continued with material from the Gershon Legman archive and other historical sources.Legman, Tikotin and Yoshizawa: A Trio that Transformed the Art of Paperfolding tells the circumstances that made Yoshizawa's first exhibition in the West possible. The story is based on correspondence found in the Legman Archive of the Origami Museum. The full version of this story can be read here (for OrigamiUSA members) orhere(on Laura Rozenberg's personal site). The abridged version can be read in issue 140 of The Paper magazine or here. 
   

• Gift shop: the offer of paper, origami books and souvenirs available in the gift shop and in the Online store from the museum. We are very grateful to Delrosa Marshall (USA) for a new donation of origami postcards. The originals become part of the Museum's collection. Shiori ningyo dolls made by Patricia Fernández López are also being exhibited. 
   

• Update Courses: The Origami Museum participated this year in the following courses offered by the National System of Museums of Uruguay: "Meeting in Mercedes", "Museum Accessibility Tools" and "Cultural Management".
   

• Incorporation into the National Registry of Museums and Museum Collections of Uruguay: The Origami Museum has been formally incorporated into the National Network of Museums and Museum Collections of Uruguay. See certificate here