In May 2022, we received a wonderful donation of 25 Indonesian textiles from the collection of Helena Hernmarck, which was assembled with the help of her dear friend, Mary Hunt Kahlenberg.
I’ve always been very aware of the importance of archives and the fact that scholars need them to be able to keep working. Here in America, the museums are not supported by the state like they are in Sweden, so here everyone has to contribute to keep it rolling. Mary certainly contributed through her scholarship on Indonesian textiles. She was so brave I thought, but she was an adventuresome person. She was an extraordinary person, an inspiration. I think she would be happy to know that I’m handing the collection over to an organization that will use it for teaching and scholarship, and eventually return some of it to Indonesia.”
