My life in the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site has changed the way I look at cultural heritage objects.

It all began when I pursued my Master degree at Universiti Sains Malaysia-Penang in 2010. My previous research project had led me to actively participate in cultural heritage conservation workshops and conferences, locally and internationally, until today. Although my background is from interior design studies, I have a strong passion for studying the philosophical meaning of the motifs, patterns, symbols, materials, and colours that are applied to building ornaments, and also to the textiles used in the interior. My interest in textile research has brought me to conduct an international level research on the endangered Javanese wayang klithik attire, in collaboration with The British Museum and Universiti Sains Malaysia. Apart from interior design and textiles, I am also interested in understanding cultural food and its ethnobotanical system as a manifestation of a cultural product.

In my daily life, I am a senior lecturer in the Architecture Department in the School of Creative Industry, Universitas Ciputra Surabaya, Indonesia. At the same time, I am also a Graduate Research Assistant in the School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. As a researcher, I am actively publishing in academic journals and presenting my work at international conferences to disseminate my research findings. My dedication in safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has directed me to be appointed as the Vice-Director of the Universitas Ciputra Centre for Creative Heritage Studies (UC.CCHS). In early 2022, UNESCO Bangkok awarded me a scholarship to participate in their Sustainable Heritage Management masterclass programme to escalate my ability in conserving the cultural heritage in the most sustainable way.