by Annette B. Fromm and Leif Pareli

How do we count the ways that we gain through membership and activity with ICME and ICOM. Is it what we learn from stellar conversations with colleagues from around the world? Is behind the scenes visits to museums and other sights in places we never thought we’d visit? Is it the laughter and wonder-filled memorable experiences that tie us together no matter where we live?

Per Bjørn Rekdal brought all of that to me and to many others for more years than can be remembered. We count the years by the conferences we’ve been fortunate to attend starting in Stavanger (1995) many years ago, when he served on (and chaired) the ICOM-Norway National Committee. Per continued to steadfastly contribute to the work of ICOM in a number of capacities. He participated in planning the 2004 triennial in Seoul where he was elected to the ICOM Executive Board. Other ICOM committees to which Per gave the voice reason and his vast experience included the  International Committees Task Force (ICTF), the Standing Committee for International Committees (CIC), the Working Group on Regional Alliances
(chair), the Working Group on Governance (chair), the Working Group on International Committees, and more. It was no surprise when at the Kyoto ICOM triennial in 2019, Per Bjørn Rekdal was welcomed as an Honorary Member of ICOM.

Three years after the Stavanger triennial, Per threw his hat into the ICME ring at the Melbourne triennial (1998). There he was elected to the first of two terms as chair of the committee. In the next six years, he brought museum ethnographers and others together at informative annual conferences in Mexico, Denmark, Romania, and Zambia.

The ICME post-conference tours, renowned by all including members of other International Committees, grew to epic levels to name just a few. The attached photo montage from my and Leif Pareli show Per at his best – presenting, talking, listening, eating, enjoying … Per loved his women, we thank you Anne for sharing! (Note: a computer crash a few years ago, robbed me of my digital archive. Please add visual memories of Per, send them to Ralf Ceplak Mencin, ICME Chair): ralf.ceplak@etno-muzej.si.

Melbourne (1998), organized by ICME members, Eve Stenning and Lydia Bushell, a small, intrepid, multi-national group drove up hill and down dale from Melbourne to Sydney. We enjoyed local landscapes, foods and drinks, and had kangaroo encounters.

Mexico (1999), organized with Yani Harreman, overlapped with Dia de los Muertos celebrations. ICME member, Leif Pareli, remembers, the tour took us to Michoacán to participate in the holiday commemorations.

After a “freezing-cold night excursion by boat to the cemetery on an island in Lago Patscuaro we spent the rest of the night in the city of Morelia. Next morning we had breakfast there and a little bit of shopping in a local market before boarding the bus again and veteran ICME members Annette Fromm and Lydia Bushell gave Per a sombrero in appreciation of his concern for everybody on the trip, including some people with walking problems. The tour then continued with more drama, as our bus got stranded on the highway with motor trouble and we narrowly escaped highway bandits and finally made it back to safety in Mexico City. … [thanks to Per’s] constant sense of responsibility for the safety and well-being of everybody in ICME.”

Seoul (2004), after a stellar triennial at which ICME was the featured International Committee, thanks to Per’s presentations, our group was taken to many sites and experiences cross-country to learn about the variety and wealth of Korean Intangible Cultural Heritage. We were treated with theatricals, traditional pottery, and food, of course, another legendary tour. It was topped by the 2009 ICME annual conference in Seoul (organized by Yang Jongsung), perhaps the largest gathering of our members.

Bamberg (2011). This post conference tour (organized by Baerbel Kerkhoff-Hader) introduced our group to the borders between Germany and Poland, only recently opened.

Namibia (2012). At my insistence, three of us – Per, Victorine Arnoldus, and I – ventured to one of Windhoek’s townships to eat at Miss Gracie’s, made famous on the American TV show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. It was a great adventure, enjoyed by three long-time friends.

Zagreb (2014), organized by Zvezdana Antos, which Leif remembers as Per’s last ICME conference because he became too busy with his central ICOM tasks to be able to participate much in ICME.

Per Bjørn Rekdal was a friend to many around the world, a father, a husband, and a lover of dogs. With has passing, a hole in our lives has been opened that will not easily be filled. Per will be missed by those he championed and helped to make their way in the world. He made our
worlds a better place. Please remember his powerful presence with a smile on your face, as do I.

Per Bjørn Rekdal has been director of the Museum of Ethnography and head of Exhibitions, Education and Public Services of the Museum of Cultural History, both at the University of Oslo. He has worked in various positions at the Department of Anthropology, University of Oslo; the State Travelling Exhibitions of Norway; the National Association for Art in Schools; and the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Per has done fieldwork on the tourist trade at Victoria Falls, Zambia, and on museum projects in Zambia for the Norwegian Development Agency. Among various positions in ICOM, he has been chair of ICOM Norway and of ICME (International Committee for Museums of Ethnography) and a member of the Executive Council.

ICME president: 1998 – 2004

Functions within ICOM:
2017-2019 Member, Working Group on International Committees
2013-2016/17 Chair, Working Group on Governance
2004 – 2010 Member of the Executive Council
2007 – 2011 Chair, Working Group on Regional Alliances and regional Affiliated Organisations
2005 – 2011 Representing the Executive Council in the standing Committee for International
Committees (CIC)
2005 – 2006 Representative for ICOM in the Board of AFRICOM
2002 – 2004 Represented International Committees and Affiliated Organisations in the
preparation of ICOM 2004 in Seoul, Korea
2001 – 2004 Member of ICTF (International Committees Task Force)
1998 – 2004 Chair, ICME (International Committee for Museums of Ethnography)
1996 – 1998 Chair, ICOM Norway
1994 – 1996 Board Member ICOM Norway