Reminiscing Pinewood: An Exhibition of Artefacts from Pinewood's Yesteryears
The Exhibition was a five-day event that became a crucial element of the ‘Reminiscing Pinewood’ event held between the 20th and 24th of December, 2024. The exhibition showcased the plenitude of objects retrieved from the storage spaces and old rooms of Pinewood Hotel, a structure built perhaps in the colonial years which was turned into a renowned hotel post-second world war, all of which indicated the rich material culture that the institution housed since its inception and continues to do so till this day.
Each object had a unique story to tell and contributed to the celebration of the hotel’s long heritage during the event. The curation of this exhibition was done by The Northeast India AV Archive. The objects were cleaned and conserved before being displayed, which was also done by our team. The objects ranged from furniture, to cutlery, kitchen and electrical appliances, record players, typewriters, a videotape player, cassette collections, a grandmother’s clock, old alcohol manufactured in the 1940s and more. These objects are made of different materials, each of which was required to be cleaned and conserved differently.
The team dedicated many hours of effort in acquiring and prepping the objects ready for display for the exhibition. The storage unit had not been opened for many years leaving many of the artefacts in a state of deterioration. Through the use of various conservation methods, the Archive team managed to bring many of the items back to life, tirelessly working over the course of a few weeks.
Through the expertise of the team and the limited resources available at their disposal, they managed to put together a memorable exhibition to commemorate one of Shillong's symbols of heritage.