Fellow Professor Susan Bayly has been awarded a highly prestigious State Honour by the Government of Vietnam. The 'For the Cause of Culture’ medal has been awarded in recognition of Professor Bayly's services to leading Vietnamese cultural institutions.
This is one of the most highly-ranked awards in Vietnam's system, and it is rare for a foreigner to be acknowledged in this way. One of the contributions the award marks is Professor Bayly's role in helping to organise Vietnam’s first ever loan of a national art treasure, the National Fine Arts Museum’s famous 20th-century lacquer painting entitled Gióng, for an exhibition in 2013 which was generously co-sponsored by Christ’s.
More generally it is an acknowledgement of the use Professor Bayly has made of her anthropological skills and knowledge to foster understanding of Vietnam's wonderfully rich cultural heritage.
Professor Bayly says 'I am enormously pleased and grateful to have been awarded this State Honour by the Government of Vietnam. Because the covid situation still precludes travel to Vietnam, I received the award via Zoom on the 3rd of December and was sent photos of the ceremony and the medal itself to share with friends and colleagues'.
Professor Bayly has been conducting research in Vietnam for over 20 years, combining regular fieldwork visits with support for a variety of local outreach and capacity-building programmes at the country’s major museums.