HAMILTON, Ontario, June 4, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Restoration of History
Since its inception in 1996, Juma Art, a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada based company, has worked toward staging its presence as a key-player within the global art reproduction industry. Today, Juma Art has stepped, one step further, toward materializing this vision. The President of Juma Art, Mary Kricfalusi, announced the signing of a Letter of Intent with Memorable Impressions Sdn. Bhd. of Brunei Darussalam. Under the terms of this letter, Juma Art will digitally restore the old and damaged photographs of the National Archives of Brunei over a two year period.
Revolutionary Technology
Using revolutionary new technology balanced with an appreciation for the preservation old priceless historical artifacts, Juma Art moves to the international stage by helping the Archives embark on a campaign of preserving, conserving, restoring, reproducing and digitizing the old and damaged photographs within the Archives
Benefits
For Canada, this project will provide thousands of hours of work for Juma Art's dedicated team of experts. For Brunei, the import of this Canadian technology will enable the people of Brunei to preserve what is currently in jeopardy of being forever lost: its treasured archives depicting the nation's history.
Additionally, the symbiotic relationship forged between Juma Art and Memorable Impressions is the gateway to subsequent contracts, not only within Brunei, but throughout the rest of Asia where strong interests have already begun to surface.
The National Archives
The National Archives are the home of the administration and management of Brunei's collection. The Archives monitor, collect and preserve all public records and archival material as to Brunei's heritage in order to provide information and reference services. The restoration will, for many people, reintroduce them to their roots, and, or many more, open their eyes to a proud history, culture, and tradition. Brunei, an independent country since 1984, has seen change and reform since its infancy in 1846. Under Royal Sovereignty, Brunei is a member of the United Nations.
Dignitaries Present at Signing
The historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Brunei Museums Department, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Memorable Impressions Sdn Bdn at the Art Gallery, Brunei Handicrafts Training Centre, Jalan Residency, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Singing on behalf of The Government of His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Dipertuan of Brunei Darussalam was Awang Haji Matassim bin Haji Jibah, Director Brunei Museums, Brunei Museums Department and Pengiran Omarali bin Pengiran Anak Hashim, Curator of Archives, Brunei Museums Department. Appearing on behalf of Memorable Impressions Sdn Bhd were Pengiran Sarimah binte Pengiran Haji Abdul Latiff and Larry Freeman, both Directors, and Pengiran Haji Abdul Latiff bin Pengiran Haji Abbas, advisor to the company.
Initial Phase of the Project
Juma Art is preparing to shortly send a team of highly skilled technicians from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to Brunei to begin the cataloguing and archiving of these priceless artifacts. The team is thoroughly versed in the art of photo restoration, photography, graphic design and color management. It will use the latest non-invasive (degenerated) techniques to complete the on-site portion of this project.
Restoration Phase
Once the on-site portion of the project is completed, the project will return to the Juma Art studios in Canada. A team of highly skilled technicians will then begin the time consuming job of carefully restoring each fragile photograph which depicts an essential part of the history of Brunei. Each picture will have then be printed on special acid-free archival paper and stored in archiving acid free sleeves for their ceremonial return to the National Archives of Brunei for everyone to enjoy.
Pride
Juma Art and Memorable Impressions are proud to be a part of this truly historical preservation project; a venture that will enable the people of Brunei, and visitors from around the world, to enjoy and learn of the precious history of Brunei Darussalam.