From: 2000
With members in over 40 countries, EXARC offers a strong supportive network. I was one of the co-founders of this network in 2001 and am their current director. In EXARC experimental archaeologists, staff at archaeological open-air museums and everyone interested in these subjects can exchange knowledge, experience and best practice. My work for EXARC involves contact with all members, getting the word out about their and EXARCs activities and representing EXARC at for example ICOM.
The association publishes the EXARC Journal, featuring the latest developments in fieldwork, academic research, museum studies, living history interpretation and ancient technology. Published online with the best articles printed in hard copy. I am the EXARC Journal briefing editor, responsible for scouting new articles and advertisements; exactly these activities require an extensive network of contacts.
EXARC supports its membership by organising small-scale collaborations, often with the help of significant European Union Grants. These projects raise the profile of the participants and allow other members to benefit from their experience. One example is liveARCH, active in 2006-2009 and written by written by Archeo Interface, Geir Sør-Reime (the EXARC advisor for EU projects) and the Eindhoven Museum. LiveARCH was responsible for the EXARC minimum definition of what an archaeological open air museum is. Partly thanks to liveARCH, EXARC gained the status of ICOM Affiliated Organisation in 2009. Other examples are Didarchtik and Zeitgeist. I was also one of the authors, in cooperation with Geir Sør-Reime and Clara Masriera, of OpenArch, a Culture Project active since 2011. Another project is RETOLD, which runs from 2020 till 2024. Paardekooper is Operational Manager also in the latest project.